A Vision of Students Today

An interesting, if heavy handed video.

As a semi recent college grad, nothing here really surprised me. However, is it really so different now than say, thirty years ago? Is the work load different? Is the need to work and make money as a student new? Hasn't there always been the tug of social versus academic life? Sure, the internet causes its problems, its distractions (I post this message from work, you see) - but does its harm outweigh its benefits? Could this video be made and distributed without it?

Complain about taking classes that don't directly relate to your chosen path? You're a college student - are you sure the path you've chosen is the right one? How many people change their majors? Is it so bad that your college makes you take Gen Ed courses that might broaden your horizons or help you be more rounded?

Do you, as a student, actually have a right to complain? Aren't you one of the privileged?

Boo Hoo. College interferes with my busy schedule of surfing the web and browsing facebook. I want my hand held and not have to sit in big, scary classrooms.

Oh, and you mean I'll actually have to PAY for college? Unfair!

Yeah, that'll prepare you for the future.

I can't believe it, this generation is actually inheriting problems created by a generation previous? Whoa. That's never happened before. And students working together on a collective project? That's certainly a first. OK, end of snarkitude.

What I do think is a new problem is that we finally DO have tools that can transform the college learning experience, but because elite schools are really about research more than teaching, these tools are only reaching actual classrooms in dribs and drabs. Until innovation in teaching is rewarded the same way as grant-getting and publishing, I think we're going to see more of the same, sadly.

I think you guys are missing the point. No it's not any different than college 30, 40, 50 years ago-- that's the problem!!

I am a high school teacher working in an inner city school and am feeling really frustrated with teaching. I would love to make changes in the way I teach but without funding or support it's like hitting your head against a wall. The result at my school is student apathy. We need to radically change the way we teach because the world around us is changing at an incredibly fast pace but the way we educate people is not.

I'm not sure what the answer is but I can say that that the teaching profession is losing a lot of fantastic teachers because it is so difficult to implement positive change. I saw 12 (some of the most effective, hard working and creative people I have ever met) of the 60 teachers at my school leave last June to pursue law degrees, medicine or opportunities in the private sector. I think I am going to be next.

But are you saying that teaching needs to compete with the private sector?

I am reminded of my elementary school teacher who quit to open a bicycle repair shop in the back of the hardware store and everyone was up in arms because he could make more money as a bike repairman than a teacher, until he realized he couldn't and the repair shop closed about a year later and he went to work at our grocery store. By that time people realized the ex-teacher was nuts or something.

I agree that teachers need to shift gears and teach for the 21st century, but when I talked to my son's teachers I learned that 2 out of the group I talked to didn't OWN COMPUTERS! So it's like, how do you get them to think for the future when they don't even surf the web, let alone think in terms of wifi and SOA? I don't believe you can train teachers to love technology.

What a bunch of whiners. "Higher education" in the U.S. is getting dumbed down just like primary and secondary education have been for years.

The liberal arts student of a hundred years ago was well-versed in philosophy, rhetoric, logic, history, literature, and classical languages like Latin & Greek. Today, they really know only a small fraction of that and have lost the basic grasp on the roots of Western Civilization.

Things are not quite as bad in the sciences and engineering, but that is only because the classes are generally filled with much-harder-working foreign students, usually from Red China, India, and the Mid-eastern countries. Ditto for business schools. American (and European) students are in the minority.

Americans don't want to learn the hard tech subjects so they gravitate to liberal arts which is MUCH easier to dumb down. As foreign students avoid these fields of study entirely, it's made even easier from the lack of competition.

We are so screwed and we've no one to blame but ourselves.

Boo hoo, the poor American's that sleep thru their mediocre "teach to the lowest common denominator" public school education now want to sleep/im/text/talk thru their paid for Uni education because it doesn't have flashing lights and music like MTV or their PSP???

Funny, the very (VERY) few smart (self motivated) American kids aren't being whiny little bitches, nor are the thousands of foreign students that understand that the top American Uni's are still world class. They all seem to actually LEARN and EARN their degrees and then go on to do something with them.

So is the problem with the Uni's (or the method of teaching) or with the slackers that the American young adults/students have sunk into being?

Suck it up - how much easier can a liberal arts degree get and still have the Uni's name on the diploma?

