September 13, 2021
Will Gen Z Save the World?
By Rob Jenkins
As a college professor for over 35 years, I’ve gotten to know three generations of students: Gen Y (born between 1965 and 1980), the Millennials (1981-1996), and now Gen Z (1997-2012). And because I teach rhetoric, I’ve read thousands of their papers, providing substantial insight into the way they think.
To be sure, each generation has had its share of good kids and bright minds. In general, however, I found that Millennials presented unique challenges. They were, as a group, the most entitled, judgmental, and arrogant of all the students I’ve taught, often basing an inflated sense of self-importance on scanty evidence.
Essentially, they are the “participation trophy” generation, the unwitting victims of countless artificial “self-esteem building” experiments by the education establishment, not to mention their own parents. These are the kids who were told from kindergarten on how special they were—and, unfortunately, they believed it.
Their essays and verbal comments were characterized by poor reasoning, shoddy arguments, and the elevation of pathos over logos, along with a deep-seated, quasi-religious certitude. Apparently, they felt no need to support their positions with evidence. They were right simply because of who they were: the smartest kids ever. Hadn’t their parents and teachers always told them so?
more
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/09/will_gen_z_save_the_world.html
