beatBLOGGERS
Today’s Generation Is ‘Entitled’ to a Little Respect
Last year, my first grade daughter was assigned to research a topic related to Egypt, make something to illustrate her subject, and then give an oral report.
When I read the assignment,
I was filled with dread. First
grade? I certainly didn’t do “
research” and oral reports in the
first grade, and I was skeptical
that my shy daughter could pull
this off. But, as it turned out, she
fell in love with Egypt and pored
over the dozen or so library books we
checked out. She decided to research Egyptian gods and set out to make clay figurines, painted
them a brilliant gold, and adorned them with feathers and
fancy head dresses. When the day arrived, she carried her
delicate gods to school glued to a cardboard cake platter. I
took a deep breath as she began. Nervous at first but then
gaining confidence, she taught her classmates about the
significance of Bastet, Sekhmet, Isis, and Ra to the Egyptian people. I was blown away.
I bring this up because hardly a week goes by that I don’t
read or hear something derogatory about the “entitlement
generation.” You know, how kids today are lazy and expect
too much. They don’t put forth effort, they don’t play outside, and they spend too much time online. It must be true
because everyone is saying it, right?
Well, not everyone. I was heartened recently to read two
blog posts responding to an article in Britain’s Globe and
Mail titled “Inside the entitlement generation.”
In “Moving Forward While Romanticizing the Past?”
( http://tinyurl.com/4y8xvmp) on the Wejr Board blog,
Chris Wejr writes:
Are some people trying to get our kids to fit in a box that
no longer exists? I wonder how many of us look back at
“the way things were” and remember all the great things
but possibly forget some things … well … not worth re-
membering? Do we criticize the new way of doing things
because it is foreign to us and we fear the unknown?
Wejr admits that he played his share of video games, al-
though he omits this fact when romanticizing his own past:
Do I ever talk about the days of playing Blades of Steel
or Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out? Nope! According to my sto-
ries, my childhood consisted only of building forts in the
bushes, biking on the trails, and playing street hockey ...
Diana Fingal is the senior editor for L&L. She has been writing for and editing periodicals for more than 20 years.