It's a very touchy but important subject.

Teacher quality is a major factor so IMO, I don't put too much blame on the students. There must be a balance in both parties. Whenever this balance is disturbed, difficulties arise.

Actually, having to pay so much for college keeps a lot of people out. If I had known then what I know now, I probably wouldn't have gone to school, and I would be making more than I am now that I am a graduate, probably with a wife and kids to boot.

In many other countries, students don't have to pay to get into college, they just have to score well on a test. The effect in a few years will push the US far down the technological ladder. We need a renewed GI Bill (like it was after WWII), or some other form of broad based free or dirt cheap higher education if we want to stay ahead of the rest of the world.

Very interesting video. I find young people have to grow up much faster than when I was their age, and that was just a blink of an eye and 18 years or so ago! Well Sadtomato, I've spent the last few minutes trying to envision a different class, school and teaching method. It's hard after so many years in the same system, isn't it ? And, the video hasn't even touched the physical security of students. That's a whole other issue. I've got two little ones just starting out their school adventure and let me tell you I worry about those 7 or 8 hours they spend away from us. Academically speaking they seem to be on the right path. Ten years from now, I don't know ! I'll let you know. I'm applying for the lunch monitor position from now !

God I love my generation. I don't even fit in with most of those kids but they make more sense than listening to a Baby Boomer or a Gen-X brat. The SAT, LSAT, GMAT, or MCAT are all giant wastes of time that prove nothing. There was no point to my college degree outside of the four years of fun I had while getting it. The rich get richer and I still have to listen to idiots tell me that we shouldn't have to pay for the poor because it's their fault they don't work 56 hours a day. People are dying in Iraq for two religions that deserve each other. And the current generation of parents seem to think they can hide their kids from sex, drugs, & violence forever.

Sometimes I think the Millenials are this country's only hope to return to glory.

Tom-
You might want to research the G.I. Bill a little. That wasn't a giveaway for slackers too lazy to earn their own way. Rather, it was a token of thanks for the millions of veterans who served in WW II risking life and limb.

Want free school? Earn it. The GI Bill still exists.
http://www.gibill.va.gov/

Just "giving away" education to our abundance of shiftless indolent youth means they will never value it. Anyone who wants to go work hard and go to college today can do so, even if the miliatry isn't right for them or vice-versa. It might require starting at a 2 year school, or some evening hours work, but it can be done. People of every perceived disadvantage have accomplished it because they worked hard. More giveways and education entitlements will just leave us with another crappy government school system, just as our grade K-12 kids are saddled with. The only things keeping quality up at the University level are the cost of admission and the presence of foreign students (in some fields of study). If either of these go away, our universities will turn to mush as well. As I've already stated, that happened long ago in the liberal arts fields.

8 books in a year? 2 hours of work a day? Am I supposed to feel sorry for these kids? I'm in college and I read two books and worked 30 hours this week.
You get out of it what you put into it. Why should anyone expect an education to be handed to them? And what's the point in paying for a degree if you've learned nothing?

I agree with jenjen's comment above. Every generation thinks it is exceptional. The kids in this video appear to find their classes either boring or impractical, but students have always complained about this. Some of the messages were surprisingly ignorant, too. Two hours a night on the phone? High school and college kids have posted these numbers for over thirty years. Your first job out of college doesn't currently exist? That old chestnut's been around for over a decade, when the students in this video were in elementary school. Are they entirely unfamiliar with what happened before they were born?

Vonskippy's right, too. Spend any amount of time with international students or those Americans who are making the most of college, and you'll realize how meager our expectations have become. Most American students I've met lately are simply lazy, but now they can justify/blame their dislike for learning on a technology disconnect. Great teachers (Google "Richard Feynman" for one) can inspire students without new technology.

L.B., I hope the "Millennials" you've mentioned aren't kids in high school or college. I've spent time around both, and they're an underwhelming bunch. Don't get me wrong, my own generation is nothing to write home about (and I would hasten to point out that we also complained about silly standardized tests), but many of us demonstrated an affection for learning new things, and greater respect for teachers.

the we shoulnd give education away argument because they wont value it line doesnt work for me. I live in the netherlands, where higher education costs 1500 euro's a year, but you get the first 5 years on loan, and you dont have to pay it back IF you graduate.

the value of the education is determend bij the way you are ABLE to do it. evryone can try, but not evryone makes it.

