<p>Sperry topsiders are still in! (Or in again) Hey, my 17 yo D has Uggs and a Northface jacket. She wears Converse all-stars, is that bad too? They were in when I was her age also. What should she wear?</p>
<p>My kids were raised to respect education and I am not worried about them. I paid my way through engineering school in the 80’s and there were plenty of kids then whose parents were paying, and some of them goofed off. My last D is looking at LACs with small discussion based classes so I doubt she will not be paying attention.</p>
<p>I disagree with TonyK that OP should be a leader. His opinions of disgust with his fellow students are not good leadership qualities.</p>
<p>My children are fine. But I went to Iowa State myself and hated it and none of my children will EVER go there!</p>
<p>BTW, try to remember, ISU accepts just about everyone willing to pay the bill (or sign for the excessive loans they give out). Then they weed out kids. They don’t care about who can be successful, they care about their bottom dollar. And a lot of kids will flunk out. Look how many graduate each year versus how many people are in the freshman class. The stats are awful. Their stats also do not match up with the supposed drop out rate listed on the college board site. So don’t even bother to tell me what that place says.</p>
<p>OP-- have you tried to actually talk to some of these kids? You’re making an awful lot of generalizations simply by looking at people, and one of the first things my parents taught me is to never judge a book by its cover.</p>
<p>What has surprised me about school, again and again, is that first appearances and second-hand knowledge is rarely correct. Yes, there are kids out there who are just as shallow as they seem-- there are also ones are ‘materialistic and conformist’ and are some of the nicest people in class I know, with a nice word and a helping hand.</p>
<p>Getting through your second degree thinking that you’re better than all of the other students isn’t going to help you, either. If you have such a wealth of RL experience, use it to help your peers-- because that’s what they are. They are your peers, and you are a student, just like them.</p>
<p>As for studying techniques, this depends on the individual. </p>
<p>For some like myself, I need near quiet like the public/college libraries before the coming of cellphones and seeming trend of turning libraries into social gathering places where people yak on their cellphones and to each other at volumes one expects on public streets. While I did group studying sessions on occasion, I found it much more productive & efficient to study alone or with study buddies who agreed to study silently for the duration of the agreed upon study session until its conclusion when we’d head off for dinner or a midnight late meal/snack to eat and hang out. </p>
<p>For others like a dorm hallmate, he needed to blast music in his room while studying and cannot stand quiet. Unfortunately, it became an issue in exam environments where blasting music wasn’t exactly encouraged. If someone studies better with laptop on and music through earphones, I’m not going to care so long as he/she’s not disturbing me in the library/study space by blasting the music too loudly or making tapping noises with the beat.</p>
<p>I’m 1500 miles away from my student, so I cannot say what she’s like at school. (I’m surprised that so many parents can!) I really don’t know her daily life, except what she chooses to share with me, nor do I want to. I think I can safely say that sometimes she’s serious and sensitive, and sometimes she’s silly and shallow; that sometimes she displays remarkable maturity and purpose, and sometimes she’s unfocused and impulsive. In other words, like most college students, her prefrontal cortex isn’t fully developed. </p>
<p>What I do know is that in 3-1/2 years, she’s kept her grades in the 3.8 region, she’s risen to the top of her beloved EC, she has a group of friends who manage to be fun as well as serious about their schooling, and she hasn’t been disciplined to the extent that it’s come to my attention. So if it’s results that ultimately matter, I’d say that’s a success. </p>
<p>And if she occasionally is distracted when someone is talking for her benefit – don’t we adults sometimes do that too? :)</p>
<p>What exactly do you expect from a very non-selective university? There are going to be some hard working and accomplished kids there, but the majority are not going to be super scholars, they will be average. Why would you post complaints here about “our” kids? Most of the people here on cc have very accomplished children.</p>
<p>These are not the drones you’re looking for.</p>
<p>Op,
“I absolutely blame the parents”
Well, I blame the media and electronics. :)</p>
