Generation

Synthesis - Generation - [|Katie Rose] [|Maria] [|Sarah]


 * **Name** || **Abstract** || **Reflection** ||  ||
 * Brann Meghan || Talking About Their Generations was a quick reminder to us up and coming teachers. For starters the article broke down the generations with names and ages and those were; G.I generation ages 80-104, Silent generation 62-80, Boom generation 44-62, generation X 23-44 and our generation being called Millennial with ages 23 and below. William Strauss the author breaks up the generations to discuss what each has been through and how that shaped them into being the learners and or teachers that they are today or were in their prime years. The Silent generation was the kids who experienced the Great Depression and World War II; there were two huge events that would impact a person’s life. The boomers were the post WWII and grew up in the age of civil movements. Generation X was raised to fairly independent because during their generation the divorce rate took off. Generation X are also most of our teachers today, the article stated that most of the X generation agreed with No child left behind (NCLB) which is most likely going to be a problem with our generation of teachers coming into the picture soon. Our generation is perceived in many ways and in the Harnessing the Power of Millennials by Neil Howe he expresses some of those ideas. We are not as lazy and self centered as other generations think, 73% of us want to go onto college. If we embrace our new ways the other generations are bound to come back around as well. || These articles were an eye opener. I forget how different my co-workers will be in teaching styles and attitudes and the fact that it has to do with when and how we were raised. I have seen generation gaps in my own family and have to realize I will for sure see it in the school system that I will teach at. My grandfather is still a racist to this day, he claims he is not but we all know he is. He used very harsh words to express his own opinions about politics and other thoughts. I argue but give up because he is of the silent generation and will always stick to his own thoughts and opinions, no matter what I say. Over this entire article was great food for thought and I enjoyed it. ||


 * Brissette Samantha || The article mainly focused on defining the generations and their main traits as parents, teachers, and members of the educational community. They centered on the latest four generations; the Silents, the Boomers, the Gen-Xs, and my generation, the Millennials. For the most part the article defined the years that each generation influenced, and determined that the generation previous always seems to think less of the generation after. Essentially, they don’t trust the younger generation to get the job done right, and to make the world a better place. The second half of the article focused pretty much solely on the Millennials and the aspects that make up this particular generation. They mentioned and defined such aspects as sheltered, team players, pressured, conventional, and special. They identified misconceptions and presented the actual facts and figures. The article ended with a plea to administrators to recognize these aspects of the generation and be understanding of them. || While the article presented me with lots of information on the generations I either didn’t know or care to learn, it really didn’t provide me with any helpful information as an educator. The article seemed more of presenting the readers with information, or perhaps geared towards administrators instead. I’m not saying I don’t need to know this information; just that at the moment I’m looking more at information that can help me be a better teacher to my students. This aspect is severely lacking in the article, in fact, it does not present any ideas whatsoever on how to deal with each generation, it merely presents the information and warns us to take care to recognize one another’s differences when dealing with the educators of each generation. Like I said, the information was new and slightly helpful, I just feel that the article would have been more worth the read had it actually presented some solutions and suggestions. ||
 * Davis Christine || Strauss & Howe’s articles explore the impact of the past four generations on America’s education system. They focus primarily on the three generations still heavily involved in today’s schools: the Boom Generation (the older teachers and administrators), Generation X (the younger teachers and parents of today’s youth), and the Millenial Generation (the incoming educators and also those currently in the K-12 school system). The two articles consider how different generations approach education differently, both in considering what content should be taught and how to teach it. Shifts from the Summerhillian concept and the “Consciousness Revolution” to the much more structured, standards-based education that is desired today leaves a disparity between how the two generations that are currently teachers in our schools approach education. The new group of teachers coming in, the Millenials, are products of both of these generations, and as such, a good deal of pressure is going to be put on them as teachers of their own generation, as the K-12 system is entirely comprised of Millenials as well. When considering these Millenials, it is important to recognize them as “trend-turners” who are somewhat of a super-generation. Millenials are not only capable of high achievement but are driven to it, and since birth have been placed on pedestals by their parents and by society, with “kinderpolitics” governing every decision made that might affect them. Howe describes this generation as “special, sheltered, confident, team-playing, conventional, pressured and