As a proud member of Gen X, I think we turned out just fine. It's Gen Y we have to worry about...

t /you kids get offa my lawn

As a proud member of Gen X, I think we turned out just fine.

That's what you think.

Signed,

Member of Generation ? since 1966.

It's Gen Y we have to worry about...

You're not wrong there, though.

One thing that makes me laugh and laugh about today's college students is how much time they spend on the cell phone with their mothers. Like, on the campus bus, half the kids are talking to mom. I went to college to get AWAY from my mother!

But wrt entitlement, professors see a LOT more grade-grubbing now than they used to. Students seem to think grades are negotiable. Also, they steal the public staplers from the library. This may be original sin and not generational, though.

It's the goddamned tweens with their Bratz dolls and thong underwear, is what. ::shakes cane::

Anyway. I have another half-hour I have to be at work, so of course I don't want to work anymore, but I think I'm stuck here waiting on a couple of things from an out-based coworker, so I can print them out and hand them to the Big Boss to sign. Eh. I hope she's quick.

Well, in general there is a lot more of:
--asking for extensions
--asking to be excused from class for various personal activities
--asking for changes to assignments/exams to be more in line with what the student feels like doing
--asking for a better grade just because the student really "needs" a better grade for scholarship, sports, parents, or whatever.

I had a student recently who never did reading, never spoke in class, failed the mid-term, got poor grades on his written assignments, and then emailed me the last week of class to say he was worried about his grade and what could I do about it.

Member of Generation ? since 1966.

Frank, born in 1966 puts you in Gen X.

I had a student recently who never did reading, never spoke in class, failed the mid-term, got poor grades on his written assignments, and then emailed me the last week of class to say he was worried about his grade and what could I do about it.

You could tell him, "What can I do about it? I'll send you an email that says, 'Do the work. Study for the midterm.' Then you can forward the email via an email time machine to yourself at the beginning of the semester."

My MiL turned into a helicopter parent between DH, his sister and his baby brother. SiL is 25 and BiL is 18. She did thing for them that she NEVER would have done with DH--including arguing with teachers over grades, pushing for extra credit and creating that feeling of entitlement with the younger kids.

DH just shakes his head. He can't believe some of the things she's done for them. It shows in their achievement levels.

I think most of the teachers on the board have posted about this kind of thing and, from what I hear, a lot of it comes from the parents. I think at least some of it comes from the stakes, either real or perceived, being high - as in, get into the right college to be able to get a good job afterwards.

Of course, I saw some of the same thing in my job more than 20 years ago - kids straight out of college with a liberal arts degree expecting to be hired into an upper level professional job at a fairly high salary.

I wondered when Gen X started (I'm 1970).