<p>Additionally many adults are addicted to their smartphones. I see adults (in their 50s) and kids reading, watching, and typing away during breaks at work, and during work.</p>
<p>Lastly, “kids are indulgent and our culture is going to hell in a handbasket” fear is as lamented with every generation. Welcome to the club! We parents just lamented about it 20 years ago, so now we are all just used to it.</p>
<p>OP, don’t waste your time thinking about what others are doing. I’m a college student too, and my life isn’t pretty either. I’m sure you wouldn’t want mine, and I’m sure I wouldn’t want yours. You’ve been through a lot… well, so have plenty of other people. Those you complain about are the visible minority. I don’t know your college, but I’m sure most people there don’t have it easy.</p>
<p>When I was in high school, a classmate committed suicide. The kid who sat next to me in class, one day he didn’t show up. Jumped in front of a train. That set off a suicide cluster at my school - can’t remember how many. I lost count at 5. But he seemed to be the happiest, smartest kid - everyone liked him a lot. He was awarded posthumously in the senior yearbook for “best smile.” We had no idea of the ugliness that was really going on behind that smile.</p>
<p>I’m just saying, a lot of people have it rough, and they don’t show it. They post pictures of kittens on Facebook, and that doesn’t mean that their heads are filled with kittens. Maybe they needed it to brighten their days. College students know where we’re going in life… or not. We’ve all been bombarded with the career question, or we wouldn’t be in college to begin with. They’re not necessarily spending all their time goofing off as you might think. And those who really are goofing off, don’t worry about them. Life will catch up in a few years. Your post comes off as condescending and self-righteous, that you’re oh-so-mature. Good on you that you’re serious about your future plans. (No, really!) Good on you that you’ve had a lot of experiences that gave you maturity. Good on you that you decided you might need a second degree. But don’t assume by this that you’re smarter than they are. Let life decide.</p>
<p>I agree that browsing Facebook and playing games in class are disrespectful. But that doesn’t matter. When their exam results come back, they will know.</p>
<p>Every day in just about every public moment (University class, grocery store, coffee, gas station) people are hooked up just about anywhere but where they are mentally. It does not make them spoiled or anything but common and what is happening now. Loved who ever said we drooled in class because we did and no doubt drove the Prof’s nuts.</p>
<p>ALSO, one semester I skipped a ton of classes. Still graduated and still got a grad degree and had a career. And paid every single dime of my way and worked 2-3 jobs at a time.</p>
<p>So I do understand ( my D has complained about students in her post bac classes shopping on-line) (she, herself, has honers in med school now) but I know I was a drooler and would have been an internet browser if in school now. Why? because I just do not learn by listening, but I learn very well visually.</p>
<p>This is a whole field unto itself. And I will bet this newest genreation will have better learning skills visually… but bet they are not, for the majority, going to sit and listen.</p>
<p>High school teacher here, noting that this is true and getting worse by the minute at the high school level. My district decided two years ago to lift our ban on having cell phones in class; IMHO, worse thing we could have done to our kids. Using phones constantly and conspicuously has become a god-given right. How many times should I have to reprimand a student for using a phone instead of listening or working? Take the phone away? Not without a major debate! (Of course, it’s not OUR kids doing this, but everybody is losing instructional time, and it adds up.)</p>
<p>And then there’s the drama cell phones add to every day. Comments that used to be heard by a few peers are now instantly sent and resent alll over the school in seconds or posted on the constantly accessible Facebook, so reducing classmates to tears has never been easier. Facebook battle, anyone?</p>
<p>And, oh yes, teachers are not without blame; lots of them are “using” too. Maybe you’re all right and this is the same as any other generation’s distraction, but from my perspective, there is a sea change going on, and addiction is the word.</p>
<p>There’s no question that the phone thing is a problem. I am a adolescent medicine provider and when I walk in the exam room kids are usually texting. I sit down and they don’t put their phones away. They continue to text. I just take the phone and nicely put it out of their reach (I know the kids well, they aren’t strangers to me). If I don’t physically remove the phone from their grasp they won’t make eye contact and even when they make an effort to pay attention to the conversation their phone will buzz and distract them.</p>
