While watching televised highlights from the Olympic Games in Vancouver, I heard a memorable line from an insurance firm’s commercial: “Will this be known as the great recession or the recession that made us great?” This is good marketing copy and also a profound question. We are, indeed, looking out on a wintry economic landscape, and we are deeply concerned about our students and many others who are struggling to make headway with employment.
A sobering article in The Atlantic reports that a recent survey showed 44 percent of American families “have experienced a job loss, a reduction in hours, or a pay cut in the past year.” The U.S. Bureau of Labor reports that for every “open” job in the country, six people are actively looking for work.
Many social scientists who have studied the current cohort of college students and recent graduates do not provide encouragement. The experts say that Generation Y or the Millennial Generation, those born between 1980 and 2001, is at a double disadvantage because it not only faces a difficult economic climate but is also emotionally and socially ill-prepared for adversity. These young adults are described as entitled and coddled “trophy kids” with overblown expectations. The Atlantic also reports:
“By 1999, according to one survey, 91 percent of teens described themselves as responsible, 74 percent as physically attractive, and 79 percent as very intelligent. (More than 40 percent of teens also expected that they would be earning $75,000 a year or more by age 30; [though] the median salary made by a 30-year-old was $27,000 that year).”
The article cites another study of eighteen- to twenty-eight-year-olds, half of whom had moderate to high “superiority” beliefs about themselves. This was measured by responses to statements such as “I deserve favors from others” and “I know that I have more natural talents than most.” Another scholarly observer of this generation says that “self-esteem without basis encourages laziness rather than hard work” and that “the ability to persevere and keep going” is “a much better predictor of life outcomes than self-esteem.”
We who have raised this generation as parents, mentors, and teachers can take some of the blame if we have emphasized self-esteem over self-control and perseverance. This generation may, in fact, pay a heavy price for being fussed over too much, but I believe many of these “privileged kids” will startle us with what they achieve and become. I am especially confident that our students, and LDS students across our society, will be well represented among the most productive and courageous in the workplace and in their communities.
At the Marriott School we see in our students less of the narcissism described in The Atlantic and more determination. With all the sobering news of adversity faced by our students and our alumni, we also hear about progress, growth, and miracles. These good young people can’t succeed entirely on their own—no generation ever has. With their dedication and faith and our help, I believe they can become the greatest generation.
Written by Michael P. Thompson , Associate Dean
