Generational Changes in the Classroom

By: Jessica Lusky

The way any type of professional has to alter their typical methods and routines as the generational culture shifts greatly affects their work. Especially when looking at education, you realize the many differences in the classroom from generation to generation. I read an article called Generational Differences in the Classroom which discussed the different aspects of the classroom in the context of each generation in the workplace. The silent generation is considered any individual born in the mid-1920s to the early 1940s, the baby boomers were born in the early 1940s to the 1960s, generation X is anyone born in the early 1960s to the early 1980s, and the millennials were born in the early 1980s to the early 2000s.


The silent generation saw the elder members of their family struggle through a variety of wars which taught them to value austerity very early in their life. As a result of this, they tend to lie back and enjoy things from the background. In the classroom they acted in the same manner. They enjoy working in the background and analyzing others ideas. They tend to respect authority and remain on task which gave teachers a structure for classroom lessons. In this generation, instructors knew to provide lectures and independent skill practice with specific and simple instructions.


As the culture shifted while the baby boomers began to enter the classroom, teachers realized the alterations that needed to be made to engage the students. Individuals born in this time period are know to enjoy being the center of attention and expect society to accommodate them. Aside from SAT scores, this generation actually increased grades in school. This generation tends to pressure themselves and work very hard while staying focused and motivated. Educators provided group discussions and interactive activities, as well as opportunities for students to try out new skills on their own.


When generation X entered the education system, the classrooms were a little bit more spiced up. Educators provided many fun activities and directions to complete assignments their own way. This generation continued to believe that the world revolved around them, but this time was very busy so there was less time for society to accommodate them in this way. These students grew up in households that required them to be more independent which carried over to the classroom.


Lastly, the transition to millennials in the classroom enhanced the interactive aspect from the previous generation. The main difference is that generation X was very independent, while millennials prefer to work with others while receiving an individual grade. They are also very motivated and strive to earn respect and good grades. They enjoy bending the rules and found the introduction of technology in the classroom to be helpful.


While reflecting on this article, the first thing that caught my attention was the lac of credibility and praise given to the educators. It expressed the characteristics of each generation and how the instructors tailored their lessons and activities to them, but did not mention what any of that meant for the educators. When technology was introduced, there were many controversial arguments and decisions that teachers were forced to make which were not brought up. During the baby boomer generation they mentioned that general scores increased, but there was no credit or discussion of the teachers role in this situation. The changes that were made in the classroom are made very clear, but there is no acknowledgment of what the educators went through to accommodate them, their views on the changes made, or the effort put in to figure out which new techniques should be introduced to each generation.

Source:
"Generational Differences in the Classroom." Generational Differences in the Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2017 <https://www.td.org/Publications/Newsletters/Links/2015/02/Generational-Differences-in-the-Classroom>.