This blog isn’t for the faint hearted, but that’s exactly why I’m writing it.
Many of you may have heard of the "coddled generation" and the “anxious generation”. The “coddled generation” theory suggests that younger generations, particularly Gen Z, have been overprotected from challenges by well-meaning parents, educators, and society. This has led to emotional fragility, which manifests as anxiety, depression, and an inability to deal with adversity. Coddled Gen Zers have less resilience and critical thinking and, unfortunately, more apt to excessive sensitivity on any and all issues. Can someone say “trigger warning”?
The “anxious generation” (again Gen Z) is the result of the pervasive use of technology. The biggest culprit is the smartphone and access to social media. This addictive behavior amplifies feelings of isolation and inadequacy. Again, more anxiety, depression, and emotional instability.
Now don’t get me wrong, mental health issues should not be ignored and if serious, should be taken seriously. However, as a professor I have seen how the over-protection of young people from the REAL world, combined with under-protecting them from the often UNREAL universe on social media has wreaked havoc on EVERYONE!
There are so many harmful outcomes of coddling and technology that I can talk about here, but I don’t want to write a dissertation. So, instead, I’ll just go over a few that I’ve observed at universities. (Please note I am not claiming that ALL students/young people are like this)
Lack of toughness and grit. Students give up way too easily when there’s any challenge or discomfort. They don’t want to stick it out to the end and finish.
Low attention span. Goldfish have a 9 second attention span, much longer than some students I’ve had (discounting those who are medically diagnosed with ADHD).
Immaturity. Overprotection results in lack of real-life experiences both good and bad. That almost always stunts the maturation process.
Lack of accountability. This is the BIG ONE and I will now share my own experience of how this point impacted me directly as a professor.
At the end of each semester, students are asked to fill out a course evaluation, which consists of rating different aspects of the course as well as providing any feedback in written form. The evaluations are anonymous. Cue…ominous music.
Well, one semester I had a somewhat problematic class. There were a few students who had a lot of attitude, were disruptive and disrespectful. I did what I could to grin and bear it for 15 weeks. I had a feeling some of the evaluations from that particular class would be “interesting”, but nothing prepared me for what one student accused me of. And remember, it’s anonymous so this student knew he/she/they could hide behind the cloak of anonymity, much like what happens online, without any accountability or consequence.
To make a long story short, here is an email I sent to the entire class a few months after I made a serious decision to leave my role at this particular university. The lesson here is…WORDS MATTER and there are CONSEQUENCES so be responsible, mature and truthful.
(Note, I deleted the name of the school in this email)
Hello,
It's Prof May. I hope you all are doing well. For those of you who are returning to —--- to continue your education, good luck in the coming year. For those of you who have graduated, I hope life in the real world is treating you well thus far.
I'm writing to all of you from one of my personal accounts because I am no longer at —---. I decided not to return after just one year because of a very specific reason, which is why I'm writing to all of you.
As you all know, at the end of each semester you are asked to submit a course evaluation, which you did for —----. I knew this particular section would have a variety of comments about the course given the fact that it was a particularly interesting combination of students, topics and classroom setting (the lab was not conducive to an open and warm environment). I am fully aware that sometimes evaluation comments can be critical and borderline personal. That's the nature of anonymous evaluations.
But when I read one comment written by one of you that claimed I had made "racial and prejudicial comments targeted at students in class" without providing any specific examples, proof or substantiation of any kind, I was beyond shocked and extremely hurt. I am a child of immigrants and a woman of color who has championed my entire life for equality and justice to the point where I have put my own safety on the line to stand up to discrimination of any kind, but particularly racial injustice. As a journalist, I have fought to tell stories of the marginalized, the neglected, the invisibilized. So you can imagine how I felt when I read this comment. It was a painful gut punch. A stab to the heart. An offense that rattled my soul.
I struggled with this from the day I received the evaluation in early January of this year. Day after day I was angst-ridden wondering why someone would make such an incendiary claim that was false. But here's what I realized. This is our world now...a world where people can try and create discourse, conflict and even pain without penalty because of the protection of anonymity and the absence of accountability. We talked about the ills of social media and smartphones in class many times...where people can hide behind their screens and spew out anything they want. Well, what happened to me is a real-life example that WORDS MATTER and they can have detrimental results. You may not realize, the course evaluations stay in a professor's file and could negatively impact any future employment.
But that's not what I cared about most. As a professor of journalism, I had to ask myself, "Can I continue to teach openly, honestly and without fear of reprisal after this incident? Journalism is about truth, challenging the norm, fighting for injustice, which means pushing outside of comfort zones. But can I teach that fearlessly if I have to worry about another student making a false claim because of whatever reason they might have?"
The answer was NO. I needed to stay true to what I believe and what it means to be a dedicated journalist and educator. For that reason, I decided to resign from my position. —-- deans and other faculty were very disappointed that they were losing me as a colleague and many of my students in my other courses were shattered when they heard the news that I wasn't coming back. That truly breaks my heart.
So, as all of you move through the rest of your time at —---- and into the world, I hope what happened to me resonates somehow. I've learned some very valuable lessons myself so I hope you will too.
Let me leave you with this. There will be many times when you're in uncomfortable situations, dealing with personalities that conflict with yours, and you'll be challenged in unexpected ways. These are the times when your character will either grow for the better or be poisoned by negativity. We live in a fractured, divisive, chaotic world, but there is also great beauty, joy and generosity as well. Let's all do what we can to embrace the positive aspects of life so we can do some good in the world. You all have your whole lives ahead of you. Use your precious time to be better people. No...be GREAT people!
Good luck to you all.
Prof May
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