Phillips, Courtney: Beloit List

            The times are changing right along with the seasons. Telephones are becoming increasingly smaller, pen and paper is being used less and less, women are moving up on the ladder of power, and children are growing smarter daily.  Since the millennium, the differences in generations are becoming more prominent, especially in the field of education.

            

 Before 1980, colleges were relatively small, mostly consisting of a few thousand students and several hundred faculty members. Positions such as “Dean of Science and Technology” or “Dean of Liberal and Performing Arts” did not exist. Faculty had authority and governed themselves for the most part. Technology was nowhere near as advanced as it is today. Professors wrote on blackboards with chalk and students wrote their term papers by hand in ink. Projectors and Power-Points did not exist. Lessons were taught through lectures and students were forced to stay awake and pay attention in order to learn anything. Math problems were solved the “old-fashioned” way without a calculator. Google, Wikipedia, and SparkNotes could not help students do their homework. In a way, one could say college was more challenging than it is today. Moreover, women almost had no role at all in education. The first women’s college was not established until 1742. Being a woman and a teacher was unheard of, absurd. Even now, women are still fighting for their place among the men. However, many things have changed since 1980.

             

Present-day colleges and universities seem like mini countries. The smallest colleges may have no less than several thousand students and nearly a thousand faculty members. Large universities, such as Ivy League schools and state universities, have upwards of tens of thousands of students and several thousand faculty members. One class may contain 400 students or more. More women professors are stepping onto the scene as faculty, as well as in positions of power such as deans and presidents of universities. Student diversity has risen, too. People travel from many other countries to study in American colleges. Students bring their laptops, iPads, and smartphones to class (if they even go to an actual class as opposed to doing it online). Professors talk less and use a more “hands on” approach. Students seem to be getting lazier these days.

             

The relationship between faculty and students in the present requires effortful communication. As long as the student asks, most faculty members are more than willing to help. Of course this is not true for all colleges and universities, especially extremely large universities, but is true for most. Professors can be contacted through phone calls, e-mails, and other special school services. Most colleges even offer tutoring programs to help students keep their grades up. Students from before 1980, the current batch of professors, recall being on their own when it came to school work. Back then, professors taught in class and students were expected to take every detail in then and there. In fact, professors today are expected to not only teach several courses but also to provide help to students in need and to perform other duties (attend special meetings and occasions, keep records of their lessons, interact with parents of students, and many others), but they receive no extra pay or compensation for all of their extra hard work. The worst part of the whole situation is where as students pre-1980 would have taken full advantage of all the luxuries available to students today, current students take these luxuries for granted. Interestingly, only a small percentage of today’s students actually make use of the available resources offered to them. Professors work overtime and go out of their way to help a generation of students who are mostly unappreciative.

            

 Being a member of the proclaimed “Internet-Class,” I can say that I have first-hand knowledge of the carelessness of today’s students. Professors born pre-1980 constantly question our desire for a quality education. Perhaps, if the old ways of teaching were more incorporated into the new ways of teaching, a common ground could be reached and the passion for learning that our teachers and professors once had would be instilled in the “Internet-Class”.