“Preparing Students for the New Reality” was written by college professors Donald S. Miller and Thomas E. Slocombe in the College Student Journal in March of 2012. This paper was written to explain how changes in education in the United States had led to poor student performance, why graduates are not prepared for the competitive and constantly developing workforce, and how to steer students into maturity and work-readiness. Miller and Slocombe provide examples as to why students are not properly prepared for today’s “new reality”, defined by the authors as “hypercompetition in a global marketplace”. Both authors also encourage strategies for reversing the current situation of student unpreparedness, mainly for teachers and mentors working …show more content…
Both authors aim to raise awareness of the issues that millennial students could potentially face due to feelings of entitlement, unrealistic expectations, and poor academic performance. Miller and Slocombe blame millennial’s feelings and expectations on overparenting and “helicopter parents”. Compared to earlier generations, millennials were raised by more protective and coddling parents who aimed to boost their child’s self-esteem and confidence, perhaps more than necessary. The authors argue that this inflation of self-esteem brought on by parents is contributing to disapproval from employers. Millennials are said by Miller and Slocombe to feel “entitled to attractive employment”. The effective reasoning that Miller and Slocombe provide towards millennial entitlement argues that Generation Y is doomed in the workforce if they continue with the attitudes encouraged by parents and mentors. Miller and Slocombe acknowledge the decrease in students’ academic performance, and partly blame the decline on student’s feelings of “intellectual superiority”. Including this information on declining academic performance strengthens both authors’ arguments as to how students will not be prepared for the workforce, as it would be hard to succeed in college with poor academic …show more content…
The authors suggest that the low salary paid to teachers in the United States contributes to low expectations in instruction and a decrease in desire towards teaching jobs. By including this argument, Miller and Slocombe encourage that paying teachers a more attractive salary could improve students’ academic performance. Miller and Slocombe suggest structuring classrooms like businesses by introducing real-world interactions, providing incentives and constructive feedback, and encouraging students to be “effective team members”. These strategies suggested by the authors show that the authors care about the situation at hand, and that they aren’t just writing a negative essay. Providing meaningful strategies for readers to improve their situation connects the authors to the readers, establishing trust and a personal
In Frank Bruni’s New York Time’s article, “The Imperiled Promise of College,” he argues that college is no longer a guarantee of success because students are not being properly motivated and guided into the programs that will provide them with jobs.
Millennials are often portrayed as spoiled rich people who still rely heavily on their parents for everything. This makes them seem childish, and Matchar’s questionable usage of these terms nonetheless is an obvious jab at the poster minority. Millennials overall are hard working and put under more stress than their predecessors, and the ridicule they endure for their work is uncalled for. Therefore, the thesis’s major flaw almost entirely overshadows its main
Barber calls the reader 's attention to the low salary of teachers and how their wages need to rise. Although many people know about the salary issue for teachers, they often overlook
When you think of a typical college student you may think of a young adult around 18 to 22 years old. You may also think of someone with little world experience that’s off on their own for the first time in their short life. Surprisingly, there has been a recent phenomenon with an increase in older people now attending post-secondary education, specifically the baby boomer generation. Libby Sander, a staff reporter at the Chronicle of Higher Education, explores this topic in an article called “Blue-Collar Boomers Take Work Ethic to College” (782). Sander combines the use of all three rhetorical appeals throughout her article to successfully argue that the wave of baby boomers enrolled in postsecondary education is changing the perception
Generation Y, more commonly referred to as the “millennials”, is today’s group of young people. Similar to other generations, each cohort is labeled with unique characteristics and inevitably faces adversities while taking its place in society. Many American’s today debate their views on the youngster generation, but none the less all sides can agree the discussion has become a hot topic. Catherin Rampell creates an open discussion in her article, A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much, addressing the main issue: Are millennials a generation of slackers. I feel strongly that my views align with Rampell’s, in believing my generation has already begun to show its capability of doing great things. Through analysis of the text and my own personal experience I am able to dispute the opposition towards my generation as well as, express the positive relationship of millennials in
“Should Preparing Students For the Workforce Be The Primary Mission Of Colleges and Universities?” Debate.org Phillip & Crystal Ferreira, Web. 16 April 2014.
