Uh Oh The Over-coddled Soft Generation In WCBB

[huskeynut]

Some great points being made.

I taught for 33 years before pulling the plug. Much of what is being said is true. We called the overly protective parents "helicopter parents." Always hovering around, watching you every move and picking apart every word and phrase. During my 33 years, education became less about education. Standards were compromised. The "me" generation showed. The concept of the "trades" being an integral part of education disappeared. Everyone had to go to college which is one of the biggest lies education came out with. And I could go on.

Now don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the bulk of my career. Being a band director was a great fun. But eventually the tank ran out of gas.

 

[oldude]

I think you can trace what is being called a "soft" generation back to the sins of the greatest generation. The greatest generation was full of lousy fathers that drank too much and were overly authoritarian. That produced baby boomers who weren't going to have their kids put up with the same crap from lousy teachers that they were forced to. They were going to be stronger advocates for their children than the greatest generation. Perhaps things went out of balance the other way.

Not sure I agree with your characterization of the Greatest Generation. My father was a marine who served in the Pacific during WWII. My mother worked in a factory that made Corsair fighter planes. My brother and I were certainly not coddled growing up. From early on, we were required to do chores, cutting lawns, washing dishes, and at 16 or so, get summer jobs to earn a few dollars. At the same time, mom & dad always made time for our ball games, picnics and trips to the drive in.

Most of the kids I grew up with had similar experiences. Frankly, I wouldn't trade that experience for the world.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Not sure I agree with your characterization of the Greatest Generation. My father was a marine who served in the Pacific during WWII. My mother worked in a factory that made Corsair fighter planes. My brother and I were certainly not coddled growing up. From early on, we were required to do chores, cutting lawns, washing dishes, and at 16 or so, get summer jobs to earn a few dollars. At the same time, mom & dad always made time for our ball games, picnics and trips to the drive in.

Most of the kids I grew up with had similar experiences. Frankly, I wouldn't trade that experience for the world.

and this was passed down to your children as well... I think they were saying not your generation but your kids. We try to make it easy as possible for our kids and if we dont, they give up and just become pouty adults with a few monkeys on their shoulders

 

[DaddyChoc]

 

[bags27]

other factors of course are the declining rate of infant mortality and women in the workforce. Both factors contribute to having fewer children, because far more survive and because women have later pregnancies. So, with fewer, but "more successful" births among the aspiring middle class, each child receives more attention and is "valued" more.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Thanks for sharing that. Absolutely makes sense.

 

[bags27]

I love the fact that he ends by blaming the corporate leaders, not the kids . Passing the blame, he's a true millennial himself. Seriously, this is good and provocative, but still pop analysis: in the end he blames charging the phones in their bedrooms; jeez. BTW, Sinek is a professional motivational speaker: it's his shtick.

We live in the second, and far more successful modern globalization (1st modern attempt in the 1890s shut down by a series of wars and economic depressions), and because of recent technology, this one seems to stick. As a result, there are so many moving parts to our society that it will take a generation or more to figure out where we are today and where we are going. Fun to speculate and blame, but we are cursed or blessed with living in one of those "ages of anxiety" where everything is in motion and soft ground.

 

[Centerstream]

My grandson just turned 1 year old. We have him every Saturday and in his car seat he has a play cell phone that he absolutely loves and plays with on the ride to and from our house. When we put him in to his playpen, he has a toy laptop, tablet, and Kindle. He has the same type of toys at home, 90% of them are electronic/computer related. I am guessing that once he is able to walk, and as he grows older and goes to school, the only time he is going to be outside is when he's walking to and from a car or School Bus and this is probably going to be typical of the average child in the United States from now on.

 

[DaddyChoc]

I love the fact that he ends by blaming the corporate leaders, not the kids . Passing the blame, he's a true millennial himself. Seriously, this is good and provocative, but still pop analysis: in the end he blames charging the phones in their bedrooms; jeez. BTW, Sinek is a professional motivational speaker: it's his shtick.

