You're wrong...how often do you hear that? My guess is not alot, if anyone has read the book 'Generation Me' they will know what I'm talking about otherwise, I would suggest it. It is a great read, you realize just how true it all is. But I just wanted to see what some other people had to think about this. Our generation is known for, well, being babied. In PA there was a school who told their teachers they couldn't grade in red ink, and they should you colors like pink, purple, and light blue because if you get a bad grade in red ink, and could hurt the kids self esteem more. Another example of our generation and its changing is how people talk to us, when has a teacher ever just told you that you were wrong, or yelled out your test scores like they did to our parents. the answer, legally never! It is against the law for another student to hear, or pass out your grades, it isn't necessarily bad, it is just so different than what our parents were taught, and how they were treated as little kids. I think that our generation may actually be digressing because, if everything we do is 'okay' and 'good enough' how are we ever going to advance? Let me know what you think...or if you've read the book, and what you think about that!
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I see what you are saying here, a lot of of my teachers did use green ink (green is serene). But I disagree that our generation is digressing. On a PBS news program I watched recently, it talked about our generation and how selfish we are. By selfish, I mean that we demand more and more. They talked about how our generation goes into the work force, demanding more health benefits, more vacation time, and higher pay. We have been taught that we can do anything if we set our minds to it. So it looks like our generation is testing that theory. We know what we want, and we know how to get it, and what we want is the best.
I smiled when I read the part about the red ink, as I've heard that one too many times. As part of my education to become a future teacher, I have been told never to simply say "good job," because it's false praise. There's no true satisfaction in that. I'm not sure if this is exactly what you are talking about, but your post made me think of it. If a child accomplishes something, you simply need to give attention to it - you don't need to tell them how wonderful they are, they will discover that on their own as they master little tasks. It seems this theory is the aftermath of the "no red ink" theory. We do not need to protect children (or adults for that matter), or create a false self-esteem. We simply need to acknowledge an individual for who he/she is, and give them credit where credit is due.
I think I'm going to have to read this book...
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"In and of itself, nothing really matters. What matters is that nothing is ever 'in and of itself.'" - Chuck Klosterman, "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs"
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/k-moore