Beavers, Michelle: Beloit List

Today’s new and hot toy might be old and boring in a month. A new, more advanced toy probably replaced it.  Throughout time, generations have seen many changes in social and technological advances. To the current generation a cell phone is useless if it does not come with an Internet connection and texting. People born before the 1980s have had to learn how to text and never imagined that cell phones with Internet connections might ever exist. While current generations are born into a more technologically advanced world, older generations struggle to keep up. The differences, similarities, and opinions of the two generations, current and born before the 1980s, are expressed in The Chronicle of Higher Education: “The 2011 Mind-set of Faculty (Born Before 1980)” and “The Beloit College Mind –Set List Welcomes the ‘Internet Class.’” 

             

The Chronicle of Higher Education had readers who agreed and disagreed with the articles written. In “The Beloit College Mind –Set List Welcomes the ‘Internet Class’” Wendy Kloiber and John Tomlinson disagreed with item number four on the list: “The only significant labor disputes in their lifetimes have been in major-league sports.” John says the statement is false and Wendy expressed frustration in the comment about the statement. However, Teria Rogers and drjeff are encouraging the list by adding on their statements that fit right in.  Teria states, “76. (Adding onto 75.) Newspapers, who reads those???” and drjeff writes, “76. They told their parents ‘all my friends have cell phones’ when they were 5.” In “The 2011 Mind-set of Faculty (Born Before 1980),” many readers commented on how they perceived Mr. Krajewski, the author, as being bitter, and took offense to statements in the article. Very few saw humor or agreed with what Mr. Krajewski was writing.

             

The Chronicle of Higher Education articles focused on two different points of view. “The 2011 Mind-set of Faculty (Born Before 1980)” focused on the teacher and professor aspect. This article expresses how professors and teachers are now expected to do more while getting the same or less pay than years before. Therefore, some need to take up a part-time job to pay the bills. They are also expected to keep up with new technological advances that are becoming more and more popular, such as Power-Point and online classes. “The Beloit College Mind –Set List Welcomes the ‘Internet Class’” focuses on the student’s perspective. The current student generation has always had multiple channels on TV and the Internet on cell phones. During their lifetimes, having girls as altar servers and seeing a person in an electric car driving down the street is an everyday occurrence. A teacher who does not keep up with the technological advances of the newer generation is considered old and out of date. Technological and social advances that have taken place over the years have separated these two generations. The Chronicle of Higher Education articles point out these differences and try to help the two generations have a better understanding of each other.

             

The Chronicle of Higher Education: “The 2011 Mind-set of Faculty (Born Before 1980)” and “The Beloit College Mind –Set List Welcomes the ‘Internet Class’” express similarities and differences in the current generation and the generation born before the 1980s. Technological and social advances separate the two generations from each other. These articles are meant to help close the gap that separates the generations.  Each article focuses on only one generation, expressing that generation’s point of view. Both articles have readers who agree and disagree with certain statements. Opinions will always differ between generations due to the difference of lifestyles. Some people have chosen to keep up with technology and some have not. After all, the world is constantly changing, so what is new today, just might be old tomorrow.