Did you know that today’s collegefreshmen think blue M&M’s have always co-existed with red and brown ones?
In their world Martin Lawrence has
always been banned from Saturday Night Live.
always been banned from Saturday Night Live.
Gene therapy has always been an
available medical treatment.
available medical treatment.
And history has always had its own
channel.
channel.
These are just a few of the
cultural references that Professor Tom McBride and Emeritus Director of Public Affairs Ron Nief,
both at Beloit College in Wisconsin, have included in their Mindset List for
the Class of 2016.
cultural references that Professor Tom McBride and Emeritus Director of Public Affairs Ron Nief,
both at Beloit College in Wisconsin, have included in their Mindset List for
the Class of 2016.
The popular and widely reported
list contains 75 references intended as a humorous way to clue college
professors into the “intelligent if unprepared adolescent
consciousness” of their newest students. McBride and Nief have been
producing their Mindset lists since 1998–when this group of incoming freshman
were just four years old.
list contains 75 references intended as a humorous way to clue college
professors into the “intelligent if unprepared adolescent
consciousness” of their newest students. McBride and Nief have been
producing their Mindset lists since 1998–when this group of incoming freshman
were just four years old.
According to the list, one of the“cultural touchstones that
shape the lives of students entering college this fall” includes this rather
disturbing gem: A significant percentage of them will enter college already
displaying some hearing loss. Wonder what causes that? Could it be earbuds?
They
have also never seen an airplane “ticket,” and they can’t image
people carrying their luggage through airports–everyone knows you roll your
luggage! And this is not news to their
parents: They watch television everywhere but on a television.
have also never seen an airplane “ticket,” and they can’t image
people carrying their luggage through airports–everyone knows you roll your
luggage! And this is not news to their
parents: They watch television everywhere but on a television.
According
to McBride in the promo material for their book, The Mindset Lists of AmericanHistory, one of the reasons they began the list was “to remind faculty
members and the general public that entering college students have a particular
and limited range of experiences.”
to McBride in the promo material for their book, The Mindset Lists of AmericanHistory, one of the reasons they began the list was “to remind faculty
members and the general public that entering college students have a particular
and limited range of experiences.”
But I
think it goes the other way as well. For instance, in the experience of today’s
college freshmen, genomes of living things have always been sequenced. What
does it mean when the inquiring minds of tomorrow’s scientists begin from the
assumption that they can access the genome of any living organism they wish to
study? And in their world, women have always piloted space shuttles and fighter
jets. Not a bad thing, I think.
think it goes the other way as well. For instance, in the experience of today’s
college freshmen, genomes of living things have always been sequenced. What
does it mean when the inquiring minds of tomorrow’s scientists begin from the
assumption that they can access the genome of any living organism they wish to
study? And in their world, women have always piloted space shuttles and fighter
jets. Not a bad thing, I think.
What’s even more intriguing than the list itself is the interpretation of the author’s finding offered in a “Guide” for college teachers and counselors. The authors seem to find today’s entering college students to be tribal, addicted to technology, and nervous when not in touch with their cohorts via that technology. McBride and Nief question whether these young adults are spoiled by their parents or conned by them, having been “sent off to college to pursue the American Dream, only to find out that their career path will be rocky and their debt load burdensome.”
But they do hold out hope as they report that “members of the Class of 2016 are subtly learning some good economic habits. The male members of the class are, not uncommonly, pretty good cooks of inexpensive organic food.”
You
can find the entire Mindset List and the Guide in pdf format on the Beloit College website.
can find the entire Mindset List and the Guide in pdf format on the Beloit College website.
So…it is true, my dear niece
Samantha, that you and your new roomies have never eaten a tan M&M?
Samantha, that you and your new roomies have never eaten a tan M&M?
