I’ve been in education long enough to recognize this as a familiar faculty lament. Over the years, I’ve heard numerous concerns:
- Kids these days can’t compute a square root.
- Kids these days can’t graph (or factor) a third-degree polynomial.
- Kids these days can’t use an abacus.
You see the pattern. It seems that the longer we teach, the more likely we are to encounter this sentiment.
While my tongue-in-cheek examples above are from mathematics, in my role as a center director, I hear this age-old complaint across various disciplines. Often, at the top of the list is reading—kids these days can’t read. As someone who has developed strong skills as a close reader, remember, dear terminal degree holder, you are an exception. No doubt, during your student days, your professors were also bemoaning “kids these days,” albeit directed at your less accomplished, shall we say, more average peers.
So, what do we do about “kids these days”? If retirement isn’t on the horizon, we have two choices: continue lamenting or try to meet our students where they are. In her article, “Centering Student Literacy: Facing Reading Challenges Head-On,” Stephanie Alexander reimagines literacy instruction by transforming reading into a dynamic, metacognitive conversation. This approach has led to increased engagement and willingness among her students to participate in class discussions. By focusing on students’ thoughts about their reading processes, Alexander has observed that even the most hesitant readers become active contributors in the classroom, thereby enhancing their overall learning experience.
Give it a try—you may be surprised by the kids these days!