College students today: A study in contradictions
In a culture where everyone wins a trophy, where A’s outnumber C’s on report cards and where a child’s self-esteem is as polished as the family silver, it’s not surprising that young people feel good about themselves.
Do they feel too good?
Yes, says Arthur Levine, co-author of the new book, “Generation on a Tightrope: A Portrait of Today’s College Student,” a snapshot of the values, lives and aspirations of students enrolled in college between 2005 through current students.
“This is a generation of kids never permitted to skin their knees. If everyone won an award and you never really had to deal with adversity, why wouldn’t you think you were great?” asks Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and president emeritus of Teachers College, Columbia University.
That coddling, evidenced by parents still intervening for their kids with messy college roommates or demanding professors, is extending adolescence and delaying adulthood for the tightrope generation.
“As one person told us, 21 is the new 16,” says Levine. “This is a generation low in coping skills, low in dealing with adversity and low in autonomy.”
But high in confidence. While today’s college students are the beneficiary of inflated grades, the majority believe their grade point averages underestimate their accomplishments. More than two in five report GPA’s of A- or better, the highest rate in more than 40 years. Sixty percent believe their grades understate the quality of their work. Yet, 45 percent have had to take remedial courses.
They are also assured about their futures, although not about the prospects of the larger world. Despite coming of age amid one of the worst recessions in U.S. history, 88 percent are optimistic about their own fates and nearly three-fourths expect to be at least as well off as their parents.
“I can’t quite figure out how you can be so optimistic and believe that you are going to do better than your parents and yet be so pessimistic about the future of the country,” says Levine, who co-wrote the book with Diane Dean, an associate professor at Illinois State University.
Among other contradictions:
•Despite being in constant touch with friends, family and acquaintances via social media, young adults are weak at personal communications.
•An unprecedented proportion (89 percent) profess to want children, yet most describe social lives of casual relationships and sex.
•They view themselves as global citizens but the majority can’t recognize the names of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy or Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (Oddly, roughly equal numbers can’t recognise the name of “Daily Show” star Jon Stewart (34 percent) or conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh (36 percent)
When he began the book, Levine assumed that 9/11 would be the defining event in the lives of the tightrope generation. Instead, more students said the biggest impact was the introduction of the World Wide Web (42 percent), followed by the financial crisis (37 percent), 9/11 (29 percent) and the Barack Obama nomination and election (25 percent).
The most recent graduating class in the college-age cohort reflected in the book, the class of 2012, was born into a world of Apple, Microsoft and AOL. By their kindergarten, there were smart phones, DVDs and texting. By elementary school, Google, Napster and had arrived on the scene. Middle school witnessed Skype, MySpace and Facebook. And high school brought YouTube, and Twitter.
“For me, the big epiphany was these guys are the first digital natives,” says Levine, comparing them to children born into the Industrial Revolution. But the industrialization of America extended over six generations. The digital revolution occurred in a matter of decades.
“I don’t know if anyone is well prepared to face dramatic, continuing change at an accelerating pace, but these guys, with their lack of autonomy, their dependence on adults and their desire for some stability, are even less well prepared than generations that came before,” he says.
As a leader in higher education, Levine believes the college experience can help kids grow up, beginning with the academic equivalent of a kick to the shins.
“What would happen if we did away with grade inflation, if all of the students now getting A’s began getting B’s and C’s?” he says. “Would it work as a two-by-four in helping them understand where they really stand?”
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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66 comments Add your comment
Hillbilly D
September 16th, 2012
9:16 pm
This is what comes from worrying about “self-esteem” for the last ever how many years. The world has an overabundance of self-esteem what it needs is more humility.
As for the youngsters who’ve never “skinned their knees”, their real education is about to begin.
mother of 2
September 16th, 2012
9:30 pm
I am truly grateful for the tough teachers my children have had over the years. They have taught more than their individual subjects. The advice I gave my children over the years is that the best revenge on the terrible teacher who hates you is to do exceptionally well in his or her class – that will teach that awful teacher a lesson
They didn’t always get A’s, but they certainly thought differently about their teachers by the end of the school year. I have one in college and I still use the same advice. I tell my college student to get his money’s worth out of the school and visit his professors during office hours – amazing how much better this student does when he’s a demanding consumer. The difference is that my college student now understands my reverse psychology.
Mel
September 16th, 2012
10:34 pm
I may be nitpicking here, but I think anybody who thinks the world wide web did not have the greatest impact on that generation is very much out of touch.
Reallyperplexed
September 17th, 2012
4:55 am
Entitlement. That is what we are discussing here. Students in high school and colege believe they are entitled. Students will go on to college and have to enroll in remedial classes and believe this is the norm. It is not!!! In reality, if students did what they were supposed to do while enrolled in high school, minus the inflated grades, they would not be sitting in these remedial type courses.I truly believe that the majority of students do not know how to study because certain forms of technology have taken over the critical thinking skills aspect of learning. Research is no longer required with the likes of Google and such. Our only hope is STEM—students who enroll in courses that foster critical thinking–Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
Pride and Joy
September 17th, 2012
7:12 am
Apple Tree, I think some worms are getting into your apples because you claim that all parents on this blog think their children are gifted.
I am a parent and a frequent blogger and I constantly say my kids are Joe Schmo average Americans.
Mortimer Collins
September 17th, 2012
7:38 am
““As one person told us, 21 is the new 16,” says Levine. “This is a generation low in coping skills, low in dealing with adversity and low in autonomy.”
