I was absolutely shocked. Sitting in a junior level composition class at Colorado State University, a young woman asked a question. As in every other class, we were analyzing an article that used references to historical events. Questions are accepted and usually encouraged in college classes. But what this woman asked had me dumbfounded. It wasn’t necessarily that she asked this question that made me go into shock, but that she genuinely did not know anything about what she was asking. The question was: “What was Iwo Jima?”
One of the most important and turning events for the United States in World War II had never been driven into the mind of this young woman. At the collegiate level, I (and hopefully others) would expect students to know the basic events in America’s history. If she didn’t know about this event, it makes one wonder if she would know what is going on in this country today.
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I’m not singling out this one particular student in my class because she had asked this very specific question. I single her out because she is representative of my generation as a whole--Generation Z. On more than one occasion, in both academia and social situations, I have been absolutely flabbergasted by the pure unintelligence of my generation. It doesn’t just apply to historical events either. When asked who the Vice President of the United States is or how the Electoral College works, I would gamble that nine out of ten collegiate age people wouldn’t know the answer. These are the things that people should have learned in junior high.
Coming from a long line of academics, I am lucky enough to have had a family and a few good teachers that were passionate enough to show me the importance of learning America’s history and how the United States operates in general. I have never needed any extreme measure to get me to learn. It seems that some of the people I sit in class with every day have never been through the educational system before. Most people have not benefited from the same fervent adults that I had. They are not and have not gotten educated well enough on the important aspects of what has gone and is going on in the world.
In a few decades my generation will be in charge of running this country. We will be the doctors, lawyers, politicians, educators, blue-collar workers etc. How are we supposed to run the country effectively without knowing the basic facts about the United States’ history?
You may be thinking that teachers not doing their job have caused this lack of understanding. Or students would learn more if they’d pay attention in class rather than playing on their phones. So think about what would happen if the phones and computers weren’t a detriment but rather an enhancer of education.
Technology is used from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep. So, in a generation where technology is so prominent, how come people my age are not caught up on the news? How come the next thing to pop up on Twitter is Bruce “Kaitlyn” Jenner rather than the newest findings on wind technology or how the presidential candidates are matching up?
There needs to be a change. The quickest results will be seen if social media were how we make the change. It isn’t plausible to believe that the entire United States’ public education system can be modified. So we must deal with what we can change—the way we receive the news.
A pop culture and history based news coverage on social media, where everyone can see would be an effective way to educate these people that are attached to their phones. Using the motes of Facebook and Twitter alone can reach a broader audience than TV and radio ever have.But for those skeptics, journalists and the general public alike, who ignore the fact that the intelligence of my generation is faltering, I challenge you to find out for yourselves. I invite you to come find us. Talk to us. Go right to the source. Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones who gets the correct response to who the Vice President is, but more likely than not, you won’t.
