Young Gen X'er teaching the Y's and Z's

The chapter for this section of the book has so much information in it, I found it difficult to select only a few key points to discuss here. Probably the most influential pieces have to do with the recognition of the collective consciousness of a "typical" gen X person, in this case a teacher, as opposed to the experiences and mindset of the Y's and Z's that are in our classrooms today. When I get frustrated with my older co-workers (baby boomers) and some of their inability to relate to some of our students, it is a helpful reminder to me of how all of us come to the table with generation differences that influence much of what we think, say and do - even as educators who are supposedly cognizant of best practices and what is best for the students.

For instance, the text describes the "adult" category as ages 20-65. While I am sure most of us can agree with this age-grouping, it is important to note the teacher differences in a generation Y teacher fresh out of college teaching alongside someone like me who is a young generation X-er ( I am 35) and beside us is a very large population of almost-ready-to-retire baby boomers in their early 50's on up. I bring this up because the text mentions numerous times that teachers are some of the prime examples to students as role models and we are, as a group, poised to be able to detect and report suspicions of child abuse, neglect, suicide-risk and depression. However, the different generations of teachers will most likely have different views and priorities based on what generation they are a part of and it may very well permeate what types of current strategies and practices that one is open to learning about, practicing or dismissing.

I have actually heard, in the teacher's lounge, multiple teachers in their 50's exclaim that, "When we were younger, there was no excuse for ______ and ______ and ______ behavior. We had to learn to suck it up and deal with it like everyone else!" These statements are said on almost a daily basis around the 20 and 30-somethings who bring up some of the risky or violent behavior that our students exhibit such as, "aggressive, hostile behavior, alcohol and drug abuse, passive behavior, changes in eating habits, changes in sleeping habits, fear of separation, abrupt changes in personality...etc" (pgs 347-348, concerning warning signs of youth suicide). I am not saying that ALL of the baby boomers feel this way, but after reading the text and observing it now for my 12 years of teaching, I have noticed that the older the teacher is, the more conservative they tend to be in terms of feelings on these matters. The really great, seasoned teachers I have met have still kept to what they believe in but also are savvy enough to realize that times and kids are different and not bury their head in the proverbial sand.

The educational implications, like mentioned above, is huge! Many of our students come to us not only with different familial and moral/ethical/cultural etc beliefs than us, but as a whole, have had a different experience as a child in the United States than we have had! The technology, obviously, is different, communication is different, social norms and what is deemed as "shocking" or "inappropriate" is different. These differences permeate the childhood experiences and collective consciousness of our students. I feel, as educated and responsible educators, we are responsible to notice, take note and consider that when we react, pass judgment or take into account our students' learning and all-over well-being - - regardless of what the "norm" was when "we" were growing up.

~Diane