<p>My children have very basic phones. Not smart phones. They have never been interested in them and that’s a relief to me.</p>
<p>One one thread we lament how overworked, over-scheduled and freakishly accomplished kids are these days and the next we talk about how rude, entitled, conformist and lazy they are!</p>
<p>I understand the OPs concerns, however bluntly stated, and it’s a broad generalization based on a tiny sub-set of kids.</p>
<p>Just like generations past, kids act like kids. Adults forget what it’s like to be a kid and how silly they were so they huff and puff. Kids grow up → the cycle continues.</p>
<p>I think, when/if, the OP has kids s/he will understand a bit better and have a more tolerant view.</p>
<p>It will all work out. Every generation has their thing (yes, you pot-smoking, hippie, tune-out Baby Boomers!) and they turn out okay.</p>
<p>“We are probably the most confused, medicated, depressed, and suicidal generation to live. Our selfishness is partly to blame. We hide behind a computer, an iPod, and a cellphone. We are utterly devoid of real human connection and we wonder why kids lose it and shoot up schools. More global competition for jobs leaves many my age struggling to keep up on this road of life. It has always been true that generations determine the future. I truly wonder what type of future this generation will create”</p>
<p>Great quote by a very smart young person- this is exactly what I am referring to and I will continue to blame the parents- This is the first generation in the history of this country that will be worse off than their parents- 50% of college kids graduating today will be either unemployed or underemployed- “Not my kid!”- Ok, Keep living in denial!</p>
<p>When I first took Chemistry for Engineers- many of the kids in our class had taken AP Chemistry in high school- they had always been told by their parents how smart and special they were, etc</p>
<p>When they get that first 55 on an exam (average for our class) on their first exam, they start to realize that maybe they are not so special and that they are going to work their asses off just to get a C. </p>
<p>I am amazed by how many bright and capable kids simply stop going to lecture and recitation once they realize that things are not going their way- this is exactly what I mean by kids who are unable to deal with reality.</p>
<p>Methinks the OP is still carrying some hostility about having to fund his own education. I also find it interesting the OP is chiding students for dropping out of engineering when he is taking a second pass at an UG degree. Maybe if he had decided to drop that major it would have saved time and money in the long run.</p>
<p>I blame us, too, bschoolwiz. That’s not sarcasm, by the way. I see what you see in my students, both those with academic need and those with Ivy-level stats. Don’t buy the absolutely ridiculous argument that you see what you see because your school isn’t selective enough. Tried to fight the trend, but parents, like their children, are influenced by the current culture (go to a bookstore and look at the parenting section if you want to see the current parenting culture; dig around in Eric and see how the cult of self-esteem has affected education). </p>
<p>The pendulum will swing, however. Things will moderate, and then eventually move back the other way.</p>
<p>LOL, God no. My little darling is so far from perfect…but wait…so am I. As were my peers in one way or another, as the older generation at that time was very quick to point out. ;)</p>
<p>Solo studier here too. The only time I found group study to be helpful was right before a test, when I had solidified my understanding of the material already and a member of the group brought up a point I had missed or forgotten to make a mental note of.</p>
<p>It seems like the OP is having issues with being in school with another generation.
Smart phones and social media is no doubt a distraction for so many…students and adults.
If this generation will indeed " be worse off " than the previous ones and be unable to get jobs, it’s hardly because you happen to be in classes with low achievers. Take a look around…many of us are parents of excellent, high achieving , hard working students that have had ( or will have ) trouble finding employment because of the current state of our economy.
I am sure it is hard to be amongst younger people that you find immature and nonchalant about their education , but this is not representative of ALL college students at all…even the ones with smart phones and iPads ;)</p>