ABSOLUTELY!!
AlreadySheared
September 17th, 2012
8:50 am
Not all the bloggers’ children are gifted, just all the white bloggers’ children:
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/22/17-gifted-children/
Math Prof
September 17th, 2012
11:17 am
I’ve now been teaching college long enough that the people complaining about the current generation of college graduates are the same people that were being complained about 25 years ago. Take a deep breath. The sky isn’t falling. You think the current generation will cause the collapse of civilization. Your parents thought the same thing about your generation. Their parents thought the same thing about them.
The current generation of college graduates will adapt to the workplace and, wait for it…, the workplace will adapt to them. They are more digital. They aren’t going to want to sit through a two hour meeting that could have been accomplished via e-mail/texting and, admit it now, they are right. I’ll bet that the majority of you work in offices with much more casual dress codes than 25 years ago. The world didn’t end. The same thing will happen with the current generation.
But don’t worry, in 25 years they will be absolutely convinced that their children’s generation (not their children mind you) are entitled, good-for-nothings who will cause the collapse of civilization.
FYI
September 17th, 2012
11:29 am
@ Pride and Joy, September 17th, 7:12 am. “Apple Tree, I think some worms are getting into your apples because you claim that all parents on this blog think their children are gifted. I am a parent and a frequent blogger and I constantly say my kids are Joe Schmo average Americans.”
I have read this blog for more than a year, and neither you nor your alter ego Good Mother have ever written about your children–only about yourself. Really.
Really amazed
September 17th, 2012
7:42 pm
So glad we put the money into private for my son. His teachers won’t give out ANY easy A’s. You are lucky if you get a few throughout the year. When it comes time to take the ap exams…. 4 and 5’s show true learning and knowledge. You can’t inflate that!!!!!!!
Cady's Maga
September 17th, 2012
8:00 pm
I have been in education for over thirty years, and can say I have truly seen it all. This generation of students reflect our society as a whole. I truly feel like a dinosaur when I watch television, see movies or go out in public. I coached for a number of years and am horrified to see young men with hair hanging out of their helmets, young LADIES with tatoos and piercings all over their bodies. There is NO shock value. These kids have seen it all and done most of it. I was told by one of my (female) basketball players that “her mom said I should waive her $35.00 fee because she was the best player on the team”. I politely replied “it’s a shame that $35.00 will stand between you and a college scholarship. Needless to say the money was brought in the next day. What’s the answer?? All of us who know better and care should be running for school board positions and booting out these principals who believe the same hype as the students. Maybe then senior teachers might be honored instead of kicked home for retirement and replaced by a first year teacher who quits after the first month of school because “They don’t have to take this”.
3schoolkids
September 17th, 2012
9:10 pm
Remember that the author himself describes the study as a “snapshot” of the values, lives and aspirations of students. Snapshots can be deceiving and can cause/reflect current stereotypes. I do know current college students that reflect what his study found, but I also know ones that do not.
Cohort-group of subjects with a shared experience during a specific time period. I don’t know how effective a cohort of 5,000 students is when the Census Bureau reports 19.7 million students were enrolled in College for fall 2011.
AnonMom
September 17th, 2012
10:27 pm
Sandy Springs Parent: Thank you, thank you!
Ole Guy
September 18th, 2012
2:14 pm
From day one…first day in kindygarten…kids have to…not should; not ought to, but have to/MUST start the process of becoming acquanted with the concept of urgency; of having a fire under the six; of meeting minimum expectations of behavior and performance. The day the educational systems do away with trophys, unearned grades and all sort of feel-good acolades is the day when the system just MIGHT start turning out future generations with confidence, pride in their ACHIEVEMENTS and the COMPETENCE to become contributing members of society. Until then, we can look to government, conduct all sort of studies; come up with all sort of findings…it all starts AND ends in the classroom; it all starts with classroom teachers who are IN CHARGE of their domains.
Mike
September 18th, 2012
4:55 pm
I’m a teacher. I’m in my eighteenth year of teaching 5th grade.
The kids haven’t changed all that much, and Baby Boomers have no claim of superiority over them. It wasn’t this current generation that pushed for needless wars that caused suffering to millions and death to thousands. It wasn’t this current generation that created the national debt, the housing crisis, and potholes on the highway.
Come on. Stop whining about the current generation of kids. After all, they have to navigate the messes you made. You’re no better than they are, and your parents weren’t better than you. Your kids will be just like you. Some will change the world, some will cause great harm to others, and a few will live under a bridge.
Human beings evolve. It takes a lot more than one or two generations to see a big change. It takes about ten thousand years, which is about (give or take a few thousand) how long we have been able to grow our own food, tame wild animals, and put our thoughts onto a piece of paper for others to read in far away places.
The kids I teach today are going to be fine.
My first group of students is approaching 30. They were ten when I first taught them. One is a micro-biologist, many are parents, and tons of them are college graduates with real careers.
My current group is a great bunch of kids. They’ll shape the world for better or worse, just like previous generations. Remember, Hitler was part of the same generation of people who developed radio and TV. He was bad. Others were good.
We’re just really smart primates.
John Shoemaker
September 21st, 2012
11:09 am
Confidence in what abilities? What abilities have they developed that make any difference to employers…mates…getting along in the world. Will they need to start an affirmative action program to get the new generation of clueless get a job?