Sunday, March 4th, 2007...9:23 am
Five things to the Next Generation
Feeling inspired by Stewart’s piece over at Professional Notes, highlighting an article at washingtonpost.com that describes a trend of “narcissism” among Millennials - that, writes Stewart, “flies in the face of Howe & Strauss’s assertion that these kids were more altruistic than other generations”.
He reminds me of a site I quite like but haven’t visited in awhile: The Content of our Character Project, which includes letters written by Generation Xers to the Next Generation, plus instructions for how to contribute. A few comments back and forth and we had decided to start a meme. What 5 things would YOU say to the Next Generation? Feel free to post here or start your own. We’re tagging it “5tothenext“. So, I could say much here, but will stick to five. Reprinted from my original comments on PN, and tweaked a little. Five things I’d like to say to the next generation (as well as to myself):
- Learn to evaluate and cite your sources. Maybe open yourself to having some help with this.
- Get outside and notice the flora and fauna. Try leaving the cell phone behind.
- Take a few minutes to figure out how much $ you or your parents are spending on your education. When I realized I was spending $60 for every actual physical hour of class time, not counting the interest on the school loans and other expenses, I never skipped a class again. Come to class, be engaged, you have much to contribute!
- In the immortal words of Flavor Flav, “don’t believe the hype”. Maintain a healthy amount of skepticism about information. If it means something to you, keep digging, keep looking.
- Take a few minutes every day to think about all the people, the ones you know directly and the ones you don’t and may never know, whose efforts have in some way helped you complete something, feel good about something, fill up your stomach or keep you warm/cool. Now think for a minute about how you could be one of those people.
As for tagging, anyone is welcome but I am going to ask a few of my Gen Xers directly.
Stewart’s wonderful post here. Check it!
Update May 30, 2007: Jenny chimes in with a superb response about keeping up, here. Thanks Jenny! So true, and thanks for giving permission to take a break sometimes.
13 Comments
March 4th, 2007 at 11:55 am
*Learn to appreciate in-person communication instead of online methods. So much can be gained when you can see a person and his/her nonverbal cues … and lost when you can’t.
*Look beyond Google and use the library databases (and librarians!) your tuition pays for.
*Don’t take “easy” courses or courses from “easy” professors.
*Resist extra credit card offers and credit limit increases. You need one major credit card. That’s all. And the less credit you have extended to you, the less trouble you can get into.
*Explore our music and movies … and talk to us about them!
March 4th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
LT, great comments! I hadn’t thought of the credit card angle (psychic block?), and of course you and I agree about in-person communication! I wanted to add a bunch of stuff about protecting the environment. But I have to believe people who seek out and evaluate good info will inevitably come to the right conclusions….
March 4th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Excellent posts, Jenn & LT! All three of us commented in some way or other that Mil college students need to take responsibility for their education, by being engaged in classes, by not settling for easy courses, and by realizing that you can only get out of your college education what you put in.
Suggests to me, though, that we’re all worried about the same thing: Mils spending loads of money on college and not really learning anything. Or is that just my take on it?
S
March 4th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Stew, no I think your take is spot on. I might add, though I am not going to speak for LT, that there may be very real reasons for apathy toward formal education.
I look to the researchers to confirm which is the chicken and which the egg, but for my own part I can point to some less than satisfying experiences in my recent studies. But to agree with LT I can unequivocally state the best and most fulfilling academic experiences, for me, have been the challenging ones, in which the students AND instructors were engaged.
March 4th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
1. Get tactile. No matter how many people you can brush by online and how much information you can absorb, you’re only burning retinas and feeling plastic. Work with your hands, put yourself places where you can feel cold and heat and the scent of fire on the wind. Don’t starve your body while you jade your eyeballs.
2. The best way to learn a place is to walk it. Get out of the car every chance you get. If you’re not raising a family, try to stay out of the suburbs.
3. Pick a direction and run with it. The toughest part about the Information Age is that you can spend so much time researching that you never get around to taking action. More information does not mean better decision-making.
4. Corrollary to #2: if you play games, never reload, never use cheat codes, never take back moves. Learn to live with your decisions. Accept that sometimes you will lose.
5. Your generation has lived with it more than mine, so you know this is true: families aren’t as strong as they once were. Find your tribe, your people, your community. Find the oddballs and knuckleheads who will stick up for you, and do the same for them.
March 5th, 2007 at 3:39 am
G$!!!!!
I love these! Thanks so much, and welcome to jennimi. See all the cool things people are doing on blogs? Hint hint… j
March 5th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
1.) Respect the planet - you need it more than it needs you.
2.) Listen to all sides before forming your views -don’t pick a side and get stuck in it.
3.) Experience as much life and culture as you can in person - virtual can only get you so far.
4.) Possessions will never make you happy - you will always want more of the latest fad and will never be satisfied.
4a.) The above will cause you to be wasteful and in debt. That same sweater you paid $60 for will look fine on me for $5 at a thrift store next year.
5.) Respect yourself and those around you.
March 5th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
KAT, thanks for sharing your ideas. As for the sweaters, they all look good on you girl!
March 9th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
1. Put on a blindfold and feed the cat — explore the ordinary by unplugging/ scrambling your senses
2. Translate a news report from a language you don’t understand — find ways to keep your imagination sharp in an environment of information saturation
3. Illustrate your ideas
4. Invent a new dance
5. Connecting with other people is easier than ever; explore human connection by consciously making eye contact
March 9th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Darren, someday I will have to show you my “you were totally right and we are celebrating” dance. It’s so simple, anyone can do it!!!! Thanks so much for these beautiful additions to the conversation!
June 4th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Thanks again.
http://bibliodox.blogspot.com/2007/06/whats-5tothenext.html
January 12th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
1) Consider all ideologies/philosophies/belief systems/worldviews in this way: does this help me be a kinder, more compassionate person? (nod to PKD)
2) You now live in the full-blown manifestation of an all-out global information war. Check your specs, know your source and resist the compulsion to believe anything 100%. (nod to mr. chomsky)
3) In an interview lot long before he passed on, Kurt Vonnegut gave this advice to the young people of today, which certainly will apply to our younger siblings of the future: (paraphrased) Form gangs. Find people who love the same things you do and get together with them and do the things you love together. “Affinity groupings”.
4) Remember that giving and receiving are the same; if something is real and true, then it is strengthened as it is given away or shared. (thank you acim)
5) Don’t panic. Breathe.
January 14th, 2008 at 10:04 am
@ rev malachi, beautiful. Thank you for taking the time to put these seemingly disparate thoughts together in one list. They have more powah that way, as in #3. And I really like #4. - jennimizzle
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