As a teacher I had never seen myself as one who teaches according to its cultural generation. I was intrigued to learn at a school workshop given by Michelle Maxson that one could have cultural and social attitudes as that of our peers because of the year we were born in.
I belong to a group of people that were born between 1946 and 1964. It was a time of American prosperity and the Vietnam War. I was born in Kansas City, Mo. and my family moved to Mexico City in 1964. At the conference my generation was described as an optimistic group surrounded by the walk on the moon, the women’s liberation and civil rights movements. I remember being raised in Mexico City surrounded by important events such as the 1968 Summer Olympics and the Mexican Student Movement in Tlatelolco, who shouted “We do not want Olympics, we want a revolution.” So by now, you know, I am from the Baby Boomer generation and my work consists of educating what they call now the Millennial generation.
The Millennial generation is anyone who is born from 1982 and today. Teachers may know their subject, but they will have to train and get acquainted with all the new technology changes in the Millennial generation. They are those children that YouTube has been flooded with videos of them as young as 2 using Flickr. They are the Nexters, Nintendo, and Internet generation. For them vinyl records were totally unheard of, and AIDS has always existed. These are the children that are surrounded by interracial friends and relationships. Different from my generation that was influenced by the Vietnam War and in my case the Mexican Student Movement. These children have been influenced by acts of terrorism, such as Columbine and 9/11. These children have seen an emergence of national pride and patriotism.
Text messaging, e-mailing, and instant messaging are tools that children use all the time and teachers use to communicate with the Millennial generation as well. As a Baby Boomer with a Millennial son, I spend my time trying to stay ahead with the changes. These students feel that they have better ideas to put new technology to use than their teachers can. I really try to listen to what they have to say. To them virtual reality is no longer science fiction. They are the children of the Kinect and X Box generation. Playing with friends in front of a TV is just as good as playing with them in person, or better because they can stay connected for longer periods of time. These are the children that are growing up surrounded by questions of should anyone teach them handwriting anymore, or just stay with keyboarding. They are the generation of digital books where Nook and Kindle make up for their bookcase in their room. They are the children who seem to accept authority better than in past years where rebellion was represented by the flowered shirt and the long hair apparel. These will be the children that will have to learn the value of flexibility and adaptability because the world around them is temporary.
Sir Ken Robinson mentioned in his book “Out of Our Minds” that “Our schools have a doubly hard task, not just improving reading, writing and arithmetic but entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity.”
How can that not be when we live in a world where change happens with the blink of an eye?
Have you ever thought what cultural generational type of teacher you are?
I’ll share more in our next blog meet up!
I think all of the generational cultures are very interesting.
Each generation is so unique in it’s own way and the different characteristics in each one makes them even more fascinating.
The technological era has been evolving so fast and young people are grasping all the new technology quickly. It’s up to us to try to give them the tools and guidance they need to make the most of their lives. They’re becoming the new creators, innovators and entrepeneurs of the future.
This is so true. All generational cultures had their place in time. They have all adapted to the circumstances around them. The problem I see with technology is how we are now communicating with each other. The other day I saw a couple and their child playing with their smartphone. I did not see any interaction among the three while they waited to be served. I remember how families sat at the table and died to share stories about their day, now some families and couples play on their smartphones. Perhaps like all new things in life their should be some kind of technology etiquette. New gadgets will bring new problems, new laws. Texting while driving was unheard off. Then again, I can’t wait to see what they will come up next with. Thanks Jean!
This generation is great however we hope that the new technologies don’t stop creativity or children becoming innovators. Now I have to say I love the technology and can’t wait what will be coming next. Great article!
I have the same feeling. I am always wondering what they will come up with next. Thanks Jackie!
Great article Carmen!! I understand how important is for children to use technology, they HAVE to be exposed to all these new gadgets because they are part of their education. I just don’t want my five-year-old to loose her creativity and stop her pretend play, one day she’s a teacher and the next a speech therapist. I believe video games, smart phones and iPods can be a very useful tool for children to learn, but they should also have time to ride a bike, go to the park and play with dolls with friends. We can’t complain about children not learning how to write and getting more and more obese if all they want is play computer games and text their friends. Who’s fault is it?
Thanks Laura! You are so right. Pretend play is so important in a child’s life. I am glad you shared this with us. In today’s world it seems as if we have redefined child’s play time into a Nintendo or a Wii game of their choice. We really need to make time for them to have that pretend play in their lifetime.
Pretend play requires the ability to transform objects in to real and pretend actions symbolically. Role playing involves role taking through dialogue. Improvisation develops language and mental representation. What an important reminder to all parents. Pretend playing has an important place in the child’s cognitive growth.
It is interesting as a child can develop their creativity through technology, that is wonderful!
Thanks Caro!
They never stop to amaze me!
Interesting topic!
As a Generation Xer, I tend to embrace new technological advances but I also “proceed with caution”. I am sometimes reluctant to be so quick to jump on with the next big thing when it comes to teaching and learning in the classroom setting. Although ‘the new’ is exciting, human growth and development is one of the few things we cannot speed up and we need to continue to have an assortment of techniques to pull out of the bag when not every student is ready for the for these technological advances. Just like with many other things in life, all is good… in moderation
So true, “all is good with moderation.” We really have to look into how technology affects our behavior and shapes our relationships. From online teachers, to online tutors, technology is shaping education, and the way we teach and learn. Thanks Jenny!
Carmen, I love reading the topics you are writing about! Some of our kids have minimal social skills and can not seem to communicate effectively with adults. Simple conversations that we grew up having with our parents and grandparents are now occuring on twitter or facebook.
I so agree with you Maria. I guess it is up to us to remind ourselves the importance of human connection and touch that at one time existed in a family when they used to sit at the dinner table, sharing stories with their family members.
Please continue sharing your thoughts. Thanks Maria!