The Dumbest Generation Book Reflection

The Dumbest Generation discusses the downfall of a fast-paced, digital age. The continuous point that the book describes we have advanced technologically; however, educationally it is the inverse. Students no longer know history, nor do they have a desire to learn the classics. They simply do not care, rather instead they would like to Facebook or text. Adults are not becoming adults until later in life, many twenty-some year olds are back living with their parents and not taking active responsibility for his or her life. Simply banking off of his/her parents is the common twenty-year olds life.
Fast-paced is the way the youth and young adults expect everything to work. Very few people are taking the time to read books; rather they just simply “Google it.” Another concern that the Bauerlein brings to point is the increasing amount of the population that is narcissistic. As the book points out, two-thirds of US under graduates are scoring above average on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. With more people scoring higher on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, he points to lower levels of pro-civic and pro-social values. The youth simply lacks a clear direction and desire to help others.
After reading the book, I agree with some points that the author makes; however, I feel that the book goes to extreme levels to leave a negative mark on the youth. Stating that the youth is fairly narcissistic, is a truly accurate statement. Working within the classroom has allowed me to see that, as a teacher, many of my students do have an attitude of carelessness. From my perspective, I feel this change has occurred because a lot of youth lack clear supervision and leadership from home. Schools can try to teach; however, students are most impacted by their own family members. Parents need to set high expectations, as not to deviate to a level where they feel they need to be friends with their kids; rather instead do what is best for his or her child’s future. Every child deserves the right to value education and actively seek out knowledge from the past and present to make him or her better citizens. As parents, teachers, schools, and community members we all need to work together to teach children to value all education, not just technology education in order to be a complete educated being.