Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Beloit College Mindset List for Class of 2015

MILWAUKEE -- "Never trust anyone older than the Internet. That's not the official mantra for the incoming class of college freshmen, who according to an annual list collectively are the first to be younger than the World Wide Web, but it certainly could be."

ASSOCIATED PRESS -- "Most students entering college for the first time this fall — members of the Class of 2015 — were born in 1993. For these students, Andre the Giant, River Phoenix, Frank Zappa, Arthur Ashe and the Commodore 64 have always been dead."

Here's a sample from the full list:

1. There has always been an Internet ramp onto the information highway.

3. States and Velcro parents have always been requiring that they wear their bike helmets.

4. The only significant labor disputes in their lifetimes have been in major league sports.

12. Amazon has never been just a river in South America.

13. Refer to LBJ, and they might assume you're talking about LeBron James

23. There has never been an official Communist Party in Russia.

53. Charter schools have always been an alternative.

57. They've often broken up with their significant others via texting, Facebook, or MySpace.

74. "PC" has come to mean personal computer, not political correctness.

7 Comments:

At 8/23/2011 8:19 AM, Blogger Nick said...

GET OFF MY LAWN!

 
At 8/23/2011 9:17 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another one:

They're one of the first generations to not experience widespread prosperity in their own nation.

 
At 8/23/2011 9:32 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

sethstorm,

My teeenage nephews, who are with me on vacation, look very prosperous with their Internet cellphones during the day and X box 360 at night. I don't think I will tell them how bad off they are.

I don't feel too deprived myself sitting next to the pool on Wi-Fi typing this message. I prefer a laptop to a cell phone for the Internet--just a personal choice.

Sure, things could be better, but they could be a hell of a lot worse.

 
At 8/23/2011 9:39 AM, Blogger AIG said...

"They're one of the first generations to not experience widespread prosperity in their own nation."

??? What now?

And you're talking about "grade inflation"? When the classes and tests are administered the same way as before the internet, to kids who can get the answer to any question on the test in 13 seconds on Google...you're going to get a lot of A-s.

 
At 8/23/2011 12:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Walt:
When they step out into the real world and have to pay for things, that might change.

My point was that these people will be more accustomed to having to go across countries for work, and constant contempt as a worker. To these students, they wont find it odd that they work for a contracting company for short term assignments as opposed to being a long term direct hire. To these people, being outside of the country for work will be as ordinary as going out of state or region.

In short, they wont mind going across borders for work or that they're working for a contractor on a disposable basis.

 
At 8/23/2011 1:18 PM, Blogger AIG said...

"There has never been an official Communist Party in Russia."

There's an official Communist Party of Russia today ;)

Sethstorm, and is that a bad thing? Sounds like a good thing to me.

 
At 8/23/2011 5:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

sethstorm,

I make good money to tell students they will probably have to work a lot harder than I did for less money--at least in the beginning. I can blow smoke or be truthful with them.

While the old days are gone where you could accidently find a good job to support a family, new opportunities will still exist for those who work at seeking them out. A college degree will not be necessary for all of these jobs; however, almost all of the good jobs will take training after high school.

Labor unions will still be relevant if they add value. If not, they will cease to exist. History is best to learn from while you adapt to constant change.

 

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