@ak2018 worst in what sense? Morally, ethically, academically, financially?
@ak2018 it’s an interesting question. Also one that gets asked repeatedly over the generations. If you look back through historical media reports, you will find a common reporting thread when referring to younger generations. They are pretty much always lazy, entitled, selfish, spoiled, etc. among other negative adjectives that may be applied specifically depending on the period in history. I distinctly remember being a young person hearing my generation disparaged in such a way. This gave me a not very good impression of the generation above me, who, not unsurprisingly, was disparaged in their youth as well.
And so it goes. Honestly I think it’s all about the challenge of cultural understanding between generations. Each generation essentially grows up with it’s own unique set of cultural commonalities. As technology has changed, we then raise our kids with a completely different set than we experienced and it seems they have it “easier” than we did. They are different too in the way they interact with each other and the world because of these changes. Some people see this difference and identify it as lazy, spoiled, or any number of other things. But it’s not. It’s just different from how we did things, and from how we have done things.
We all have things we can learn from each other, disparaging a generation younger or older than you doesn’t really accomplish much. Better to try to understand each other, imho. A harder task though.
Plus the reality is judging a generation of people is completely ridiculous. There are millions of people in each generation and they are not cardboard cut-outs, each has their own positive and negative qualities quite apart from the year they were born!
Bottom line: don’t sweat this. You will probably hear your generation disparaged for the next 10-15 years, then miraculously, a new generation will have grown-up enough to become the new punching bag on the block and you’ll get to decide whether you want to join in.
@labegg In any general sense really! All of the areas are looked over.
@1822mom I definitely agree with your input that generation after generation seem to have gone through this disparagement. I always kind of slightly blame the media for the way it portrays my generation as being nothing more than screen-attached, overweight, selfish, entitled morons who wouldn’t know what actual “hard work” is. Those are the kind of words I grew up with and being used when talking about my generation and it honestly hurt as kid. I thought I was doing something wrong, but then I realized it talked about everyone my age. Later, I then realized that many other generations had been treated like this as younger kids.
I’ve also have had a few adults tell me how easy we have it, but never understood the point behind telling us other than that we should stop complaining about what we have now. I mean I get that back then listening to music, for example, was slightly more complicated than it is now. However, I feel like these are merely first world problems.
I know that eventually another generation will take our place as the generational “punching bag” and I honestly don’t want those kids to go through it. It’s true, there is no point to generalize an entire generation as not every kid fits the generational stereotype. I hope I won’t join in on the bashing of the next generation, but the likely reason why it’s been going on so long is that history really does repeat itself. Those who disparaged will eventually become disparagers. Honestly, I hope it ends so generations can actually learn more about each other, instead of opressing each other.
Thank you for input by the way. It really gave a slightly better into the topic.
The hard work your generation puts in is different than the hard work that say the work that was put in 3 generations ago, your generation is saddled with a different type of work, neither is any harder or easier than the other, so I guess what I am really trying to say is that no generation is better or worse than another, just different.
@1822mom - well said! I agree with everything you wrote.
I really get tired of seeing one generation denigrate the next. I try to tamp it down when I see it on places like Facebook, where I see people bemoaning the “entitled generation” who are soft because, for example, they receive participation medals for playing in a soccer tourney. C’mon. They were little kids who would have been just as happy getting a cookie after a good game. It’s no big deal.
@ak2018, don’t worry about it. My parent’s were sinners if they liked Elvis Presley. Their parents were “entitled” if they didn’t have to walk to school 2 miles uphill, both ways. Just do you.
@labegg I totally understand what you’re saying. I would honestly rather us try to understand the different generations instead of rating them on a scale of 1 - 10. It doesn’t matter who did the most work, as long as the work gets done.
@suzy100 Ironically, I played youth soccer when I was a kid and I would usually score 1 or 2 goals a game. After every game, my mom would have some graham crackers and a juicebox waiting for me to eat on drink on the ride home. When the season ended, all of us got a participation certification which I was fine with. Another player, who scored more goals than I did, got the MVP award, which I was also fine with. After the ceremony, my mom and dad simply explained that participation certification was given to everyone as encouragement. The MVP trophy was given to the most valuable player on the team. They simply said that if you want that trophy, you have to work harder. The participation certification served as my encouragement and I was able to get the MVP trophy the next season. So, when used correctly, participation trophies and certificates can be a good thing for kids.
And I won’t worry about the generational dispute anymore. I’ll just do me.
Oh wow. I didn’t know there was a parent’s thread for the class of 2018. You parents don’t read our thread do you? Just curious lol.
@HelloThereHola heck yeah, we read your thread all the time, how do you think we parents learn what’s up? Nah just kidding, I, for one, don’t read your thread.
Hit a milestone at our house last night. D18 drove herself to her LAX scrimmage and D16, with her newly minted driver’s licence, drove herself to cheer. Husband and I stayed home and ate dinner together
With you labegg - our DD’18 just got her driver’s license and drove herself to track practice for the first time. It’s a whole new world!
Oops I meant D16 to LAX and D18 to cheer with new licence, lol.
Ditto on the driving. S’18 has been driving himself to tennis practices after school the past few weeks. No more scrambling to find him rides…
Kind of jealous of you all whose 18s have their license on one hand, but on the other I will miss all that alone time int the car with her. As it is, DD will have to wait several months after she is eligible because she won’t be able to squeeze in the required behind the wheel course until after spring sports are done. She’s my last one at home and I retired a few years ago so I don’t really mind carting her around.
@1822mom we seem to be in the same boat. D18 loves skidmore and oberlin… we like both for her too!!
It drives me nuts that kids under 17 are driving by themselves. Especially when lawyers are trying to argue that the juvenile brain is not done maturing until they are 25, so let’s never give life in prison for heinous crimes committed younger than that age.
As for “the worst generation” - it’s all bull. Bad enough to be racist or sexist or however discriminatory, let’s just lump together everyone born within a certain date range.
@suzy100 absolutely - out of a class of 112, this year’s class has 9 going to ivies and at least 8 going to schools in the Wesleyan caliber.
@HelloThereHola @labegg haha I’m a class of 2018er and I’ve been stalking this thread for a while. It’s nice to see a different perspective on the high school and college process.
I want to sign up my DD’18 (15.5 years old) with driving school so this summer she can drive herself to golf practice, but every time I mention about letting her drive to my DH, he gets so angry on why I keep pushing this issue, he doesn’t want my DD’18 to drive! Personally I started driving when I was 15, and got my license when I was 16, but I think my DH is just too protective and doesn’t want to rush this issue. After several attempts to have calm discussion, I decided to give up on the subject and let my DD’18 to use bus or walk. She is fine and actually agreed with dad that she doesn’t need to drive. That means I will have a tough summer driving her to daily practice. 
@jjkmom wait, your summer is tough? Maybe dad should drive her around if he doesn’t want her to get her license.
Good evening! I am new here with DD in class of 2018 (gulp)! My question for you all today is whether anybody has read or has any thoughts about the Harvard School of Education’s “Making Caring Common” project that is trying to change the college admission process to make it more humane and less super-human. Over 80 colleges have signed on to this groundbreaking effort that could radically change what we are doing right here – getting ready for college admissions. It is a noble goal, to humanize the process, but after reading the report it seems pretty clear to me that it is aspirational and has no teeth. For instance, it says schools should frown on kids loading up on AP classes to impress admissions officers. REALLY!!! So are these school saying they WANT us to back off on AP classes right now? Is my kid who volunteers to take fewer AP courses REALLY going to be looked at better than one who does not? How are we to pick classes for junior year with this uncertainty about what they want???
Maybe you all have already discussed this…