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The Blogs...
Here's what the kids tell me when they open up...
“I got this.” The fabled battle cry of this generation of students. The students who feel that no matter what, it’s all under control. Situation normal. Nothing to see here. Move along…
And that may be true, right up until their world comes crashing down around them because they’ve run out of runway and there is nowhere to go but straight into the ground. In my twenty-two years as an educator at the university level, I have never been witness to such an epic collapse of so many students as I have seen this past year. And by collapse, I mean both academically and emotionally.
These kids came into my classroom so full of confidence and swagger that they were positive that nothing could stand in their way regardless of how little effort so many of them were willing to put into their education.
I would start my lecture and less than 10% of the class would pull out a notebook and begin to take notes. When I asked them about note taking, their reply was, not coincidently, “I got this.” They would remember everything I said over the next 3 ½ months and be able to express it during the exam periods. Surprise, surprise, surprise that when exam 2 came around, 50% of the students flat out failed and only 2 out of my 93 students earned an A – the bulk were D’s and C’s and a smattering of B’s.
When I pushed further to understand what was going on, the overwhelming response from the students was, “I tried really hard.” I certainly believe that they think that they tried really hard, but the truth is, this is also the same generation of kids that were brought up to believe that everyone is a winner, that everyone is special, and that all you need to do is TRY and you will get your participation trophy and life will be great. Reality is, you can try really hard, but you need to actually accomplish something for the “trying” to matter. You need to take notes, you need to ask questions, you need to go to office hours, you need to be there in both body and mind if you are really trying.
Remind your students that it is important to try your best, but it is even more important to follow through on what they start and to actually do your best.
They say “I got this” but inside they are crumbling. Those were the exact words spoken to me by my seniors this past spring semester. These were students in the Entrepreneurial program 5 weeks before graduation. They were in a panic because many still did not have jobs and they were terrified of what lay before them when they graduated and joined “the real world.”
They had been told early in life that they had to go to college, have a career all figured out, a plan when they graduated and their entire life ready for liftoff and the countdown clock was getting very close to zero.
Some of these kids had a plan to start their own businesses and they were, for the most part, fairly calm about the massive life transition that lay ahead. However, many of them were scrambling in every direction at once and some had just given up and decided to pray to the job gods that good fortune would befall them over the summer.
They had been told that all they had to do was go to college and check off that box, and then life would unfold before them and lead to success. In reality, they did not have a plan, didn’t ask the right questions and just assumed that it would all work out in the end. This is not how life works for the vast majority of us. Getting the job you want in a career field that you are passionate about requires lots of planning, talking, meetings, research and some deep introspective work. Yes, some people are very well connected and things can just fall into place – and if that’s the path you are hoping for, I wish you the best of luck.
It is very clear to me in my dealings with students over nearly 20 years that many kids come to college with hopes and prayers and very little in the realm of planning. A wise woman once told me “Plan the flight, Fly the plan.” You only get so many orbits around the Sun so it’s best to get the most out of those trips by planning your future and living life intentionally rather than just hoping for the best tomorrow.
This is what my course is all about. Rather than just fumble towards the finish line, let’s make a plan based on the things that matter most to you and work towards success together.