achieving” individuals. || After reading these articles I can’t help but feel that it is a gloomy and foreboding outlook for those of us becoming teachers of the Millenial generation. As described by Howe (although I think he intended it to be a flattering light), I can’t help but feel that the Millenials are a generation of wimpy robots. Today’s youth sound like an obnoxious crew of kids who are overly confident and for no good reason. The emphasis that we have placed on playing fair and working as a team so that everyone is a winner seems to have created an army of droids who are predisposed, even condemned, to lack originality, creativity, and who won’t be able to take care of themselves. They have been sheltered and showered with praise by their parents since birth, and while there is nothing wrong with confidence or having a sense of self-worth, whatever happened to gaining these things independently? If every child is given a trophy, then doesn’t the trophy lose it’s worth? Not everyone is a winner. Some kids are better than others in different activities, classes, whatever. There is nothing wrong with having strengths and weaknesses, and it seems like parents feel the need to build their kid up to this superhuman status, and unfortunately this seems to be spilling over into the educational system. Howe’s warnings of how to deal with the Gen-X parents of our future Millenial students sounds like a set of rules for dealing with a bunch of pushy jerks if you ask me, and I have to say I’m not looking forward to it. I can’t help but wish I had been born a generation or two earlier because honestly I’m a little embarrassed to be part of this generation of wimps. ||
 * Gergosian Katharine || **Abstracts:**

"Talking About Their Generations" This article defines the major generations of the education system, focusing on four generations in particular. Those four are as follows: Silent Generation: Born 1925 - 1942, currently ages 62 - 80 Boom Generation: Born 1943 - 1960, currently ages 44 - 62 Generation X: Born 1961 - 1981, currently ages 23 - 44 Millennial Generation: Born 1982 +, currently ages 23 and younger Strauss explores the generations and their relations to the history of the education system. The article focuses more on defining the X and Millennial generations so that they can be better understood.

"Harnessing the Power of Millennials" This article further explores the Millennial Generation mentioned in the first article. Howe brings up America's general low expectations of the current youth and confronts some of the misconceptions. He then talks about the traits of the Millennial Generation, from their beginnings as "trophy kids" to their role as a sort of "public property". The article serves as a sort of "overview" of the current generation for teachers and encourages them to look beyond the stereotypes. || **Reflections:** I thought that each article was useful in it's own way. I really liked the first article more so then the second. The first felt like it was a sort of history lesson on education and that felt helpful in understanding my chosen profession. I could see the traits of people I know and educators I have been taught by. What struck me the most about this article was the way that major movements and events in education, from the uprising of social moments in the 1960's, to the Columbine tragedy, to the supporters of No Child Left Behind -- all of it can be filled into it's respective generation and explained via that generations traits. That sort of organization is interesting and I was surprised at how much it all made sense, based on the generation definitions provided in the text.

The second article was interesting and informative, but it was also sort of over the top. The title itself was dramatic: "Harnessing the Power of Millennials". Like that generation is a sort of extra magic group or something. In a way, this is explained in the article, because Howe writes about how the Millennial Generation has been regarded as extra special throughout time, but it is also ironic because America has notoriously low expectations of today's youth. I thought the suggestions offered were good, but I think we need to be careful at how much we define learning by the given traits of a generation. As long as we make sure we're teaching to the student and not just a general group, the practices mentioned will automatically find their place in the classroom and we will succeed as educators. || Sarah || This article is about the different generations of people we have and the differences in views, values, and opinions of each generation. The Millennials, which is the latest generation of individuals has just begun their work in the field of teaching relatively recently. They will be replacing the Generation X teachers who will eventually be fading out of the system. The Millennial generation is interested in use of technology and various modes of teaching and learning. They are trend setters, and have changed the face of pop culture and the world of education as we know it. With it came the standards based education, zero tolerance policies, high stakes testing and a variety of other implementations. Students in this generation are capable of great things, although society sometimes believes they are capable of much less. This generation is the first to be in touch with peers 24/7. || I think this article is interesting. It is important to take a look at various generations in order to understand the values and beliefs of the educational system during each time period. This is important because we can look back at our stories and our memories about specific teachers and begin to understand where they are coming from. They are a product of their generation, the ideas of that time period, and they are applying all of this to the