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I've noticed a societal shift toward an entitlement mentality and parents raising "special little snowflakes" rather than regular kids so I'd like to ask those of you who have been teaching for a long time, 20, 30 years or longer. Have you noticed this in the schools?
I've noticed a societal shift toward an entitlement mentality and parents raising "special little snowflakes" rather than regular kids so I'd like to ask those of you who have been teaching for a long time, 20, 30 years or longer. Have you noticed this in the schools?
Parents have always wanted the best for their children. That has not changed.
We just no longer have the same idea what that means.
A very small, but frequently vocal subset of parents, have taken the notion of advocating for your child to extremes. OTOH, these sorts of swings are to be expected, especially when you remember how children who were in any way different were treated before IDEA, Title IX and so on.
But most parents are still people who just want a good education for their kids. As for the kids themselves, I work with high school kids and have from the better part of 20 years. They are the same they always have been, they know everything, they want to know everything, they are helpless and helpful, they are smart and smart asses, they are lazy and hyper stressed, basically they are changeable little buggers who make you want to tear out your hair and maybe theirs. But that isn't really anything new is it?
"Entitlement mentality" is just the new buzzword for "damn kids...get off my lawn". It is literally as old as time to think each generation coming up stinks. In reality its just a sign WE are getting old.
I think our society in general has changed and the schools have not been immune from that. I wasn't around to to observe things first hand as an adult 30-50 years ago but it does seem that we are more self absorbed, shallow and superficial today. There is a pervasive entitlement mentality that says equality of outcome must be the rule and that to offend or hurt someone's feelings is an unpardonable, mortal sin. If I may be a little crass; we've become a nation of whiny pu$$ies.
It also seems that the expectation of the school system has changed drastically. Where years ago the expectation was that school would do the educating and mom and dad would take care of the morals/social values it now appears that many parents accept or expect the school to raise their kids. This is why we so often hear the phrase "it takes a village." I hate that phrase. But many in the village are OK with the village encroaching upon the family and using the school as a petri dish for personal political agendas aka social justice, rather than academics.
I think our society in general has changed and the schools have not been immune from that. I wasn't around to to observe things first hand as an adult 30-50 years ago but it does seem that we are more self absorbed, shallow and superficial today. There is a pervasive entitlement mentality that says equality of outcome must be the rule and that to offend or hurt someone's feelings is an unpardonable, mortal sin. If I may be a little crass; we've become a nation of whiny pu$$ies.
It also seems that the expectation of the school system has changed drastically. Where years ago the expectation was that school would do the educating and mom and dad would take care of the morals/social values it now appears that many parents accept or expect the school to raise their kids. This is why we so often hear the phrase "it takes a village." I hate that phrase. But many in the village are OK with the village encroaching upon the family and using the school as a petri dish for personal political agendas aka social justice, rather than academics.
"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."
Sound familiar?
BTW, I challenge you to learn a bit about human history. The notion of the nuclear family is a recent (like 1940s or so recent) development. Throughout the history of this country and even the world, the extended family and indeed the "village" was a much bigger part of the raising of children than it is today.
"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."
Sound familiar?
BTW, I challenge you to learn a bit about human history. The notion of the nuclear family is a recent (like 1940s or so recent) development. Throughout the history of this country and even the world, the extended family and indeed the "village" was a much bigger part of the raising of children than it is today.
Sure does sound familiar. Parents have infantilized their kids. God forbid someone disagrees with a know it all 20 year old college kid who knows everything about the way the world works because they've taken a few polic sci and philosophy classes and attended a few political rallies on campus. For if someone does they are committing a microagression and the student must retreat to their safe spaces.
In the history of American history, the traditional child rearing unit has been the mom and dad nuclear family. It has served us well. I fail to see the need to attack it and tear it down at every opportunity.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 02-19-2017 at 06:32 AM..
Reason: Removed the sentence with inappropriate word
See nothing new about people thinking the generation behind them is flawed. You are not original, and this "problem" is just one of perception.
Quote:
Parents have infantilized their kids. God forbid someone disagrees with a know it all 20 year old college kid who knows everything about the way the world works because they've taken a few polic sci and philosophy classes and attended a few political rallies on campus. For if someone does they are committing a microagression and the student must retreat to their safe spaces.
You seem very angry. Do you work with kids that age? I do. The "millennial" fallacy is just that, a fallacy. I have former students that age, who as we speak are at West Point and the Naval Academy getting ready to serve their countries with their very lives if need be. I have a student who as a 20 something millennial just got to leave for her deferment at Notre Dame. She chose to wait 3 years on her education to stay home and help her father care for her mother who was terminally ill with cancer. I have my own millennial who attends political rallies, and speaks up against racial inequality and also goes to the senior complex every weekend with her certified therapy dog to socialize with the seniors whose middle aged kids can't be bothered to visit them. Spare me your "millennial" talking points, until you actually know a few thousand like I do, it is meaningless.
