Who Are Today’s Kids? A recent White House forum entitled Exploring the Digital Generation revealed these insights:
· To a kid of the twenty-first century, learning is different than schooling. Learning, even education-based learning, takes place in many locations, with authorities ranging from teachers, parents and civic leaders to television, online activities and friends.
· Today’s kids are risk averse. They like immediate feedback and multiple opportunities for improvement.
· “Millennial” kids are gentler and kinder than Baby Boomers and Generation X. Violent youth crime peaked in ‘93 and has dropped dramatically since. Murders in schools peaked in ‘92 and have had a steady decline since, with ‘03 representing a 93% decrease from ‘92. Boomers aged 40 to 44 are 10 times more likely to die from illegal drug use than Millennials.
· When kids are asked what they would like in terms of technology in school, the answer is almost unanimous-a computer for each kid.
· Teen pregnancy is at the lowest rate ever recorded.
· 7 traits of Millennials include: Special, Sheltered, Confident, Team-oriented, Conventional, Pressured and Achieving.
· Kids are growing up in a culture in which they are involved at a high level with a wide range of activities-from helping to decide what’s for dinner to where the family will go on vacation. (Wonder Group 10/10/03)
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