field of education. It’s not that it is necessarily wrong, but that they haven’t adapted to the new trends, values, and beliefs being created by the new generations and applied to the field of education. You can’t blame them for being raised and teaching what and how they know. I also find it fascinating that our culture insists that a college education will be mandatory in order to excel our economy, yet the people believe that Millennials aren’t smart enough to get there. I also have to say that I disagree with some of the facts that they posted in this article, and I’m curious as to where there information came from. I do believe that children are becoming more violent and that parental influence is declining. With the change in family structure, the lack of parental supervision, and working families, I believe that kids have more freedom and less structure and are influenced less by their parents. I also feel as though kids are becoming more violent. Case in point we now have school shootings, amongst other things. So I apprehensive to believe all of the ideas that are presented in the article. || Evan ||  ||   || After describing attribute of each generation the article went on to describe what each of these generations contribute to the teaching profession. Boomer's make up the older teacher corps, reflecting strong commitment to education and their personal values. Gen-Xer's are dedicated to lifelong learning and adaptability. With Millennials entering the teaching profession, it is important that administrators encourage respect for each others generations. The second article, //Harnessing the Power of Millennials,// discusses the misconceptions of the Millennial generations, showing that they are more confident and successful then they are given credit for.
 * Goodrow Megan || These articles discussed the different generations and how they play a role in our society and education system. There are four specific generations that this article points out. The oldest generation mentioned is the Silent Generation (those who were born between 1925-1942) followed by the Boom Generation (those who were born between 1943-1960). The youngest generations that are mentioned in this article are Generation X (those who were born between 1961-1981) and Millennial Generation (those who were born after 1982). All of these generations have some special event or time period that they have gone through. For example the oldest generation went through the Great Depression and WWI. There was a study done between the Boom Generation and the Generation X in which it showed that the Boom Generation consisted of those who were higher in fundamental skills, task orientation, morals/ethics, and a few others. This was done by aptitude and achievement tests. With information like this, our strategies for teaching in schools will change. || I thought that these articles were very interesting because I never really thought about how the different generations would be playing such a huge role in education. I always recognized how we may have had different ways of teaching and certainly discipline was nothing like it was a long time ago. I never realized how the oldest generation mentioned in this article is so important to taxes. It is interesting to look around and compare the different generations even within my family. ||
 * Hebert Justin || This series of Articles looks into generational gaps that are present in the school system today. While a small amount of attention is payed to the "silent" generation (those aged roughly from 65-80) the majority of the information focuses on the Boomers, the Gen-xers, and the Millenials. The article gives a general overview of how each of these generations are represented in the school system. The Boomers are (with a few leftovers from the Silent Generation) the older teachers in the school system as well as the majority of the administration. Currently, their influence over the school system has hit it's peak and is now beggining to wane. Gen xers represent the school in two primary ways. They comprise a vast amount of the teacher force in schools and are beggining to gain controll of administrative positions. This age set also impacts the school system by being the parents of todays students. The Millenials are the students we have today. Also, the oldest set of the Millenials (an age group perhaps considered a narrow gap somewhere between the gen xers and the Millenials) are just beggining to make their way into the classroom as teachers. The result is a stacking of generations that may not understand their relation to each other or even many of the truths about the other generations present in the school system. This is because each of these generations are a reaction to the generation before them. The boomers tend to be fonder of their experience as a student and they believe they received a proper education. Another characteristic of this generation is that they believed in a "parent centered" child rearing. That is to say they believed that it was best to take the desires of the parent into consideration than the wants of the child or student. The Gen xers, in response to this mindset, have become more skeptical of the world around them. They tend to question education and see the position of a teacher with less esteem than the Boomers. Individuals from this generation do in fact generally consider themselves individuals and shy away from talking about their generation as a whole. They also tend to be more insistant on a "is this best for the children" approach to decision making. The Millenials are, by contrast, a much more socially oriented generation than either of their predacesors. This group feels comfortable talking about themselves as a generation. They are also warmer about their scholastic experience than