Quote:
In the history of American history, the traditional child rearing unit has been the mom and dad nuclear family. It has served us well. I fail to see the need to attack it and tear it down at every opportunity.
Again I suggest you read up. The nuclear family (a term literally coined in the 40s) didn't even become an economically viable family situation until roughly the industrial era. Before that families typically lived in extended family groups of multiple generations living in one household. This was common in the US and in Europe. Just look at the homes from the Victorian Era, even in this country, they were typically large enough to house grandparents, cousins, aunts, etc because that is how people lived.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 02-19-2017 at 06:33 AM..
Yes. Over the past 15 years there's been a significant decrease in racism. It's still there but if a student says something racist, other students are far more open in confronting them. It's gotten to the point where I don't really have to weigh in when a student expresses something racist.
Now I actually sometimes have to defend the student that said something racist so that the class won't gang up on him/her unreasonably or get hostile.
I occasionally see it on assignments and just politely point it out, but it's FAR less than when I started when I'd see egregious racism or religious intolerance fairly often.
Just so everyone knows, this typically never affects their grade either way.
When I first started teaching most of my students lived in a two parent home, often with a sibling or two, and the majority of kids had a stay at home mom or one with a part time job. Although they certainly existed, most student were unaware of concepts like homosexuality or transgenderism. Pregnant girls disappeared from school, I had a couple of middle school students get married, including a 14 year-old girl who wasn't even pregnant.
If a kid wanted to engage in any type of electronic play it required finding an arcade, something my community did not have. For the most part, the bulk of the community's social life centered around the church or school. Most families did have a TV, but not all, and while there may have been cable TV, only Louisville had it and Lexington finally got it two years later. The place I lived still didn't have it by the time we moved.
Special education was very limited. There was not mandated child abuse reporting. My first decade of teaching we saw a lot more children with remnants of beatings and were told to mind our own business by the administration. That isn't tolerated anymore, thank God.
The biggest difference I saw as a teacher was if a kid didn't do their assignment, didn't do their homework, didn't turn in their homework, misbehaved in class, or even failed the class, it wasn't my fault. Parents didn't assume their child could do no wrong, nor did most parents expect their child to receive special treatment.
I honestly think your average kids with decent, caring parents were better off back then, but if you were different, your family had issues, or you were being abused life was much, much worse.
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See nothing new about people thinking the generation behind them is flawed. You are not original, and this "problem" is just one of perception.
You seem very angry. Do you work with kids that age? I do. The "millennial" fallacy is just that, a fallacy. I have former students that age, who as we speak are at West Point and the Naval Academy getting ready to serve their countries with their very lives if need be. I have a student who as a 20 something millennial just got to leave for her deferment at Notre Dame. She chose to wait 3 years on her education to stay home and help her father care for her mother who was terminally ill with cancer. I have my own millennial who attends political rallies, and speaks up against racial inequality and also goes to the senior complex every weekend with her certified therapy dog to socialize with the seniors whose middle aged kids can't be bothered to visit them. Spare me your "millennial" talking points, until you actually know a few thousand like I do, it is meaningless.
Again I suggest you read up. The nuclear family (a term literally coined in the 40s) didn't even become an economically viable family situation until roughly the industrial era. Before that families typically lived in extended family groups of multiple generations living in one household. This was common in the US and in Europe. Just look at the homes from the Victorian Era, even in this country, they were typically large enough to house grandparents, cousins, aunts, etc because that is how people lived.
When I first started teaching most of my students lived in a two parent home, often with a sibling or two, and the majority of kids had a stay at home mom or one with a part time job. Although they certainly existed, most student were unaware of concepts like homosexuality or transgenderism. Pregnant girls disappeared from school, I had a couple of middle school students get married, including a 14 year-old girl who wasn't even pregnant.
If a kid wanted to engage in any type of electronic play it required finding an arcade, something my community did not have. For the most part, the bulk of the community's social life centered around the church or school. Most families did have a TV, but not all, and while there may have been cable TV, only Louisville had it and Lexington finally got it two years later. The place I lived still didn't have it by the time we moved.
Special education was very limited. There was not mandated child abuse reporting. My first decade of teaching we saw a lot more children with remnants of beatings and were told to mind our own business by the administration. That isn't tolerated anymore, thank God.
The biggest difference I saw as a teacher was if a kid didn't do their assignment, didn't do their homework, didn't turn in their homework, misbehaved in class, or even failed the class, it wasn't my fault. Parents didn't assume their child could do no wrong, nor did most parents expect their child to receive special treatment.
I honestly think your average kids with decent, caring parents were better off back then, but if you were different, your family had issues, or you were being abused life was much, much worse.
I agree completely.
"The biggest difference I saw as a teacher was if a kid didn't do their assignment, didn't do their homework, didn't turn in their homework, misbehaved in class, or even failed the class, it wasn't my fault. Parents didn't assume their child could do no wrong, nor did most parents expect their child to receive special treatment."
Wow, I really agree with this.
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