It is certainly a video that makes you think. Although technology can enhance learning, it also clearly shows how much time is wasted by the average student. In college, it isn't necessarily what you learn, but how you learn. College doesn't just teach you what you information, but it is also supposed to teach you how to obtain and apply that knowledge. College should not just be a technical school. It should present the ideas that have helped to shape our present world. Nowadays, things like the liberal arts are said to be irrelevent. However I find that most often liberal arts majors are much better at thinking and learning than those who just go to a school and focus almost completely on one subject or major.
In college, I had to learn to discipline myself with my time, something that it would appear many students are not doing today because they are so addicted to technology and entertainment. Is it that a college education is not worth the price, or is it that college students don't work to get the value out of the price?

Sid,

YOU should research the GI Bill more. After WWII, all veterans were given full rides to any college they could get into. This single action is most responsible for the middle class most of us belong to. These days, the military doesn't even pay enough for 2 years at a community college, and the middle class is being priced out of college (and thus out of existance) by tuition rates rising at least 2x inflation, and book prices increasing at about the same rate.

Americans work harder than any other people on this planet. Sure, it's fun to call the next generatin a bunch of slackers because they don't want to be slaves to their student loans for the rest of their lives, but it isn't very productive. In fact, it is EXACTLY that attitude that is losing us our economic supremecy. It won't be long after that that we lose our military supremecy, and then think of where we'll be. Just another has-been nation wallowing in our own nationalistic BS--in other words, we'll all become FRENCH.

One last note, why is it that foreign students "bring up" the quality of our schools? Maybe it's because the US gets to cherry pick the best and brightest from around the world while the student's government picks up the entire bill. Yes, I know it's a shocker, but those hard working foreigners for the most part aren't paying a dime for their top notch education. I know this, because I have a lot of friends from every continent (except Europe) that I went to school with, and I came out with the short end of the stick, having to flit the bill for my own education. I went hard and fast, taking on average 16 hours per semester, and 6 hours each summer, got out in three years with 35K in debt. Not one of my friends graduated in less than 4 years, and they were all scot free when they graduated.

@ LB Jeffries who said:

"Sometimes I think the Millenials are this country’s only hope to return to glory."

Millenials have had everything handed to them, and have never had to fight for anything in their entire lives. If they're our only hope, we're doomed... because they'll all sit online or in front of the TV, and no matter how "outraged" they are about something, they'll never do more than blog about it.

Hell, they probably being think blogging can make a difference.

Most of them who are old enough still don't even vote.

This video was interesting, butI think that the main issue here isn't technology.

I was homeschooled growing up. I wrote my own high school curriculum. I list learning itself as one of my favorite things to do. I love to read, write, and have good discussions. I took a year off to work after "graduating" high school, providing some "real world" experience. Last year, I moved away to attend a small, prestigious, high-ranked liberal arts school. And I hated it. Am I the one with the problem? A small part of my discontent was caused by apathetic students - as someone who actually enjoys learning, I felt like I was in the minority. But the main reason I decided to leave was because I disagree so wholeheartedly with many methods of teaching and conducting classes. I couldn't stand to be a part of something I didn't see as being right. As sadtomato pointed out, our school systems haven't changed with time. What has changed are the ways in which students can put off doing work.

This video shouldn't be another excuse to lament my generation or their use of technology. Technology is only one problem here. Rather, it should be making you ask the question, "what is driving these students to waste so much time and be so apathetic?" What about the other issues that were brought up or hinted at, such as unnecessarily extravagant tuition/book costs, being forced to do too much in a small amount of time, too much class/lecture time and not enough hands on work, bad student/teacher relations at large universities, skimming over subjects without in-depth study, relating learning to life, and being able to find a real job after you graduate? I could go on and on... Why not ask what we can do to start righting the situation?

xopl, I have to say that I don't appreciate your harsh stereotyping of my generation. If that's all you look for in us, that's all you'll get. You can hardly justify saying "all" of us are one way. I've had to fight for many things in my life, including freedom in education. I hardly watch any tv. I don't have a blog. I don't remember the last time I sent a text message. And if I'm guilty of anything, it's using the internet, although I don't think it's a crime to check my e-mail everyday and keep in touch with my friends from out-of-state. I'm twenty, and yes, I am registered to vote. Most of my friends are the same way. I don't mean to make us sound special, I only mean to say that your assumptions, when it comes to us, are wrong. I would appreciate a little respect between generations.

