I Never Went to Woodstock

I had an interesting conversation this morning with my "Millennial" daughter, Ashley. She attends Northern Michigan University in Marquette. She told me that her professors give students a ten minute break for each hour of class. She explained this is because her generation has short attention spans and can't sit still for more than an hour.

I told Ashley that we are studying the millennials in my class. She said that was funny because she was studying about the baby boomers in her Marketing class. "You guys are going to be the death of us, mom." She is probably right.

Our histories define us and give us a commonality. Sort of. I was annoyed to read recently that my generation ( I was born in 1949) was defined by Woodstock. Excuse me? JFK, Vietnam, Civil Rights, the Cold War and some very overcrowded classrooms explained a whole lot more. Every kid in my class had a father who had fought in World War 11.

I don't believe I will ever forget the fear of those days in 1962 when the United States and Russia went nose to nose in Cuban waters. We were facing our worst childhood fear - nuclear war. The drill was this: hide under your desk with your head tucked between your legs. I finally figured out the rationale of that one. We were in the perfect position to kiss our ass good-by.

The house I live in now was built in 1964. Its description: three bedrooms, 1 and a half baths, and a bomb shelter. Yes, I have my own bomb shelter. It is a spooky place under the garage and totally encased in cement. If Iran ever sends over the big one you are welcome to use it. I won't be there. I will be hiding under my desk.

I read over these four articles and I really wonder about some of these academics. Do they have too much time on their hands?

Have the Millennials changed the face of the earth so much? Are we all so different? Each of us has the challenge of new technology. We learn something new that in a few years may be old. The older we are the more of a challenge it is to keep up. It is the struggle that so many older people face who take buy-outs from their jobs and then have to re-train to learn a new skill. They are too young to retire but their old skills are outdated.

My grandmother grew up on a farm with no indoor plumbing, no electricity or phone, a woodstove, a one room school, and parents who plowed behind a horse. In 1927 Charles Lindbergh flew over her house on the eastside of Detroit tipping the wing of the Spirit of St. Louis over his own mother's neighborhood. Exciting stuff for a young girl from the country. Life changing in dramatic ways.

I bring this up because sometimes we don't look at life with a broad enough scope. The Millennials are not the first generation to differ so radically from a previous one. Their parents are not the first to look with askance at their children and wonder where they went.

How does all this affect our classrooms? I work in the library at my middle school and I know one thing for sure. Kids today do not want to do research in a book. They want the internet. I don't bother buying much non-fiction for this reason. I don't buy encylopedias. They are outdated.

The Millennials that I know seem to be hard working people. Almost all of my two daughters friends work full time jobs and go to college. They want marriage and children. They seem to be devoted to families. They are comfortable with technology in a way that I will never be. They are exposed to a diversified world that I never was. These are good things.

I teach in an urban school and I don't think my students have access to the technology that the students in "Millennials Rising" have. I am not so sure that their futures are quite so rosy. I sensed these were upper-middle class people they represented.

I never went to Woodstock. I get bored by my peers who still smoke pot, listen to endless oldies, and cruise Gratiot in their 57 Chevys. It isn't good to get stuck in the past.

Next year I will be turning 60. I have a few things on my Bucket List.

Reflection - Blogs in Education

The concept of using blogging to extend the classroom is an interesting one. Sharing writing, ideas, and criticisms outside of the classroom walls with possible immediate feedback is exciting.
I teach in the Detroit Public Schools and I know we are often our own worst enemies. The Media Center where I teach has 35 fairly new computers. Truthfully, teachers do not use them very often. I think the problem is an uneducated workforce. I am 59 years old and agewise I represent a large group of teachers. Many will be retiring within the next ten years. They simply resist learning anything new. Our principal refuses to send out paper announcements to staff. They are asked to check email daily but many don't. They haven't learned to email or use the internet efficiently. Educators who refuse to learn those simple things will not use something like blogging. I am not sure how to overcome "teacher resistance".
As I read over these three articles, I wondered how many teach in urban schools. Many of the schools in Detroit are 100 years old. The last one I taught at was built in 1925. It was beautiful but "unwired". My present school is new and each classroom has computers. They frequently break or are stolen. There is no money for repairs. Suburban schools make the assumption that students have computers at home. Detroit teachers assume the opposite.
My students are intelligent and bright. Unfortunately they are excluded from much technology that would make their learning more interesting and richer.
My grandparents had 68 grandchildren and we have a family website called Cousins Count. It is an active site that in the ten months since it was formed has had 9000 hits. Recently my 90 year old aunt died and the news was posted on Cousins Count informing family all over the country and beyond. Arrangements were announced the same way. Even my 86 year old mother blogs on Cousins Count. I love the "togetherness" that a blog can bring to a widespread family.
I am enjoying this class and its challenges. It is very different from anything I have ever done in school. I think that with proper training that a "willing" staff could effectively use blogging in the classroom.

Marge's profile

My name is Marjorie Mann ( Marge) and I teach at Brenda Scott Middle School at 7 Mile and Hoover. I have been teaching for the Detroit Public Schools for 16 years.
Last year my principal put me in the Media Center full time. She did this because I love books.
My problem is the Media Center has 35 computers that make me feel woefully inadequate. That is why I chose this class.
I also teach one Reading class to 7th graders. Before the Media Center assignment I taught Reading/Writing full time.
This year I applied to Oprah.com to become an O'Ambassador club at my school. This is part of Oprah's Angel Network and is a student fundraiser. Right now we are fundraising for a school in E. Africa. This club involves a lot of computer work.
I did not grow up with computers so this is a challenge for me and my aging brain.
The biggest reason that I chose this class is to help my students who come into the Media Center with questions that I can't answer. Since I am the teacher I like to stay at least one step ahead of them.