the Gen xers. They take their education seriously and think it is cool to recieve high marks. They differ from the Boomers view of education in that though they can appreciate some of the "likes" of their parents such as music and movies, they want their education to be the newest material rather than a retreival of classic knowledge. The Millenials desire a synthesis of the school system and the increasingly present technology explosion. || This article shows the importance of remembering who we ourselves are as educators as well as who are the fellow educators around us and who our students are. Many have the perception that the current students are simply mindless, technology obsessed slackers when in fact the truth is that these youth are invested in their education but require a few alterations to traditional education. Because these youth are so inundated with technology, they know how to use it and they know how to use it well. Because of this, and their sense of identification as a generation, these students tend to be more communicative. They also excell in alternative or "e-communication" methods. For these students to perform well, they need a socioculturally structured classroom that uses the technology they are so gifted with to investigate topics that seem relevent and current. ||
 * Howard Nikki || This article identifies the different generations: the G.I. Generation, born from 1901-1924; the Silent Generation, born 1925-1942; the Boom Generation, born 1943-1960; Generation X, born 1961-1981; and the Millennial Generation, born since 1982. There are several differences between the generations, such as the ways they were raised, what values were important, and the emphasis put on education. As each generation gets older, the generation produces new types of ideas (as well as educators) who are very different than the people before them. When the last of the boomers retire, which will be in about 10 years, the educational system staff will be consist completely of Generation X and Millennial teachers and administrators. Newer education strategies must be put into place in order to reach the younger generations coming up. || I thought that this article was helpful in my understanding of the different generations. I never actually knew where one began and the other one ended. I think that it is very important to promote respect across the generations, because newer people can learn a lot from a more experienced person. However, many times there will be situations where the newer person might feel held back or restricted because of their lack of experience. ||
 * Killam Kathleen || This article is about understanding the educational environment through the generations that are involved in it. The three generations that are talked about the most are the Boom Generation (born 1943-1960), Generation X (born 1961-1981), and the Millennial Generation (born since 1982). The boomer generation went through school during a time of strong community and civic confidence and when teaching was a strong social status. They were and are proud of their education, and therefore have dominated America’s K-12 classrooms for the past two generations. Generation Xers were raised when parents put the needs of themselves in front of the needs of their children. Because of this, this generation didn’t do as well in school. They spent less time on homework and didn’t get as high of grades. Generation Xers thrived on some skills though – they are skilled at negotiation and interacting with others. Most of Generation X are defenders of the No Child Left Behind laws. Millennials are kind of a mix between the Boomers and Generation X because they could have either generation as parents. Millennials feel special, they have been told from the time they were young that they were vital to their school, community, and nation. They are often sheltered, not trusted with too much responsibility by their parents, and conventional, they don’t experiment with as much drugs as the previous generation. Millennials are also team oriented and excited about what the future has to offer. || Knowing about the different generations is definitely going to come in handy when I become a teacher. I’m going to have to deal with a lot of parents, mainly from the Generation X generation. Knowing how they feel about their child’s education is crucial - teachers shouldn’t take things personal from this generation, it was just the way they were raised. Generation X supports school accountability, parental choice, charter schools, and home-schooling. They don’t trust public school because they had a bad experience with their own education. Generation X feel like they were cheated out of their own education, and don’t want the same thing to happen to their children. They want to be in charge and know everything that’s going on with their child’s education. But they also want to make sure their child is going to be safe at school. They keep track on all the bad things that kids are doing these days, and want to make sure that their child stays away from those things. Generation X parents are definitely going to be a challenge, but it is important that you get their support on your side. ||