@ xopl

It's okay, your generation does nothing but complain or change careers every five years. That way, they're not good at anything and can blame everyone else for their problems.

At least we're positive, hardworking, BS detecting, and despise your emo loving self-centered nonsense.

I didn't get the sense these students were complaining about college interfering with their web surfing or cell phone time - I think they were just illustrating the results of their survey, showing how much time is spent on different things in their life. I thought the video was very interesting.

For me it's obvious. What the video is saying is "Why do we need to be taught anything when we can learn everything there is to learn all by ourselves?".

The competence of every teachers in the world is at stake here. Can they really make someone learn something relevent to their life faster, better and with more ease then if that someone would try to learn it by himself or herself?

The technology is advancing so fast that teachers can't keep up so the obvious answer to the last question is a blatant "no" even if we need guidance sometimes in what we do.

It's time to upgrade some of our teachers and give them something more to do. I would just love to see teachers show students how to do a certain job by actually performing this job in front of them and giving them the chance to experience it themselves so that the students can find out if they like it or not.

One last note, why is it that foreign students “bring up” the quality of our schools? Maybe it’s because the US gets to cherry pick the best and brightest from around the world while the student’s government picks up the entire bill.
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Not true in any case I know. purely anecdotal. I know many many foreign students and they're all the sons and daughters of factory owners and lawyers. I recruit for my company's IT department and I'm serious, these kids are the progeny of the Donald Trump of the Ukraine or the Hilton Family of Bangladesh

@Aramax: "I would just love to see teachers show students how to do a certain job by actually performing this job in front of them and giving them the chance to experience it themselves"

Didn't they do that in Monty Python's "Meaning of Life"?

Joking aside, they do that all the time, they're called "internships".

I think Millenials need to start asking themselves, is empathy enough? Is empathy alone effective? You can care all you want, but caring isn't action.

I worked my ass off in high school and got great grades and excellent test scores, and was even offered a partial scholarship to a prestigious school. The only problem was that "partial" meant $3,000 for a school that cost $25,000/year.

So I worked full-time and attended a state school full-time (so that I qualified for a meager grant that barely covered the class costs - not including books/fees). Even still, I have thousands of dollars of debt in student loans to pay back. See, because I didn't have a degree yet, I never made over $10/hr, which isn't a lot when you have books, rent, bills, food, insurance and various other expenses to take care of.

Giving away an education would NOT be a problem for those who achieve and who want to achieve. As long as the basis of the grant is merit-based, then why would there be an issue? If your GPA drops below a certain level, you lose your funding - simple as that.

What's the problem with investing in and bettering the human beings our country produces?

@ Tom,
I don't want to back & forth every line, but one thing is worth responding to. The reason that the price of a college tuition is increasing at twice the pace of inflation is because for every poor kid the school admits for free, a wealthier kid has to pay double -- essentially they are paying their own tuition and that of the one getting the free ride.

And for what it's worth, I knew a lot of Asian kids in engineering school who could afford the big $, because their father was a rich industrialist from either Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, &c. They aren't all there getting free rides form their homeland.

Education (especially a college education) is not a right or an entitlement. You (or your parents) need to be responsible for educating yourself or paying for admission to a place that will do so. Having the bill being footed by YOU ensures that you choose the school wisely AND work hard while you are there AND pick a field of study that will enable you to pay your bills upon exit. Why should the costs for all this be foisted off on other people?

@Leah-
I'm really quite intrigued by your experiences, both under homeschooling and when you went to college. Can you elaborate more on both the method and subject matter in your home schooling and the sort of study you attempted in college? How were the teaching methods inadequate there? If you look at old liberal arts textbooks (that hint to course work of the day) in Google books, were things better suited 100 years ago? My hypothesis is that today's liberal arts education is but a hollow shell of that offered 100 years ago. The Classical Education of the Western Tradition is nearly dead and "liberal arts" fields of study in American Universities are largely fluff. Agree or Disagree? Your point of view is highly relevant.