We live in the second, and far more successful modern globalization (1st modern attempt in the 1890s shut down by a series of wars and economic depressions), and because of recent technology, this one seems to stick. As a result, there are so many moving parts to our society that it will take a generation or more to figure out where we are today and where we are going. Fun to speculate and blame, but we are cursed or blessed with living in one of those "ages of anxiety" where everything is in motion and soft ground.

Would it be better hearing it from Geno or CD... it's their shtick as well

 

[DaddyChoc]

and now we should understand Diamond even more

 

[oldude]

and this was passed down to your children as well... I think they were saying not your generation but your kids. We try to make it easy as possible for our kids and if we dont, they give up and just become pouty adults with a few monkeys on their shoulders

As far as I can tell, there have been a number of generations impugned by various posts on this thread. My objection was to a post specifically directed at the "Greatest Generation" which of course refers to the generation that came of age during WWII, chronicled in Tom Brockaw's book by the same name.

 

[DaddyChoc]

As far as I can tell, there have been a number of generations impugned by various posts on this thread. My objection was to a post specifically directed at the "Greatest Generation" which of course refers to the generation that came of age during WWII, chronicled in Tom Brockaw's book by the same name.

oh... yeah every generation got * with them, sign of the times. We adjust with change or we'll be grumpy for the rest of our lives

 

[Sargassoc]

This past school year, I showed this video to each of my high school classes. One class got very defensive, but the others were in agreement. They wanted to, but also didn't know how to, make changes, especially with regard to their desire for immediate gratification through technology. I think they are as trapped by the technology as they are dependent upon it. They want it to be different, but are terrified of its being different.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I have to add, and I'm not going to get highly specific, that I heard an interesting take on all this and its impact to mainstream religions, etc. We are visiting NJ and this morning worshiped and visited with the Pastor where my wife worked before her disability. The pastor pointed out that this is, in her opinion and that of various writers, another "reformation" - they come along every 500 years or so. Not just religion, just as Luther and the protestant reformation were part of a greater time period, including the invention of the printing press, European discovery of America, etc.

Her take is that we have to be prepared for "everything" to change as the younger folk become the mainstream. She said she frankly doesn't expect things like the church where she is pastor to still be around "looking like it does now" in 50 years. Millennials and younger folk are not "bad", just different. She was talking about how they want to go out and do good, but they don't want to come and sit and listen to the trappings of main-stream church service.

I agree that with all the challenges presented by world change - particularly the growth of social media - the younger generation(s) have faced entirely different challenges to adapt to. And if helicopter parents and such have been issues, well, I don't really think anyone had or has a blueprint for how the world is developing and changing on a rapid basis.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

This past school year, I showed this video to each of my high school classes. One class got very defensive, but the others were in agreement. They wanted to, but also didn't know how to, make changes, especially with regard to their desire for immediate gratification through technology. I think they are as trapped by the technology as they are dependent upon it. They want it to be different, but are terrified of its being different.

I'll bet at least half of them were looking at the cell phone in their lap while the video played.

 

[the Q]

That is just one reason I stopped coaching and officiating. ESPN focusing on players showing off does not help either.

And constantly showing the coaches "working" the officials makes them think they should be doing it too. Even when they don't know the damn rules.

 

[HoopsFan21]

ITT: Get off my lawn!!!!!!!

 

[Orangutan]

ITT: Get off my lawn!!!!!!!

Kids these days!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Do you know who is in your cloud?

 

[BroadwayVa]

If we are generalizing beyond female student-athletes to the whole generation, I tend to agree with Oldude. I do think we parents have a lot to answer for when it comes to this clearly more anxious, approval-seeking generation.

But also:
1. The economic collapse of 2008 was deeply traumatic, and the world is far, far from out of the woods on that. And meanwhile, the transformation of the economy, with robots replacing people, undermines the essential worth of work, and yet puts tremendous stress on kids to get the "best" education and be most competitive.
2. the social media revolution, which offers electronic community over real community, and public display of a perfect life or experience obligatory, therefore maybe makes the need to make real connections to us parents even greater.

