“Teaching was so much easier in the old days.”
“Kids are so
different now.”
“This generation just isn’t the same as we were.” 
How many times have I heard these complaints from veteran
teachers? In the hallway between
classes, after school, at conferences.
I am struggling to know if this is really true as I think
about how to motivate next year’s crop of sophomores.
It is true that I am a little different as a teacher: I’m not a worksheet teacher at heart, even though my early days of teaching were
planned mainly from the teacher’s edition with sprinkles of what I considered
exciting embellishments of opportunity. That helps somewhat.
I believed in authenticity and choice early on. That pragmatic philosophy came from managing
a house with five kids as a first-year teacher.
I also came from hearty, progressive teacher
stock: My mother’s fifth graders used
carpet spools to build giant log cabins during their pioneer unit and created a
twenty- foot pterodactyl to hang from the ceiling. My childhood was filled with hands-on
learning.
Even so, in some ways I do see general differences emerging
over my past 16 years of teaching. I see
students who are
- More open with their lives- sometimes when I’d rather they not be.
- Less respectful towards adults in general.
- Less concerned about homework if social activities or jobs are in the picture.
- More willing to work in teams or groups.
- More investigative, especially when it comes to using technology.
Now that most of our kids are out of the house, I’m curious
about this generation I’ve helped create.
And I’m wondering how I can use these new traits to my advantage
in the classroom. How will I need to
shift my practices to keep my new audience of students engaged and achieving?
Is the cheese is moving from your perspective? How are you moving with it? Or not? Why?
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