Gen Z and the ills of too much technology - Independent Tribune

Three news stories recently addressed topics related to public education, although each one seemingly stood alone in its relevance to educating young people. Close consideration, however, revealed a common thread with a potentially profound impact on the culture within schools.

The first story appeared on NBC’s Today Show and dealt with young people born in 1996 or later, identified as Generation Z. This is a distinctly different subset of young people who were born after millennials, identified in the Today Show segment as those born from 1981 to 1995.

The Wall Street Journal was the source of the second item, a story on how the federal government—namely Betsy DeVos, Secretary of the Department of Education—has rescinded the Barack Obama era rules governing school discipline.

Another story, highlighted on LinkedIn but also from the Journal, dealt with the rate at which school teachers are leaving the profession.

 The Today Show story focused on Gen Z’s use of technology and its impact on young people. The information within the report, however, can be extended to human behavior in general and not just to the behavior of teenagers and those in their early 20s. Nonetheless, the connection between Gen Z and technology is especially relevant since that generation is the first to be exposed, from birth, to the internet, cell phones, tablets and social media.

Therein lies the problem—although you wouldn’t know it from the comments of the four young people profiled in the Today Show segment.

When asked what set Gen Z apart from other generations, one of the four quickly declared, “I think it’s internet engagement.” Another glibly chimed in with this: “We were born with it, so we don’t really know a world without it, really.”

The report mentioned digital fluency and the ability to multi-task as redeeming traits of Gen Z. Other young people appearing in the segment mentioned global connectedness and the ability to interact with “hundreds of people.” Political awareness and the dissemination of social causes were also part of the discussion.

These are all worthwhile traits, but the lack of focus and short attention spans that frame “internet engagement” and social media were also discussed. These traits, notably, mark Gen Z as shallow and too willing to follow the pack. This comes at the expense of true analysis and deep intellectual consideration that are associated with the higher order thinking skills that educators so often mention.

The herd mentality that marks Gen Z is why socialism has become the cause du jour for so many young people (although it doesn’t explain Bernie Sanders). A system with such an abysmal history as socialism quickly becomes accepted only by those who fail to fully consider that history.

The problems with instant gratification and short, often meaningless exchanges—all wrought in one way or another by various social media tools—is a potential addiction to technology.

This leads to the news that the Department of Education and the Justice Department have implemented new guidelines on school discipline, eliminating the short-sighted oversight developed by Obama in 2014. According to a Wall Street Journal editorial, the policy changes stemmed from a recommendation by the Federal Commission on School Safety, established after the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, last year. The commission is led by DeVos, who also leads the Department of Education.

Critics argued that the old guidelines handicapped school administrators when making decisions on student discipline, often making it difficult to report violent behavior.

Hopefully this will restore common sense to the process, returning discretion and accountability to school systems across the nation. The Obama guidelines factored race into the equation, fostering blanket accusations against school systems, with little or no regard for a case-by-case accounting of the facts that must be done by locals.

Returning control to local school systems is invariably a positive transaction, whether regarding curriculum, student discipline or spending discretion.

How is the story on Gen Z connected to the news of the federal government restoring the power of school administrators to make decisions? With an entire generation absorbing the negative traits that accompany decreased attention spans and the need for constant stimulation, problems with discipline naturally ensue. Talk to educators and you’ll likely hear anecdotal tales of the discipline problems found with today’s youth.

Which leads to the third story, also from the WSJ, via LinkedIn. This December article stated that public school teachers are leaving the profession at the highest rate since records began in 2001. The 83 per 10,000 who quit in the first 10 months of last year are actually below the 231 per 10,000 for workers overall, but well above the 48 per 10,000 public education workers who left in 2009, during the throes of a recession.

Many causes were cited, including increased opportunity, low pay, and overall frustration with funding for education.

Given the aforementioned problems with Gen Z and the relative uncertainty regarding discipline, we shouldn’t expect the numbers to improve.

The writer is a former journalist who teaches marketing at Hickory Ridge High School. He can be reached via lgcothren@aol.com. 

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