Millennials is not The Dumbest Generation

It’s obviously dumb to regards all the people from the new generation as the dumbest people. A stereotype is commonly be witnessed that student sitting down studying with their computers, taking a snip of coffee occasionally in the cafes next to the school campus, in the school library, or even at the bus stops. Wearing ear-pods with their hand fleeting on the computer keyboard become a standard configuration for the new generation. The use of technology as a learning tool has become so nature and ubiquitous, regarding as a result of predictable social evolvement from school to office. Undeniable, the spread of technologies is a double-sided sword. Many students today are lack of independent thinking capacity, as Mark Bauerlein claimed in the book The Dumbest Generation, “ the digital age stupefies younger generations, impairs their intellectual habits. . . ” Nevertheless, it will be too imprudent to target every one of them with the label “the dumbest person ever” hence more facets and external causes are needed to take into further consideration.

A person’s lifetime learning is like the process of building a construction. The more solid the foundation is, the higher the building could be. If a person wishes to pursue high attainments in academic areas, a solid and adequate general education is definitely required. This is where the problem comes from-- “nowadays the young man and women, through no fault of their own, are showing up on campuses undereducated and unprepared for college level works. ” The mission of primary education is supposed to offer students a sound preparation for college and send high-quality, well-prepared graduates to higher learning institutions. Those core curriculum often serve as remedial courses to better help poorly prepared students transition to college level works. It is not something to be devoutly wished for, but rather “a concession to the consequences of a third-rate preparation for first-rate colleges and universities”. Should we blame the students for their scanty, inadequate general education? Not really. The responsibility should be taken by our education system. It is unreasonable to call the younger generation the “dumbest” if the real problem is derived from our defective school systems.

First of all, there’s a misunderstanding of the word “dumbness”. “Permanently or temporarily unable to speak or stupid” is the definition of dumb. Sagacity, I believe, is associated more with one’s personal experiences rather than the specific age ranges. Although it is true that parts of students might be lack of basic knowledge, however, their fundamental cognitive capacities, including the ability to do critical and logical thinking have actually improved. “IQ scores in every country that measures them, including United States, have been rising since the 1930s. ” The noticeable thing is that IQ score measures pure thinking capacity, a term that is the most objective in judging a person’s intelligence. Who needs to know about Impressionism or Charles Dickens? “There’s no point of carrying such information around in our head when Google will deliver it in seconds. ” The convenience of the powerful technology is a benefit for us and is something we should take advantage of. Instead of simply memorizing all the numbers and facts, the more important thing is to apply knowledge into comprehensive domains in real lives, which is determined by thinking capacity. In terms of this fluid intelligence, today’s youth performs better than any other generations.

Furthermore, this young generation possesses many excellent qualities that the preceding generations don’t have. They’re generally more confident, more tolerant of difference and more willing to discover different fields. They cherish their lives and at the same time are courageous to step out of their comfort zone and embrace people from all over the world. They believe there’s always light somewhere and it will always beat the darkness. They believe in the dignity and value of every person. From their point of view, everyone is marvelous and unique in their own way. This generation lives in a unique historical moment with systemic changes in society, and they are already doing their best not only surviving, but also thriving in such a rapidly changing age.

It is undeniable that some of today’s youth might be mesmerized by new-age tools and are becoming too lazy to use their brain. “Instead of using these tools to discover the world of history, fine art and knowledge, they are using them for the only thing they seem to care about – themselves. ” Indeed, the internet contains multifarious and miraculous information, but it all depends on how students actually use it. The negative impacts of technology is totally controllable if parents, teachers and other caring adults can model their behavior to influence those young kids’ minds. However, not only the kids but also the parents can easily be allured by new technology, as a result, it’s necessary for parents to enforce a no-technology reading hour at home, in which every family member just unplugs and reads whichever kind of book they want. Through instituting a reading hour regularly, students are able to pursue a balance between the fast-pace digital age and the traditional immersive reading. Understanding the charisma of traditional reading will effectively reduce the possibility of network addiction, thus there’s no need to worry that technology will supersede this younger generation’s ability to think or make them “dumb”.

All in all, by no means should we interpret the millennials as the dumbest generation. Born and grow up during the era of leap-forward development, this young generation has a greater adaptive capacity than any others. Most of them are able to analyze things using dialectic thinking and properly take advantage of the technology. They possess many excellent qualities and will take an important role in America's future.