The Decline of the DIY Generations
June 1st 2009 10:57 pm
I am not what most people would call a “handy” person. I don’t like hooking up electronics, fixing the garbage disposal, or unclogging the toilet, but I have done all of those things. However, I do enjoy solving problems, and with the Internet’s endless supply of easily accessible information, I have figured out simple solutions to many computer issues.
- When Windows downloads an update that conflicts with Word 2007 and Vista (happens ALL the time), I know how to fix it, and no—system restore is not always the ideal option!
- When I wanted to recover all of my past AOL emails for archive purposes (so I could finally cancel AOL), I found the ePreserver program that saved them for me.
- When Outlook started failing on my husband’s computer, I worked on it for days until I found the conflict between the software and our DSL provider.
- And when I cannot find the answer, I ask for help from a knowledgeable source.
While my ability to build furniture is slightly impaired, I find doing things myself helps me learn. This rant stems from teaching a new generation of people under the age of 30 who appear to have no idea how to do things themselves. For example, I have students who cannot:
- Format line spacing in MS Word
- Tell the difference between fonts or font sizes
- Create a title page for a final project
- Attach documents to emails
The most troubling thing is that it never occurs to these young people to:
- Look up MS Word issues under the Help feature
- Research the problem on the Internet
- Call tech support, which is provided free of charge
- Ask someone who actually knows the answer for help
Instead, they make excuses and expect that their ignorance will be forgiven—despite a strict rubric that clearly states the expectations of assignment. Their refusal to learn only hurts them, but I’m not sure if it is entirely their fault. During their childhood, this “Millennial” generation (born after 1981) received gold stars for attendance and effort. All they had to do was show up and try their best—actual results didn’t matter. As for doing things themselves—forget about it. We, the Baby Boomers and Generation X adults who created the Millennials, did everything for them from tying their shoes, to doing their homework and even perpetuating the myth that winning doesn’t matter.
According to Strauss and Howe’s fascinating book Generations, American generations engage in a four-part cycle, which essentially means the Millenials will produce a generation vastly different from their own. However, there was one anomaly in the cycle during the Civil War, a “secular crisis.” What if our current economic recession (an event the book predicted based on history) creates another non-DIY generation? Not only would I quit teaching, but I also believe another ignorant, lazy, whiny group of “Gold Stars” who have never been permitted to fail would be an utter disaster for our country.
After all, “Mistakes show us what we need to learn.” (Peter McWilliams)
AWW — XoXo
