In the hit musical Bye Bye Birdie, written in 1963, the adult members of the cast express their exasperation with the teenagers by singing, “Kids! I don’t know what’s wrong with these kids today.” The opening lyrics portray the youngsters as being inarticulate, disobedient, disorganized, and lazy. As the lyrics develop, the annoyed adults begin to question their thinking, and the final stanza declares, “There’s nothing wrong with kids today.” Does this sound familiar?
In their book Fostering Resilient Learners: Strategies for Creating a Trauma-Sensitive Classroom, authors Kristin Souers and Pete Hall examine the “kids today” philosophy that can sometimes be present within schools. Souers and Hall (p. 158) ask the following questions: Have children really changed? Are our kids actually less respectful or more troublesome than we were? What metrics are we using to measure those characteristics?
After much reflection, Souers and Hall (pp.158-159) conclude that students are generally as they have always been, but the world in which they live has changed. Students now frequently face challenges at home that negatively impact their ability to function, and they bring those challenges into the classroom in ways that disrupt the educational environment. We cannot control the environments in which students live and the challenges they represent; however, we can strive diligently to create schools and classrooms that are safe and stable places children need. Let that be your goal as you plan for next week. Your students will benefit greatly!
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