The "Entitlement" Generation
June 9th, 2005 Stewart Posted in Uncategorized |
This Washington Post article makes a number of really good points, in particular about the way in which students approach faculty regarding their grades and how this is a reflection of high demands placed on these students in other arenas. The sense of student entitlement, though, that comes from “really trying hard” and that grades should reflect effort, not achievement, can’t be explained away as just another symptom of the high-pressure Millennial lifestyle. It reflects, instead, a deeply felt conviction that their parents have instilled in them since birth, that “giving it your best” is all that really matters.
But the students have learned a different lesson. They have been consistently rewarded for saying that they’ve given it their all, whether they have or not. They’ve had their grades bumped up for them routinely during their K-12 years, by complaining and saying they would try harder, and then they hit college and expect the same thing to work here. And since Outcome has always equalled the appearance of Effort and Concern, the Millennials seem to be convinced that they will find great rewards in their future endeavors, as long as they Try, whether or not they Succeed.
I’m not sure that they will find much reward for Effort without Success when they begin their careers. But then, I’ve just started to hear stories about helicopter parents who have continued to do their kids’ “homework” for them, on into the first years of work after college…
“Dad, how do I fill a prescription for simvastatin?”
Scary.
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