Discarding Used Christmas Gift Boxes Is Tantamount to Group Work With Acquaintances

Both sets of my grandparents were adults through the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II. Though they came from different parts of the world, practiced different religions, had different levels of education, and belonged—or didn't belong—to different political parties, all four lived through a series of traumatic events that similarly shaped their personalities.

By the time I had interactions with them as a child, twenty years after these traumatic world events, I still recognized similar characteristics in them — nothing was ever wasted, not eaten, not used, or not stored for possible use. They valued preserving what you own, respecting and appreciating your home and family, and knowing how lucky we were to have regular meals on our tables. 

Like so many, my grandmothers—though one lived in a major city and one in the suburbs—grew Victory Gardens filled with tomatoes, green beans, and other items that they used to feed their families. It never mattered that their household budgets eventually stabilized and possibly expanded. The idea that the world could fall out from under them and that danger was potentially around every corner shaped their decisions, opinions, and buying and eating habits. World events shaped my grandparents into adults who planned for the next crisis or collapse.

If you are entering an academic setting in this day and age, you may not recognize the people sitting in front of you. Recent world events have shaped them into a different type of student than you probably were, or that you perhaps taught in the past. Though never a good idea to make sweeping identifiers for each generation, there are a few characteristics of Generation Z you may not be prepared for, nor expect. 

The vast majority of Gen Z students have grown up in a world where answers are immediate—either via Google or text—and they will expect that same immediacy from you as the expert. They have also been both isolated by social media and completely exposed to possible ridicule and ostracization for the slightest faux pas; as such, many are extremely hesitant to work with people they do not know and trust.

Being aghast or dismissive of these changes—and so many more—is as ridiculous as expecting my grandmothers to throw away their used Christmas gift boxes and bows.

Each and every one of us is shaped by so many factors, some more impactful than others. Gen Z students were born into the disruption of social media, grew up practicing shooter drills as we practiced fire drills, and attended school during a pandemic. 

Who you teach is as important as what you teach. Do you know who your students are? I do. Let me support you, as you educate them.