 * Minor Maria || This article explains the history and role of each generation in the school system. The generations of the past century include the G.I. Generation who were born from 1901-1924, Silent Generation born from 1925-1942, Boom Generation who were born from 1943-1960, Generation X born from 1961-1981, and the Millennial Generation born since 1982. The Silent Generation includes the wealthiest Americans and they are important as taxpayers, voters, and are the most critical of today’s teachers. The Boomer Generation comprises the majority of teachers, superintendents, the U.S. Congress and the White House. A university study asked teachers to compare the students between the boomer and X generations in 43 measures of aptitude and achievement. The teachers rated the boomers higher in fundamental skills, academic inclination, task orientation, morals and ethics, communication skills, and willingness to work hard for the purpose of learning. However, the Gen Xers outscored the boomers in some important categories. In a few more years America’s schools will be fully a Gen-X and Millennial teaching environment, and will once again change the approach to teaching and learning. || I never thought about comparing each generation’s role in the school system, so I thought these articles were quite interesting. I can compare the differences in my own family because my mother was a “baby boomer”, my father was born in Generation X, and my grandparents are part of the Silent Generation. You can see how the different school experience each one of them has had, has shaped their views on the educational system today. In the second article, I found it interesting that parents have become the number one professional headache for K-12 teachers, according to a recent MetLife poll. These parents would most likely be Boomers and Generation Xers. ||
 * Serrantino Jessica || “Talking About Their Generations,” by William Strauss gives the reader an idea of different generations and where they stand on educational issues. Strauss discusses the G.I. Generation, the Silent Generation, the Boom Generation, Generation X, and the Millennial Generation. Right now the Boom Generation but mostly Generation X run our schools. The Millennial Generation will soon be teaching Generation X’s children, which will be a tough task, because Generation X will prove to be stricter in their children’s education than the Boomers. “Harnessing the Power of Millennials,” by Neil Howe also discusses the different generations. How sticks up for the Millennials saying they’ve been given a bad wrap. Most people expect this generation to fail because each generation before it has gone down hill, but statistics and facts have proven them to be wrong. More and more students are caring about school and graduating. Howe also talks about how kids today are more sheltered, yet more confident then other generations before it. How also believes Millennials have a need to achieve and enjoy proving what they know through standardized tests. || I have mixed feelings about these two articles. While I agreed with some of what the authors had to say, I found myself saying “that’s not true” a lot of the time. While I definitely think Millennials are put under a lot of pressure and work hard to achieve, I really don’t see us all following, or agreeing with No Child Left Behind and craving standardized tests. My parents are from the Boom Generation, and while I think they have always been pretty opinionated about my education, I can agree with Strauss when he says they look at education as a whole more so than narrowing down to individual needs. I liked how the second article stood up for Millennials by comparing impressions and facts. However, I do feel it really generalizes this generation. Saying most of this generation is special and sheltered and happy makes it seem like only middle and upper class teens in the suburbs were questioned for this. I think there’s a lot missing. ||
 * Trexler
 * Whitehead
 * Wyman Sara || The article //Talking About Their Generations// discusses the era's in which different generations were brought up in and how it affected their morals and life styles, especially those who became future teachers. Strauss, the author, generally talked about the recent for generations, Silent, Boom, Generation X and Millennial generations. The Silent and Boom generations grew up during the Depression and WWII, attending school during a time of strong community and civic confidence. Boomer's parents saw public school as institutions of purpose and meaning. The Gen-X children were raised in a time where the needs of children were put last, and therefore, parents were not very protective of their children. They were expected to learn alone under weak standards. Because of their upbringing, Gen-X parents are more protective of their children and family and are more likely to question the public school system. The Millennial generation were parented by either Boomer's, who trust the educational system, or Gen-Xer's, who expect direct access to the system to provide the best education possible for their children, leading Millennials to be the center of attention.

|| //Talking About Their Generations// helped me learn a lot about my own generation and others; things I'd never known or thought of before. As aspiring teachers, soon to be entering school systems with current teachers from all different generations, we need to be fully aware of the values and morals of teachers and parents may hold. The article really stressed the idea that specific generations were brought up under certain circumstances that molded who they are and their beliefs. We all are the way we are because of our generation and our parents generation molded together. We must be aware of our fellow teachers principles. We must also understand the generation of the students we teach, in order to fully teach to their needs. The //Harnessing the Power of Millennials// was beneficial in some ways, but also bugged me in a few ways. Being in the Millennials generation, I was kind of irritated at how many generalizations were made about our generations (and other generations in the previous article for that matter). Not every one from a certain generation is brought up exactly to same or holds the same values. Therefore, as teachers, we must acknowledge generational similarities but not teach to them and only them. ||