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[whiteknight]

Mods, can we get a free link to discuss this article?

[fiona]

We won't get a link until at least Monday, so why doesn't the OP at least tell us what the article is about, or where the clues are?

With no info whatsoever except the title, I can surmise two different meanings for "the Trophy Generation." To wit:

1. The current depraved generation get too many trophies, too many awards that they're not worthy of.

2. There's a cadre of youngsters in the current depraved generation who like to get jobs as eye candy, i. e., trophy wives or boy toys. It pays well. They need training in how to interact successfully with sugar daddies and cougars.

How to teach these people?  I await further knowledge. Discuss.

The Fiona

[concordancia]

My boy toy could totally teach that course! Oh wait, how do we figure out if he has 18 graduate credit hours? I have been using the gold star system and the Kissy Face might not accept the transcripts.

[madhatter]

But how do we teach trophy wives?

[notaprof]

But how do we teach trophy wives?

Perhaps they get mail order MRS degrees.

[fiona]

Well, I got the beginning of the article, but not enough to see what "Trophy Generation" might be.

http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Teach-the-Trophy/123723/

The Fiona

[wellfleet]

First paragraph:

"Last year I had a day of classroom reckoning. While writing notes on the board, I looked over my shoulder and saw a student taking a picture of my notes with his iPhone. It stopped me in my tracks. I knew he wouldn't do well on the exam, since his technological zeal was unlikely to extend to actually downloading the image, enlarging it, deciphering my handwriting, and reproducing the notes into a document or—God forbid—a notebook."

Hmm.  The only person in my classroom who has ever used an iPhone to take pictures of notes on the board is, um, me.  And I have software that makes them legible, too.

[fiona]

First paragraph:

"Last year I had a day of classroom reckoning. While writing notes on the board, I looked over my shoulder and saw a student taking a picture of my notes with his iPhone. It stopped me in my tracks. I knew he wouldn't do well on the exam, since his technological zeal was unlikely to extend to actually downloading the image, enlarging it, deciphering my handwriting, and reproducing the notes into a document or—God forbid—a notebook."

Hmm.  The only person in my classroom who has ever used an iPhone to take pictures of notes on the board is, um, me.  And I have software that makes them legible, too.

So--are you a trophy wife, boy toy, or some other kind of thing? We crave the knowledge that only you can provide.

The Fiona

[wellfleet]

So--are you a trophy wife, boy toy, or some other kind of thing? We crave the knowledge that only you can provide.

Nah.  I'm a short, round, 40-ish humanities geek who likes tech toys.  The iPhone is great to have in class for the Attendance app alone--having complete attendance records in my pocket has been surprisingly useful, and having a roster with photographs has radically improved my ability to memorize names quickly.  I'm going to experiment with using the iPhone to record some class presentations this fall, too. 

The phone policy on my syllabus forbids talking and texting in class, but leaves open the option to use phones for other things. 

[fiona]

So--are you a trophy wife, boy toy, or some other kind of thing? We crave the knowledge that only you can provide.

Nah.  I'm a short, round, 40-ish humanities geek who likes tech toys.  The iPhone is great to have in class for the Attendance app alone--having complete attendance records in my pocket has been surprisingly useful, and having a roster with photographs has radically improved my ability to memorize names quickly.  I'm going to experiment with using the iPhone to record some class presentations this fall, too. 

The phone policy on my syllabus forbids talking and texting in class, but leaves open the option to use phones for other things. 

So to you "Trophy Generation" = "Gadget Generation"?

Kinda disappointing.

The Fiona, hoping for something lurid during summer torpor

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Fiona, the term "trophy generation" refers to kids who are accustomed to being rewarded just for showing up.  For example, when my kid was growing up, on every sports team he was on every student got a trophy at the end of the season no matter how well they did either as individuals or as a team.  Some people think this leads to an attitude of entitlement.

There have been a couple of books lately suggesting that managers or educators should pay attention to this mindset, or even cater to it.  See this for a review of one such book. - DvF

[polly_mer]

Fiona, the term "trophy generation" refers to kids who are accustomed to being rewarded just for showing up.  For example, when my kid was growing up, on every sports team he was on every student got a trophy at the end of the season no matter how well they did either as individuals or as a team.  Some people think this leads to an attitude of entitlement.

There have been a couple of books lately suggesting that managers or educators should pay attention to this mindset, or even cater to it.  See this for a review of one such book. - DvF

I read that review and laughed because I just finished reading Tamara Erickson's Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work (review written by Erickson to hawk her book).  In that book, Erickson tells these trophy generationers that they aren't wrong to want what they want and assures them that they can get what they want because the workplace will have to adjust to them in short order.  The idea of dues paying, rules following, or even demonstrating minimum qualifications to get hired at all is pretty well buried in that book so that uncritical readers likely wouldn't pick up on the implications of the many examples of "this is how the big bosses' generations (boomers and older) would likely view this situation, this is how the Gen Xer medium bosses would likely view this situation, and this is how your peers would likely view this situation".

