These Kids Today

1. These Kids Today Dr. Kevin Knudson Director, University Honors Program Professor of Mathematics University of Florida January 25, 2013

2. Things we all know about students today

3. They’re lazy

4. They’re uninterested in school

5. They are digital natives

6. They do not understand professional communication

7. They’ve been told they are special their whole lives

8. They want everything handed to them with no effort on their part

9. They are better prepared than students in the past Let’s see some data.

11. “It is all too common for caterpillars to become butterflies and then maintain that in their youth they had been little butterflies.” --George Vaillant

12. Let’s try again…

13. They’re lazy?

14. They’re uninterested in school?

15. They’re digital natives?

16. They do not understand professional communication? This one is true. They are college students.

17. They’ve been told they are special their whole lives?

18. They want everything handed to them with no effort on their part?

19. They are better prepared than other students in the past? Yes and no. It’s true that they have taken more AP courses than ever before, but I assert this does not make them better prepared. Example: here’s a simple algebra problem. If it takes 16 men 15 days to do a piece of work, how long will it take 12 men to do the same job? Can the average first-year college student solve this?

20. “Maturation makes liars of us all.” --George Vaillant