5 Things
Yesterday, I led a class of Gen-Z and a few Millenial students through a workshop on generations. Their vulnerability struck me afterward as I was rushing out of the office. Those were not simply answers to fill-in-the-blank prompts. What started as an exercise turned into a therapy session, and sound bites from our discussion were nipping at my mind. I threw their workboards on the wall in our empty hallway and reflected on the state of things. As a hopeful educator, it was on me to listen. As a member of this professional community, I thought it could be helpful to share 5 interesting (albeit anecdotal) takeaways:
When it came to “Values,” the students had a hard time nailing down what was important to them. As was the significance of knowing oneself.
These students admit to feeling overwhelmed and they're over social media. They’re unimpressed by influencers and starting to feel angry about the false reality that’s been portrayed: be cute/funny online and be a millionaire overnight. That "this life" is available to anyone. It isn't. They recognize the toxicity of the internet but struggle to separate themselves from it. This conversation felt like an AA meeting or helping a girlfriend dump a guy whom she admits treats her poorly, but immediately backs up his behavior up with a list of half-truths.
These kids wanted to be challenged by their manager. When asked about the best way to work with them, they talked about wanting direction and also to be understood. They were tired of being coddled.
They know they’ve grown up with a phone in their hand. They know they have ADD and/or ADHD. They know they’re either all in or not at all. They know they’re overwhelmingly aware of all the bad things because of the access to information. And they don’t know what to do about it.
When asked to share about what “Education” means for Gen-Z, the response was “school shootings”. It caught me. A poster filled with thoughts, but in an instant they all fell aside. The room fell silent as I considered where to take us. No where. We acknowledged the pain and sadness, I opened it up for sharing, but we simply sat in each other's presence. We then took a moment of silence for our fellow students who lives were taken from them in a setting not unlike ours and waited until we felt like we were ready to move on, slowly, but committed.
#genz #leadership #students #futureofwork