We’re librarians, not MLSes

April 9th, 2008 Stewart

The Liminal Librarian » Blog Archive » Whole lot of quacking going on

I often feel the MLS/non-MLS argument (and it’s a very old argument) is a straw man in many respects. We don’t really want to suggest that the degree is meaningless, but we should recognize that the title “librarian” should be attached to the job description, not the diploma. And sometimes that work might best be done by someone with a Bachelors, or an MLS, or an MBA, or a Ph.D.

I do wish I heard more library school students speak affirmatively about the education they’re getting, though.

Posted in education, library issues | No Comments »

Millennials talk, Nassau Community College

April 24th, 2007 Stewart

Just writing a quick note tonight in preparation for tomorrow’s Millennials talk at Nassau Community College, Long Island. I’ve embedded the slides below if anyone needs to look at them. I also wanted to add a few links:

Teaching Naked - Tomorrow’s Professor
http://amps-tools.mit.edu/tomprofblog/archives/
2007/04/786_teaching_na.html
I really like this article and the ideas it conveys. Not everything will work for everyone, but there’s some good ideas here on the whole.

23 things - Learning 2.0
http://plcmcl2-things.blogspot.com/
For faculty who need to “catch up” with the technological savvy of their students, here’s 23 things that make one outstanding tutorial.

Educating the Net Generation
http://www.educause.edu/educatingthenetgen
Free e-book from EDUCAUSE, and possibly the best book on college-age Millennial mindset ever.

I will add more on Wednesday after I get back. In the meantime, I’d like to encourage any and all NCC folks to post their comments and ideas here so we can continue our conversation.

Posted in 5tothenext, education, millennials | No Comments »

"You’re Okay, I’m Perfect"

April 1st, 2007 Stewart

For Girls, It’s Be Yourself, and Be Perfect, Too - New York Times

In Millennials Rising, there’s a cartoon of a Mil kid in her t-shirt that reads, “You’re Okay, I’m Perfect!” The quest for perfection among these kids, or more accurately pushed upon them by their ambitious parents, gets cited quite a bit as a Mil trait.

This article does a fair job of outlining this trait, specifically in teen girls, and in particular the added caveat that this perfection needs to be perceived by everyone around these kids as being “effortless.” “Effortless hotness,” as one girl calls it, but also effortless athleticism, effortless intellect, and effortless character and spirit.

Of course, anything close to perfection comes at tremendous cost. (See Robbins’ The Overachievers for more on that.) Career burnouts and divorce rates will likely rise considerably with the Mils. Maybe the emphasis should be that while one should strive to be great, it’s still okay to be just “okay?”

Posted in 5tothenext, education, millennials | 2 Comments »

Five to the next generation…

March 4th, 2007 Stewart

Fellow library blogger Jennimi and I have started up a little meme from our comments on my last post. We’re asking everyone to post with their response to the following question:

“What 5 things would you say to the next generation?”

She’s already posted hers which I like a lot; here’s mine:

* Education is a process, not an outcome. If you aren’t learning anything in college, odds are you are failing the system as much as (if not more than) it is failing you.

* Other people cannot tell you who you are. Self-discovery can really only happen when you unplug from the world.

* Do you really want your children to see those pictures of you doing body shots in Cabo? Because once they are out there, they are out there forever.

* The only people who have ever been accused of being great are the ones who had original ideas and built original things.

* Give something back every single day.

You can join in by tagging your post “5tothenext” and posting your five things. To get the ball rolling, I’m calling out:

M. Banks
D. Rothman
M. Zafron

(David, if you do this, I’ll finally post that “five things you don’t know about me” thing that I didn’t do before.) Thanks all!

Posted in 5tothenext, education, generation x, millennials | 4 Comments »

The Conceit of Millennials

March 4th, 2007 Stewart

Self-Awareness Not a Problem at College - washingtonpost.com

While not really coming as much of a shock, it is noteworthy in how this research flies in the face of Howe & Strauss’s assertion that these kids were more altruistic than other generations. Meanwhile, Gen X’s Content of our Character Project has been collecting letters to the next generation that would hopefully appeal to their sense of social conscience.

EDIT: March 5, 10:45 AM — Howe & Strauss bite back. FWIW, I find that after a little while their relentless optimistic spin wears almost as thin as the generational bashing I find elsewhere. Truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

Posted in education, generation x, millennials | 5 Comments »

A choice quote on Millennials math scores…

November 14th, 2006 Stewart

As Math Scores Lag, a New Push for the Basics - New York Times: ““When my oldest child, an A-plus stellar student, was in sixth grade, I realized he had no idea, no idea at all, how to do long division,” Ms. Backman said, “so I went to school and talked to the teacher, who said, ‘We don’t teach long division; it stifles their creativity.’ ””

Posted in education, millennials | 1 Comment »