The Generation Of The Future

Baby Boomers (people over the age of 30) have begun to grow out of their “baby” status as many of them begin to grow older and some even begin to retire. As these Baby Boomers begin to step down from their positions, they leave a hole that Generation Y (people under the age of 30) is next in line to fill. As the years continue to pass, Generation Y will continue to assume more and more responsibilities until the day comes in which Generation Y is called upon to lead the world. However, many Baby Boomers are concerned that Generation Y just may be the dumbest generation ever. Should the fate of the world really be entrusted to this youthful, tech-savvy generation? Despite Baby Boomer fears, Generation Y just may be the smartest generation to date and it’s all thanks to technology.

In an essay from the 1998 Chronicle of Higher Education titled, “The Liberal Arts in the Age of Info-Glut,” written by Todd Gitlin, the author targets College and University faculty members and administrators when advocating for a greater presence of liberal art classes as he directly states, “when information piles up-higgledy piggledy--when information becomes the noise of our culture--the need to teach the lessons of the liberal arts is urgent. Students need ‘chaff detectors.’’’ The author develops this argument by first identifying the toxic relationship that students have with the mass media followed by a description of the positive effects that an increase in liberal art classes would have on students.

In the article “The Greatest Generation: The Great Depression and the American South,” Jeffrey DeRoven analyzes the economic struggles of the American South during the Great Depression in order to figure out why some people refer to people from that time period as the “greatest generation.” Below, this paper overviews DeRoven’s thesis, purpose, stance, audience, usage of literary techniques as well as logos, pathos and ethos, logical fallacies, and ultimately concludes with an opinion suggesting that DeRoven’s analysis is mostly sound and useful, but limited in proving his thesis.

For some of us, it is difficult to comprehend why our education systems have not yet made the transition to technology-based forms of teaching especially when we are in the era of technology. To others, the reasoning is clear and they support the original, dated usage of textbooks in a “traditional classroom” setting. The changes in our society are undeniable with the innovation of technology and social media. Although some authors, such as Neil Howe and Jean Twenge, argue that technology is deteriorating the minds of Millennials, technology is also providing Millennials with a way to create connections across communities.

An example of anguish and suffering due to ‘white’ policy laws, was the attempted genocide era also known as ‘the stolen generation’ which lasted for decades (Krieken 2009).The stolen generation era was a “systematic annihilation for Aboriginal cultural identity” (Krieken 2009, p. 297) because children were forcibly taken from their families to institutional facilities that were either run by charitable or religious organizations with the intention of ‘civilizing’ them so they can integrate into white Australian society (Krieken 2009). The Australian government commissioners believed that ‘breeding mixed blood’ Aborigines with white settles will eventually lead to the “colour being bred out of them” (McCarthy 2000, para. 3) whilst those who

The first major liability of the United States was that no one had ever established a

technological advances, versus someone born with a proverbial digital spoon in their mouth. College campuses across the county are crawling with both groups of people. There is no denying that modern technology has benefited the lives of most students and professors alike, but has this gap of understanding been acknowledged? In the article “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” by David Prensky, the author encapsulates the importance of bridging the gap between professors who prefer “old school” techniques, and modern students who seek immediate gratification and new challenges through the learning process. Prensky logically articulates the generational differences, the timeless core curriculum necessary for learning, and ways for educators and students alike to help modernize and improve the overall classroom experience.

“I have studies! I have statistics!” (par. 20) claims Joel Stein, a regular contributor for the TIME magazine. In “The New Greatest Generation: Why Millennials Will Save Us All,” Stein writes about the millennials, people born between 1980 and 2000. Using a very clever gimmick, he points out the unfavorable features of millennials at the beginning of his article, just to create a stronger rebuttal afterwards. He claims that the “millennials’ self-involvement is more a continuation of a trend than a revolutionary break from previous generations… [and] they’ve just mutated to adapt to their environment” (Stein par. 14). By utilizing rhetorical devices and various writing approaches, Joel Stein attempts to persuade the older generations to reconsider their opinion of millennials and presents his claim that the millennials inherited their characteristics from previous generations and have adapted to their environment.

Published in Time magazine on May 20, 2013, “The New Greatest Generation – Why Millennials Will Save Us All,” by Joel Stein, proposes that millennials are a generation of entitled, self-involved narcissists, but have the potential of bettering society. He begins the article by condemning them, then shifts his point and gives reasons why they are changing the way that the world is working. Although Joel Stein’s article includes factual information, it becomes ineffective due to its bias, generalizations, and euphemisms used to further his argument.

Colleges shifted their visions based on a fear of losing money, chasing the elusive “it factor,” fueled by stuff (or rather what the stuff says about a person), that will attract millennials to their campuses. This system leads to a loop: spend money on fancy buildings and equipment to recruit students who will become successful and capable of donating the money needed to build the very things that brought them there in the first place. Professors shifted their teaching styles to make them more interactive and flashy based on the fear of bad evaluations, which could lead to a denial of tenure or even no class to teach.

As the generation of babies born after World War II are known as the baby boomers, my generation will likely still be referred to as the millennials. This is due to many of us being born around the turn of the millennium. However, my generation was also the first to have modern technology interrogated into our academics, vehicles, and all other aspects of our personal lives.

Technical documents, as is the homepage of Claflin University’s website, always have a target audience that dictates how information is structured for presentation. After some research, I found that university websites are mostly visited by prospective students and their parents; the target audience. These visitors’ visits are prompted by the need to complete some exploratory task such as finding out the cost of tuition or if a major is offered at the university. The homepage of a website sets the standard by which these visitors will hold the entire website, demanding that it meets the three (3) measures of excellence I will explore; accessibility, professional appearance, and clarity.

“Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we’ve known.”-Ronald Reagan.

The majority of today’s colleges are vastly consumed with Millennial students. Millennials share quite a few mutual characteristics that provide a challenge for educators and their teaching methods. Educators who develop an understanding for the generational profile of Millennials can produce appeal in the classroom and prepare them for their futures. Those who adjust their teaching methods properly, will see positive results. In the article “Coping with Millennials on Campus,” Steve Williams, Jim Beard, and Margaret Tanner discuss expectations college students in the Millennial generation have for learning.

What we have now is an embarrassment for all college millennials, even ones who are not snowflakes. Because of the media coverage, the average person now believes our universities and students are out of touch with society and I am writing this to let you know there are more of us than them and we are coming after the careers the snowflakes will never have.