海角大神

Last spring, I retired after 33 years on the faculty at Central Washington University. When people hear that, the most common question they ask me is whether students have changed over the years.

My answer is: Yes, in several ways that are important to both teachers and employers as the first of the Millennial generation (born between 1983 and 2003) graduates from college and enters the workforce.

Students are certainly more confident 鈥� some might say overconfident 鈥� than they used to be. They have a sense of their own importance, and why not? They鈥檝e been praised and protected by their parents more than any generation in history.

They鈥檙e close to their parents. A recent survey shows that 30 percent of parents talk to their children every day. Half engage in 鈥渉elicoptering,鈥� hovering over their children to mediate conflicts with peers and professors. About 10 percent even admit to writing their childrens鈥� papers for them.

Students are also more demanding than they used to be. They have a sense of entitlement. A few will tell you bluntly that they want good grades because they鈥檙e 鈥減aying for them.鈥� Even the more diplomatic ones often seem to think the faculty should satisfy them, not the other way around. Despite the clich茅, they 诲辞苍鈥檛 understand 鈥渘o.鈥� To many, it means 鈥渘ot now,鈥� or 鈥渓et鈥檚 negotiate.鈥�

Today鈥檚 students 诲辞苍鈥檛 respond well to criticism. They want to work with positive people who mark their successes, not failures. In the 1973 movie 鈥淭he Paper Chase,鈥� there鈥檚 a scene in which an imperious law professor calls on a student who is unprepared for class. He hands the student a dime and tells him to call his mother and say he鈥檚 probably never going to become a lawyer. True, the comment would have been cruel even then. But if any professor tried it today, I鈥檓 pretty sure a complaint would be filed. Today鈥檚 students demand respect 鈥� and they know their rights.

They鈥檙e not very respectful themselves, however. They 诲辞苍鈥檛 always mean to be that way; they鈥檙e just not very mindful of their audience. They 诲辞苍鈥檛 realize the effect their behavior has on others. You wouldn鈥檛 think, for example, that you鈥檇 have to tell university students not to text-message or, check their e-mail during class, or leave before class is over, but it鈥檚 become standard practice

Today鈥檚 students are easily bored. Raised with 24/7 access to information on the Internet and surrounded by high-tech gadgetry, it takes a lot to impress them in the classroom. Lectures seldom do it; even Socratic dialogue and group discussions 诲辞苍鈥檛 always work. Games are good. Students want learning to be a social activity and one that is immediately rewarding. They like material to be concrete and specific 鈥� practical, rather than theoretical.

And today鈥檚 students are more materialistic than they used to be. For 40 years, UCLA has published an annual survey of incoming college freshmen. In 1970, 80 percent of freshmen thought 鈥渄eveloping a meaningful philosophy of life鈥� was an important college goal. By 2005, nearly 75 percent thought it was important to be 鈥渧ery well off financially.鈥�

To be sure, in their minds these new students are not overconfident, but assured; not demanding, but assertive; not impatient, impulsive, or materialistic, but driven, fast-paced, and goal-directed. And in fairness, they do have a lot of those positive qualities.

They鈥檙e probably more open and honest than students before them. They value authenticity. They鈥檙e not afraid to voice their opinions, even if sometimes those opinions are uninformed. Few subjects are taboo with them, and they 诲辞苍鈥檛 have much tolerance for political or social correctness.

They like (indeed crave) personal recognition, but they鈥檙e group-oriented and prefer working in teams. They like shared leadership, and they鈥檙e skeptical of formal authority. Many are strongly oriented towards volunteerism (albeit on a short-term, project-by-project basis), and give time to community service.

Their most unique feature may be their sense of equality. Discrimination isn鈥檛 dead on college campuses; there are still cases of intolerance, but today鈥檚 students may be the first generation to widely embrace the ideal that issues such as race, religion, or gender do not, by themselves, make a difference in people.

Finally, they鈥檙e optimistic, which isn鈥檛 easy given the increasing violence on campus and in the outside world they face. Students graduating today will enter the worst job market in 25 years. They鈥檒l work longer, have less job security, and have fewer benefits than their parents or grandparents had. They鈥檒l face a society that鈥檚 increasingly polarized, with few shared values, less sense of community, and hardly any authority figures that can be absolutely trusted.

Yet overcoming all, most students remain upbeat. They expect to find a job within a few months of graduation and live a happy, productive life. They see the future as theirs to control. They believe they鈥檙e vital to the nation.

So what鈥檚 the message for the rest of us?

It can be annoying to hear this new Millennial generation brag about their power and potential, especially when it comes at the expense of the older generations. But the truth is that our future is tied to theirs.

Many are already graduating from college and working in our companies. They鈥檒l soon be in charge of our government, business, professional, and social institutions. We should give them every support we can. Heaven knows, we 诲辞苍鈥檛 want them to fail. Understanding how they work is the first step.

Corwin P. King is professor emeritus of communication at Central Washington University and former chair of the Communication Department. He also taught at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

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