I was reading a semi-biographical novel last night of interwar (WW I and II) Austria, and the author, Stefan Zweig, was calling the period the greatest transformation in recent history. It got me thinking that this "greatest transformation" actually occurs more often than we think. Probably, we're going through the greatest one since the 1950s/60s right now, with economic, global, and technological changes creating a whole lot of stress. But unlike us 1960s kids who defied our parents, these kids want to please us. I honestly don't know if we can say one is "better" or "worse" or what that even means. It will take 30 years or so to know.

90 percent agree with this---10 percent ????. The upheaval between WW's in Austria and German was beyond what Americans, of the time could conceive. It was not great in the USA for some--for some pretty good--for some wonderful--(can only speak for the not good at all during that time). What's interesting, sometimes near starvation, we though we were doing good.
I know you were speaking of groups you may have known during the 60's but not all defied their parents--or all through the 60's--.
I am more than pleased with "don't know if we can say one is better or worse--that is pure Bags27-- I can say as a parent of a group of those 60's kids--MOST, not all, exceeded expectations --from my Dad who started working , in Connectict, full time at age 10 , i.e. no school--they were worlds apart in nearly every aspect--except maybe religion

 

[BroadwayVa]

Kids these days!

I resemble this remark!! I don't always yell at CLOUDs --but I sure give the TV a working over.

 

[JoePgh]

Why do I remember that, while I was growing up in the 1950's and 60's, I continually heard the oldsters of that era say exactly the same things about us that are being said in this thread?

I suspect that there is far less disparity between kids then and kids now than some seem to think, and that one thing that will never change is that people in their 60's and 70's will view kids in their teens and 20's as spoiled and "entitled" (whatever word they may use for that in each generation).

I prefer to celebrate the fact that we UConn basketball fans get to observe players like Napheesa, KLS, Kia, Crystal, and Gabby (and in the recent past, players such as Morgan Tuck, Moriah Jefferson, Caroline Doty, Stef Dolson, and Kelly Faris) whose parents raised them "the right way" and who show that in their behavior on the court and (to the extent we observe it) off the court as well. I know that Geno says it is harder to find those personalities than ever before, but I'm skeptical of that. After all, he is part of the generation that is prone to make such observations.

And, may I add, it is not just UConn players who show these traits. I would point to Notre Dame and Stanford as two other programs who seem to recruit and produce athletes who are physically skilled but also of exemplary character (in the great majority of cases). I am SO impressed by both Ogwumike sisters, and there are many other examples.

 

[meyers7]

We live in the second, and far more successful modern globalization (1st modern attempt in the 1890s shut down by a series of wars and economic depressions), and because of recent technology, this one seems to stick. As a result, there are so many moving parts to our society that it will take a generation or more to figure out where we are today and where we are going. Fun to speculate and blame, but we are cursed or blessed with living in one of those "ages of anxiety" where everything is in motion and soft ground.

Interesting, I was just reading (or watching, can't remember) something on how the last "globalization" brought us to the 1st World War and subsequent wars and if this current "globalization" might do the same. Their hypothesis is that it would. Hmmm, wish I remembered where I saw that. Interesting.

 

[meyers7]

This past school year, I showed this video to each of my high school classes. One class got very defensive, but the others were in agreement. They wanted to, but also didn't know how to, make changes, especially with regard to their desire for immediate gratification through technology. I think they are as trapped by the technology as they are dependent upon it. They want it to be different, but are terrified of its being different.

Doesn't really matter the age, "different" is usually scary to most people.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Interesting, I was just reading (or watching, can't remember) something on how the last "globalization" brought us to the 1st World War and subsequent wars and if this current "globalization" might do the same. Their hypothesis is that it would. Hmmm, wish I remembered where I saw that. Interesting.

World War 1 was a result, to the greatest part, of ancient fudal hatred among countries. German's were aggressive, at war or conflict with France and Poland among others. Gemany, England, France, Spain, Dutch, all had fingers (arms and legs) into the "new world' , Africa,
and Asia---and were not nice conquerers--- hard for me to say Globalization. As for the U.S. gettting in the WW1, it was pure stupidity.
The war didn't REALLY need US personnel on the ground--they needed our armorment. We lost nearly 100,000 in abt 5 months of actual combat. WW1 wasted human life--