Gen Z, iGen, Centennials, whatever
they are called, are living quite different lives than we did as children. The
basics are the same, play, eat, sleep, crave attention, and so on. But they
don't know what it's like to share one phone in a household. If they want to
play with friends, all they need to do is text or snap. I had to walk or ride
my bike to their front door and shyly ask, "Can Tommy come out to play?"
Information is so readily available that everything else in life needs to be
the same. I want food now. I saw this game. I want it now.
While at the same time, there is no sense of urgency for them to complete
anything. They have this lackadaisical attitude to doing what they are
asked.
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| by Batmanpage 2012 |
My daughter is having a
hard time in math. She is extremely smart and creative. Math is
hard because there is only one way to do it. A person can't reroute and
come to the correct answer. Her math teacher also intimidates her.
She doesn't want to be embarrassed in front of her peers by asking
questions. Despite all of these issues, she is failing because she isn't
turning her assignments in on time. Seven out of twenty-two times she
turned in homework past the due date. I asked her why. There was a
stream of excuses and no real reason. I can check her assignments.
There were two she swore she turned in and said her grade would change as soon
as the teacher posted them. One assignment popped up - late. The
other is still missing. A big fight brought out the answer. She
didn't even know if she turned it in or not. The only way she learns she
missed an assignment is if her teacher tells her. She also had the
opportunity to correct her quizzes and tests for extra points. She
corrected 2 out of 4 and told me there weren't anymore available.
She wants her grade to change
but won't organize herself to meet the requirements. She has me check to
webpage three times a day annoyed that the teacher hasn't graded the
assignments while she isn't exactly sure if she did the work. Once home
she'll spend hours watching YouTube, Snaps, and playing life games on her
phone. I have often asked if she has all her homework done. The
answer is generally yes. I then later find out she did half the
assignment and saved it for the next day in homeroom. This is about the
time she misplaces it and needs to get another assignment. The teacher has
to do extra work because the student has little consideration.
So, do we try to change
this need for instant gratification or help meld it into something better? The
one thing that stays strong in this fight is; she wants to take care of it
herself. Granted she is not doing that, but she wants to be responsible
for herself instead of mom fighting her battles. She wants to find the
solution to the problem instead of not understanding what someone else is
explaining.
This generation needs a new
way of thinking. They are not the same as we were. It was go to
school, come home for a snack, do homework, and then go play. If an
assignment was due, we turned it the next day or we didn't get credit.
They have a hard time focusing on one thing at a time or longer than a few
minutes. So, as parents we must change along with them. This does
not mean that getting an 'F' is all right. It does mean that phones will
be taken away until that grade has changed. It means that the ever-important
social life must take a pause. It also means we need to find new
strategies.
Alternative teaching methods and useful tools:
Integrate Music and Visual Arts with Social Studies, Math & Science
Ted Talks Teens
Alternatives to Lecturing
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