Annually, the “Beloit College Mindset List” is released to illustrate the perspectives of first-year college students. The list contains witty and often humorous slogans or phrases that may make sense to the generation to which it is referring. This year’s list refers to the class of 2015. But, this list doesn’t only explain how these “newbies” feel about college. It also explores the differences and similarities, between the young generation and the older generations.
The first difference and the most obvious between “the class of 2015” and the “baby boomers” is technology. In this day and age, college students don’t carry their typewriter to class or dial their parents on a pay phone, and seldom do they use “snail mail” to communicate. These days, technology is much smarter, faster, smaller, and more portable. In the present, information can be obtained instantly, but older generations did not enjoy this luxury. Older generations can often be behind the times or completely puzzled when it comes to the use of new technology. The difference in technology is the first dissimilarity that can be observed between these two generations.
Another difference between older generations and today’s generation can also be traced back to the use of technology. Libraries on college campuses have become almost obsolete, due to the use of Internet resources, smart phones, and other devices intended to provide instant information. Instead of poring through card catalogs and encyclopedia after encyclopedia, students can instead insert a keyword into an online search engine and receive much quicker results. The use, or lack of use, of libraries in today’s academic society, is another difference observed between these two generations.
A final difference that can be observed through these distinctly different generations is teaching methods, which can also be traced back to the change in technology! Instructors have come to find that using online teaching methods such as Blackboard or The Learning House appeal more to students. Instructors also use social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to communicate with students and remind them of important upcoming events or assignments. This can be compared to older generations who, in order to communicate with the instructors, did not call, text, or write on “walls”, but simply stayed after class in order to receive additional help or have questions answered. Some schools, such as Southern Arkansas University, have even launched iPad projects, designed to help students “stay up with the times,” while also encouraging them to learn, explore and research on their own. The difference in teaching methods is a final dissimilarity observed between these two distinct generations.
Although there are not very many similarities between the current generation and older generations, one very distinct characteristic that both generations share is the fact that they will eventually be in “the same boat” in the future. A new generation with new technology, new teaching methods and new lingo will surpass them and leave them in the dust. Soon, they, too, will be considered a generation behind the times, struggling to keep up with the ever-changing ways of the present society. It is hard to believe things could get any better than they are now, but there will always be something newer, something faster, and something better that will make life easier in the future. The fact that both distinct groups will someday be in the same position in the future is one remarkable similarity that both groups share.
While the Beloit List pokes fun at older generations, it also helps students realize just how much they take for granted in today’s society. They are extremely fortunate to have such rapid technology and endless possibilities at their fingertips. The luxuries that they enjoy today are some that their great-grandparents, grandparents, and even parents never imagined to be possible. The Beloit List also helps them better understand that we too, someday, will be replaced by a faster, more hip and better-equipped generation of college-bound students.
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