I particularly liked the example of an emergency-call-home-immediately message that turned out to be a query from twentyish at-home-dweller to mom about the possible location of a pair of pants.  I was also somewhat disturbed that Erickson didn't follow up that anecdote or the example about how various generations would view getting multiple trivial text/email messages a day every day and refusing to schedule regular project meetings because that's too confining with a solid conclusion of "so don't do that because you are shooting yourself in the foot in terms of likely work success because the bosses still hold the power at this point.  Discuss with your boss the appropriate use of electronic communication and calendars."  Her confidence in the trophy generation to be able to connect the dots is stronger than my daily interactions with students lead me to have as a confidence level.

In fact, this business consultant barely touched on things like, "You are the worker, not your parents so don't have Mom call your prospective boss, don't have Dad come with you to interviews, and don't have either of them ever contact your actual employer unless you are in the hospital unable to act on your own behalf."  Instead, the focus was all on how the ultraspecial you could figure out what to do next and what those old fuddy-duddies would have to change to attract and retain brilliant, capable you with your strong, familial emotional ties.

If that last sentence I just wrote is the kind of attitude that the other people are suggesting that we all adopt as educators or managers, then count me out.  I'll help with drawing conclusions from data to learn to do independent thinking and explain all the rules upfront for people who apparently have never encountered these rules before, but that's the extent to which I am going to accommodate "trophy generation" kids.

[fiona]

Fiona, the term "trophy generation" refers to kids who are accustomed to being rewarded just for showing up.  For example, when my kid was growing up, on every sports team he was on every student got a trophy at the end of the season no matter how well they did either as individuals or as a team.  Some people think this leads to an attitude of entitlement.

There have been a couple of books lately suggesting that managers or educators should pay attention to this mindset, or even cater to it.  See this for a review of one such book. - DvF

Well, I read this article, and it depressed me a great deal (all your fault! why didn't you think of my needs!) Anyway, it's very good, and it does explain why, just today, the medical billing people still haven't fixed an error that goes back to May ("not in my job description" or "I go home at 4" or "someone else was supposed to do it"). I was dunned for a tax mistake (not mine), the uni computer system was down again without explanation, and I was overbilled for my card.

No one is to blame, of course. Stuff just happens.

It's not that in the good ole days, everyone did everything correctly, but people did seem to take responsibility for getting the work done, and shrugging was not considered an answer to complaints.

I hope I die before these entitlement people are "running" nursing homes.

The Fiona

[euro_trash]

I hope I die before these entitlement people are "running" nursing homes.

Don't worry, by then the death panels will have taken care of most of us.

[whiteknight]

I read that review and laughed because I just finished reading Tamara Erickson's Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work (review written by Erickson to hawk her book).  In that book, Erickson tells these trophy generationers that they aren't wrong to want what they want and assures them that they can get what they want because the workplace will have to adjust to them in short order.  The idea of dues paying, rules following, or even demonstrating minimum qualifications to get hired at all is pretty well buried in that book so that uncritical readers likely wouldn't pick up on the implications of the many examples of "this is how the big bosses' generations (boomers and older) would likely view this situation, this is how the Gen Xer medium bosses would likely view this situation, and this is how your peers would likely view this situation".

I particularly liked the example of an emergency-call-home-immediately message that turned out to be a query from twentyish at-home-dweller to mom about the possible location of a pair of pants.  I was also somewhat disturbed that Erickson didn't follow up that anecdote or the example about how various generations would view getting multiple trivial text/email messages a day every day and refusing to schedule regular project meetings because that's too confining with a solid conclusion of "so don't do that because you are shooting yourself in the foot in terms of likely work success because the bosses still hold the power at this point.  Discuss with your boss the appropriate use of electronic communication and calendars."  Her confidence in the trophy generation to be able to connect the dots is stronger than my daily interactions with students lead me to have as a confidence level.

In fact, this business consultant barely touched on things like, "You are the worker, not your parents so don't have Mom call your prospective boss, don't have Dad come with you to interviews, and don't have either of them ever contact your actual employer unless you are in the hospital unable to act on your own behalf."  Instead, the focus was all on how the ultraspecial you could figure out what to do next and what those old fuddy-duddies would have to change to attract and retain brilliant, capable you with your strong, familial emotional ties.

If that last sentence I just wrote is the kind of attitude that the other people are suggesting that we all adopt as educators or managers, then count me out.  I'll help with drawing conclusions from data to learn to do independent thinking and explain all the rules upfront for people who apparently have never encountered these rules before, but that's the extent to which I am going to accommodate "trophy generation" kids.

Have I told you lately that I love you?