Who We Were, Who We Are, and Who We Teach

My investigations into generations have led to new thoughts about the role and importance of such knowledge as it relates to teaching. It is not only likely but inevitable that on any given day a Baby Boomer Generation teacher will be working with or speaking to a Gen X teacher or parent about a Gen Y student. Questions arise about values, abilities, strengths, and styles of communication, as do other questions about which texts or assignments are best suited to a given group.

Of course none of this is set in stone, but it offers a useful lens through which to consider such issues. I have other books still coming to give me still more to think about as these issues relate to African American and Latino students, so this is certainly a work in progress. It has certainly had me thinking, though, and so I assume if it helps me think about my teaching it will be of some use to you.

It is worth mentioning, in light of our ongoing discussions about copyright and ownership, that it took me three full days of reading, note-taking, thinking, and writing to create the two pages I am posting today. I'm sharing it here; some day, I will be offering it as part of a book which I hope you will find worth your time and money. My point? Support the authors and artists whose work you value and use. For example, I spent about sixty dollars in books to write these two pages. Just something to keep in mind next time you listen to that song, read that book, or pass along that article the reporter worked so hard to write so well.

There are two pages to this document, which you can download as a pdf by clicking on this link:

Download Burke_Generational Differences Table

Comments

[Lori Jordan]

What I find interesting in generational differences are those who are on the cusp of the generations. I was born at the tail end of the baby boom generation, but don't fit there. Nor do I fit the Gen X'ers. We're starting to see those on the tail end of the Gen Y group in our classes. What has your research uncovered about these groups?

[msstewart]

Thanks for sharing this, Jim. Interesting to me, especially as one straddling the Gen X/Y divide. I'd also love to see some representative movies added to your media list, since I think there are some which really "speak" for each generational group.

I also thought the last paragraph of your post was really interesting in light of this Gladwell book review in the New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/06/090706crbo_books_gladwell