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
In this article Nemko is illuminating the issues that our modern society is facing involving higher education. Students are starting off college with bare minimum requirements for next level learning and feeling disappointed when they are not succeeding in their courses. The author acknowledges that the courses being taken by students are sometimes not beneficial to life after college. Nemko states, “A 2006 study supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that 50 percent of college seniors scored below ‘proficient’ levels on a test that required them to do such basic tasks…”(525). Students are specializing in areas of learning to in turn be denied to working in that field and stuck with unnecessary skills. “Many college graduates are forced to take some very nonprofessional positions, such as driving a truck or tending bar”( ...
In this article “What It Takes To Make New College Students Employable” written by Alina Tugend, she argues that your time in college does not necessarily prepare an individual for jobs in society today. This is mainly due to employers who expect recent college graduates to have the skills prepared for a working environment. Unfortunately, that is not the case because the social and technical skills that you learn in college do not translate into the corporate world. To solve this problem, students can become more well equipped with the skills necessary to work by attending training programs, have employers work with them to fix certain issues, and teach them where certain social skills should be applied in the workplace.
Brooks wrote this article to inform the new generation not to buy into the hype of the “baby boomers.” He uses a compare and contrast type of approach with contrasting explanations of people’s expectations versus reality. The author wants to convey a feeling of awareness, which almost feels foreboding. The intended audience is young American college students or those about to enter college. It's intent to them is to inform them of the dangers that follow graduation where expectations are concerned. This audience is comprised of both male and female readers of all races and
In David Brook’s essay, “It’s Not About You,” Brooks mentions and describes the challenges college graduates face when looking for a job. He goes on and describes how this generation is different than any other generation. He explains how college graduates don’t go on and get married, buy houses, and have kids like previous generations. He also states how college prepares you with a set of skills that are much different to the ones you encounter when you graduate. Those skills you have to learn on your own.
Not So Much” had defended the actions of millennials of which had been misinterpreted as have other generations past. However, “A’s for Everyone” by Alicia C. Shepard had voiced the opposition’s side, focusing the student and often times parent harassment on professors for better grades of which student entitlement as well as the inflation of grades have been to blame. With these two articles, one could conclude that although this most recent generation has been misunderstood, certain factors has made this generation expect some comeuppance. To put it simply, Generation Y had been bashed by its elders for their behaviors seen as immoral, lazy, and even negligent in their roles of society. Although some may have proved to increase efficiency in the workplace as well as in personal relationships, the human trait of entitlement has, in fact, been ubiquitous, especially pertaining to academic
College preparation is not the only area in which schools are failing students. According to Achieve, Inc. (2005), 39% of high school graduates in the workforce say that they have deficiencies. When asked about being prepared for future jobs, forty-six percent say that they are deficient in the skills needed. These shortcomings in the education system will escalate when in the next 10 years, 80% of job openings will require education or training past the high school level (Achieve, 2010). One third of jobs will require a bachelor’s degree. Lower educational attainment is a national problem. Competing countries now boast more workers with associates degree...
In Caroline Bird’s “College is A Waste of Time and Money”, it’s argued that there are many college students who would be better off if they were to begin working after high school graduation. Colleges and universities can no longer ensure that one will go on to get a better job, getting paid more than they would have without a higher education. However, high school seniors still stress about where they will be attending college, how they’re going to pay for it and what they’re going to study for the next four years. Bird points out how college has changed over the past few decades and how, in turn, it has set many young adults up for disappointment, if nothing else.
The helicopter parents have created an illusion for the millennials that they have constant protection from all harm; some parents have babied their children and have now left them feeling entitled and important creating over-sensitive millennials. Not to mention, the damage the schools have caused by overprotecting their students who are currently millennials who act like children. Millennials have the freedom to behave the way they believe is right; moreover, if they are taught that being sensitive is right, that knowledge will influence the millennials behavior. Affecting the millennials, parents and schools have taught them to be over-sensitive, yet they rarely ever get the blame for causing these millennials