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You Walk with Your
Walkman; I Run With My Ipod:
The Challenges of Multi-Generational Teaching By
Gayle
Lynn-Nelson,
Senior Lead for the Librarian Relations Consultants
There are four generations currently at play (or might we say at
war?) in the legal world in which we all work. They are:
- Veterans – born 1922 – 1943
- Boomers – born 1943 – 1960
- Gen-Xers – born 1960 – 1980
- Millennials – born post-1980
To be able to teach across these multi-generations, one must first
have an understanding of what makes each generation tick. What were
the influences on their lives growing up?
The Veterans are the introspective, intellectual, somewhat
suffocated children of war and depression. They are loyal,
dependable and hard working. The Veterans are stuck between the
get-it-done GIs and the self-absorbed Boomers.
The Boomers' defining events include the birth of television,
the Civil Rights Movement and fiscal prosperity. They witnessed the
deaths of President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther
King; the Vietnam War and related protests; and the Watergate
scandal. The Boomers value health and wellness, personal growth, and
involvement.
Our Gen-Xers are characterized by an economic psychological
“survivor” mentality. They grew up quickly amid rising divorce
rates, latchkeys, violence and low expectations. Events that shaped
their lives include the Challenger explosion, AIDS, the hostage
crisis and Desert Storm. This is also the time when NIKE came out
with their slogan – “Just Do It.” The Gen-X generation is
independent, skeptical (even while reading this article they will be
saying "do not put a label on me, do not put me in any group"), and
cautious in their commitments.
The Millennials are a generation resulting from a back-lash
against “hands-off” parenting – some say a protected (perhaps
coddled) generation. Events and things that had an impact on them
growing up include Columbine, Power Rangers, cell phones, DVDs, and
9-11. The Millennials have been classified by the experts as the
most “numerous, affluent and ethnically diverse generation in
American history.”
Millennials and Gen-Xers are the most technologically savvy group,
and as new associates begin to join law firms, their diverse needs
will have to be met and addressed. At the same time, there are
Veteran and Boomer partners and associates.
What does all this mean for us, as librarians? Many librarians are
of the boomer generation. They will be responsible for the teaching
and mentoring of younger learners in their firms. Because Boomers,
Millennials and Gen-Xers do not always see things the same way,
these boomer librarians/teachers will need to adapt to a style that
is different from what they are used to. They will be much more
comfortable with the Veterans and Boomers they are dealing with --
i.e., partners and senior associates. However, as new generations of
librarians enter the workforce, they will find common ground and
common understanding with the Gen-Xers and Millennials.
To help meet the younger learners' (Gen-Xers and Millennials)
needs, the approach to teaching should be interactive and more
customized, with a move towards learning as fun.
These groups of learners prefer to learn at their own pace, need a
lot of interactivity, and want to keep updating their skills,
constantly! They want a variety of activities at a fairly rapid
pace. The ideal teaching would involve interactive learning and
technology. Some examples of this would include group activities,
puzzles and games. Make learning practical and fun. One approach is
to give lots of work (thus they keep learning) and some freedom
regarding how the work gets done. As librarians we can be there for
them to guide them, give feedback and even offer rewards as needed.
When providing educational opportunities to the younger generations,
the experts suggest the best learning sessions should include
gimmicks like video games, prizes, interaction with all the people
involved, and my favorite, candy.
Younger learners are concerned that the material or content we are
trying to teach is relevant to them and their situation. If it is
not interesting or relevant to them, if there has been no link made
to their lives and their needs, they tune out. What often amazes
older trainers is that younger learners can seem to be spacing out,
paying no attention to what is being said, perhaps even doing
something else, and still do well on the test!
Finally, although there will always be a new generation, and each one
will be different from the last, this should not be viewed as a bad
thing. Quite the contrary! Without differences, change and growth would not
happen. Successful leaders and trainers know the value of treating
everyone as if they have great things to offer. If you expect more,
you will receive more. Expect the best, offer the best in return,
and you'll reap great rewards.
For further reading:
Bibliography and Resources
1) American Association of Retired Persons,
www.aarp.org.
2) American Management Association,
www.amanet.org
3) Beloit College’s Class of 2002 “Mindset List”,
www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/minset/2002.html
4) Brokaw, Tom, The Greatest Generation (1998).
5) DiGilio, John and Lynn-Nelson, Gayle, “The Millennial Invasion,”
SLA Information Outlook, v.8, no.11
6) Freedman, Marc, Prime Time: How Baby Boomers will
Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America (1999)
7) Generations at Work,
www.generationsatwork.com
8) Generation Link,
http://library.advanced.org/23440/generationlink,html
9) Generational Inquiry Group,
www.millennials.com
10) Howe, Neil & Bill Strauss, Millennials Rising: The Next Great
Generation (2000)
11) Howe, Neil & Bill Strauss, 13th GEN, Abort, Retry, Ignore,
Fail? (1993)
12) Interview with Ron Zemka, Claire Raines and Bob Filipczak, “How
Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Generation Nexters Can
All Get Along in the Workplace,” Commitment,
www.committment.com/getalong.html (1998)
13) Lancaster, Lynne C. & David Stillman, When Generations
Collide (2002)
14) Martin, Carolyn A. and Bruce Tulgan, Managing Generation Y:
Global Citizens Born in the Last Seventies and Early Eighties
(2001)
15) Mitchell, Susan, American Generations (1998)
16) Munson, Howard, “Valuing Experience: How to Motivate ant Retain
Mature Workers,”Research Report – Conference Board (2002)
17) “The New Workforce: Generation Y,” Workplace Visions, No.
2, 2001
18) Parkinson, Deborah, “Voices of Experience,: Mature Workers in
the Future Workforce” , Research Report – Conference Board (2002)
19) Randstad North America,
www.us.randstad.com. 2002 Employee Review. Survey of
generational mindsets in the workplace.
20) Saunderson, Roy, “Managing Generational Differences in the
Workplace,” 12th Annual Educational Conference, Toronto Law Office
Manager’s Association, (Sept. 2000).
21) Society of Human Resource Management,
www.shrm.org (subscription –based
website).
22) Strauss, Bill & Neil Howe, Generations: The History of
America’s Future, 1584 to 2069 (1991)
23) Tapscott, Don, Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net
Generation (1998)
24) Tomorrow Today.biz,
www.tomorrowtoday.biz/generations
25) Tulgan, Bruce, The Manager’s Pocket Guide to Generation X
(1998)
26) Tulgan, Bruce, Managing Generation X (1996)
27) Tulgan, Bruce, “Generational Shift: When it Comes to Workforce
Flexibility, We Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet,” Staffing Success
(Nov/Dec 2003).
www.staffingtoday.net/memberserv/1103ss/story1.htm
28) Tulgan, Bruce, Winning the Talent Wars, (2001)
29) Zemke, Ron; Claire Raines and Bob Filipczak, Generations at
Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers and Nexters in
Your Workplace (2000) Appendices contains websites for each
group.
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