Generation Y

Last week, I paid a visit to my doctor for a routine physical exam. Having gone to this doctor for years, he asked me about my research, hobbies, and other such things. When I somehow brought up the topic of teaching undergrads, the doctor looked at me with complete and utter revulsion. “These kids today,” he said quite angrily, “are nothing like they used to be when I was their age. All they care about is Facebook.” Not in the mood for a confrontation, I hesitatingly nodded and quickly changed the topic while he went about taking my blood pressure.

After I left the doctor’s office, I began thinking. Was this generation of individuals, these so-called Generation Y young adults, really that bad? Curious, I decided to google the issue to see what other, more official (i.e., more research-based) sources had to say about it. Quickly, I noticed a slew of news articles in some of the most respected journals and magazines, the overwhelming majority of which cast a very negative shadow on any hope for Generation Y. As one article on USAToday.com put it, these “pampered, nurtured, and programmed” individuals who have a speak-your-mind philosophy often stand in contrast to older generations, especially when it comes to the workplace.

Ironically, around the same time, I came across a newspaper article in AMNY which also proclaimed that college graduates these days are just not as ready for the workplace as they used to be. These individuals are failing to impress their bosses, and that they lack the skills needed to succeed in fields like business. Even worse, as one article on NY Post’s website claimed, is even if these Gen Y-ers are doing a horrible job, they still think they are doing great.

According to these (and many other) articles, much of the problem with these individuals today is rooted in their childhood, in the rather privileged, entitled ways they were raised in our society, and exacerbated by the failure of educators to properly prepare these individuals for the real world. As an educator of lots of Generation Y students, I began thinking about what the real problem was. Maybe it wasn’t what we were teaching in the classroom, but how. I began analyzing my own teaching methods, which include things like group projects to teach collaboration skills, debates to hear both sides of an issue, and individualized presentations to bestow critical thinking. But is this enough to not only prepare students for the workplace, but also make them better, more mindful individuals in society? I invite discussion to hear what other educators think about these Generation Y-ers, and how they can best be “taught” in the classroom. Lastly, I leave you with one, rather positive article I found, commending Gen Y for their innovativeness, something others can most definitely learn from. So are we in fact moving them in a better direction? In the end, maybe my doctor was right in that this generation is not unlike its predecessors. But maybe it’s also for the better. And besides, last time I checked, social media skills were at the top of anyone’s list.