My head is spinning....I am sure if you were to step inside my office, you would see a scene from The Exorcist!
Why am I so on fire today? With the direction from David Mullen (@dmullen) (H/T), I read the CNN article, Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job. To sum up the article, a 27 year-old woman (ONLY one year younger than me) is suing her school for cost of tuition plus an additional $2,000 for the stress of an unsuccessful job hunt. Instead of taking initiative to find a job, the woman is expecting the school to do it for her.
Please...take a minute to read the article and the fabulous quotes from that bright young mind.
At least she learned to pass the blame.
dmullen: @vargasl The obvious entitlement that seeped out of her quotes was pitiful. I couldn't stop shaking my head. I had no idea what to say.
I am not flabbergasted by this entitlement attitude. I encounter this phenomenon every week in my classroom. Students expect for texts to be regurgitated, answers to exams given before test...basically, instead of earning an education, these students want it handed to them on a silver platter.
I don't think so.
What happened to hard work? Responsibility?
LindsayMAllen: @vargasl It's especially offensive to someone like me; I gave nearly 7 yrs of hard work to an employer and have been jobless since May 1.
This is not a Gen-Y isolated problem...this is an epidemic across all demographics. Nor is the attitude isolated to education. Turn on the television and find out what the government will do for you because you deserve it.
Is deserving the American dream?
seakisst: @libbykrah @dmullen @lindsaymallen @vargasl What is this world coming to? The American Dream should not equal entitlement, but hard work.
I don't remember where Martin Luther King Jr. talked about deserving anything.
shawnthinks: @vargasl @libbykrah @dmullen sad part is that this is same attitude that's working through biz world. Dot com boom started it IMHO
With all this rant...what is my solution? Solve for YES, right?!
I am only one person and cannot control others, but I can control myself. I would be hypocritical if I did not admit that a time or two I have been resentful about not receiving something because I thought I deserved it. But I recognize that dangerous line of thought...and I back away.
I am only one teacher. In my class, I will not give you the test answers and I will help you to the ends of the earth if you, the student, show me due diligence in solving problem on one's own.
It will take many single individuals to rebel against entitlement. This attitude is not evolutionary thinking. This is how a race becomes extinct.
What will you do to combat entitlement?
UPDATE 8/5: It appears our class act former student has been offered a job by SkiChannel.com.
"Either Ms Thompson is a cunning out of the box thinker and we want her," said Bellamy "or she isn't, and her position would not last long. Either way, the law suit would no longer be clogging up the courts because there are now no damages. She now has a bonifide job offer. She just needs to call us and go over the details. But it is real and valid. If she is this feisty, we'll try her out. But if she is playing the victim card and pushing her problems onto everyone else - then her job wouldn't likely last long."
Feisty? Is that what people are calling this behavior?
Interestingly enough, as my daughter was sitting with her reading tutor last night, I was reading The Traveler's Gift. A fascinating book about the seven decisions that determine personal success. So far, I am wowed by this book!
"The words It's not my fault! should never again come from your mouth. The words It's not my fault! have been symbolically written on the gravestones of unsuccessful people ever since Eve took her first bite of the apple. Until a person takes responsibility for where he is, there is no basis for moving on. The bad news is the past was in your hands, but the good news is that the future, my friend, is also in your hands...the buck stops here." -President Truman via The Traveler's Gift
As a teacher and also a parent that may be the one thing I can teach and make a difference...maybe not immediate, but one day...the buck stops here.
