From chalkboards to screens: different generations in school

A student working on his computer (Rheya Bushan/The Puma Prensa)

Written By: Rheya Bushan, staff writter

With Generation Beta being born just this year, many Gen Z feel like they are losing control, and Millennials feel light years older than they are. However, most wonder how they’ll be different from past generations. Will they have the same habits, strengths, or weaknesses? The teachers and students at Maria Carrillo High School have much to say about this matter and how these different generations have made their mark on the school.

Generational differences refer to the cultural, technological, and social changes that have influenced each generation as it has passed.

So, starting from the beginning, the first widely named generation are the Baby Boomers. This is the generation that constantly feels the need to keep up the suspense while texting using……..ellipses. This generation was born between 1946 and 1964 and was dubbed this name because birth rates sharply increased after World War II.

Back when Baby Boomers were students, they tended to like a conventional classroom setting, with a clear hierarchy and a focus on lectures and textbooks. They are often self-directed and value face-to-face interactions.

Next, the generation that’s constantly being forgotten: Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980, makes up many of today’s middle-aged adults. Adapting to be more self-reliant, they value a mix of traditional and non-traditional learning styles. They also value technology and its pivotal role in society but couldn’t use it much when they were younger, since new technologies such as smartphones and computers were only invented in their early 30s.

Skipping over the Y, the next generation was named the Millennials. They are often ridiculed for using slang words like “YOLO” and “adulting.” They were comfortable with technology and had it integrated into their learning experience while maintaining a very hands-on strategy.

Finally, Gen Z, who still don’t understand emails aren’t like messages, is the current trendsetter but is quickly fading out of the spotlight. Known as the “digital natives,” they’ve grown up in an even more technology-saturated world than Millennials. They value personalization and flexibility in their learning and appreciate a mix of online and in-person instruction.

Now, to the generation that seems to transcend us with their new interpretations of what’s cool and what’s not.

Generation Alpha.

Instead of simply wanting, they expect visual, aural, and kinesthetic methods to be used in classroom management. Their minds are also much more prone to disturbances around them, which many teachers now have to consider.

And now, starting this year, Generation Beta is being born and will soon enter classrooms, too. However, it’s impossible to tell how technology-dependent they’ll be.

Overall, younger generations may have different learning styles and preferences than older generations because they have had more experience and exposure to various teaching techniques. 

Many people believe that a core example is that younger generations are much more accustomed to digital and visual forms of learning than to using paper and a pencil. In contrast, older generations may prefer a more traditional, lecture-based approach.

However, Leanne West, a science teacher at MCHS, believes that more than the differences, the similarities between students now and when she was one are the same. She “sees the same pattern: students easily getting overwhelmed and stressed and needing support.” 

The one difference is that we now “have more tools available for supporting students on campus, and those tools are communicated pretty sufficiently now.”

Even though Gen Z and Gen Alpha are quite dependent on technology, West proves that sometimes, that can be used to the advantage of teachers. It makes it much easier for them to educate their students.

It's not only a difference in how they accomplish things in school, however, as the generations also differ in language and slang.

For Gen Z, the terms “ate” and “rizz” are often used, but when West was asked about them, she had no idea what they meant. However, she knew some slang of her own when she said, “I know the word lock-in. It means to focus on work.”

However, according to another teacher at MCHS, each generation has massive gaps between them and they are only getting wider. Our resident Zoology teacher, Gale Ligotti. She had a very different mindset than West, the latter being a Millennial while the first being Gen X. Ligotti has been at MCHS since its first year, and has seen drastic changes in students. One thing that she highlighted was that “back in the day, we were afraid of our teachers in some ways. Which I don’t know was great or not, but we respected them, however we felt on the inside. I don’t see that anymore.” It was quite the sad message she shared, and disheartening to understand that’s what many teachers think.

Despite this, Ligotti went on to emphasize a powerful positive about the upcoming generations.

“It seems like kids are learning things at such a young age now, but it’s great for them. When I was younger, my mom taught me how to write and read,” she reminisced, “but now, information is at your fingertips.”

Ligotti believes that it’s amazing how the things she learned when she was much older are being learned by us right now. But, even though we have so much information at our fingertips, she expresses regret at the fact that, “books are being banned left and right. Like, 1984 used to be a part of the curriculum. Now, people aren’t being allowed to read it at so many other schools. That’s crazy.”

In fact, many of the younger generations will not be able to experience the feel, smell, and wonder of real books because of Ebooks. Ligotti also recognized that they will never be able to experience the shift from, “A-tapes, to cassettes, to CDs, DVDs, and then finally to these new screens.”

“The rise and fall of Disney.”

“Cabbage patch dolls.”

“Skateboards.”

“Cargo pants at their finest.”

With today’s new slang and brain rot, not to mention the trends that have been resurfacing and created, Ligotti said it’s been, “wonderful to watch it all pass by.”

Each generation has its version of slang words, trends, and fads that come with great excitement and disappear without a fizz.

So, even though generations seem to have digital gaps between them and many other differences, each generation seems to hold some of the same things to heart. Family. School. Work. And just being happy.

So maybe these generations aren’t entirely as different as they seem.