The older generation often despairs of the young Millennials. They fiddle with their smart phones and never look an elderly person in the eye. They spend countless hours idling on the Internet.
By these accounts the kids are terrible, and America is in trouble.
But the kids are OK.
Do they text all the time? Yes, of course, but their ability to squeeze a lot of information into a small space is the basis for superb academic discipline. No less than Sherlock Holmes said, of the brief telegram, that it forced him to state exactly what he meant. Millennials are ready to learn the art of concise and precise prose.
Do they surf all the time? Yes, of course. But they’re getting subtle practice in how to make connections between different websites, data sets, opinions, and concepts. The ability to make sound and creative connections is the mark of an educated person.
They’re also great collaborators. They’ve established generational solidarity online. They’re ready for the cooperative working groups that can solve problems by pooling insights.
In fact, when you think about it, there’s no reason why these texting, surfing, and sharing Millennials, given some hard and imaginative brain exercise from their teachers, can’t become one of the most educable generations in history.
I’m Tom McBride, and that’s my Perspective.
