I’ve noticed that among my Millennial students, there is a disturbing lack of curiosity. I wonder if I am the only person who feels this way.
This concerns me because it has employment implications. A lack of curiosity may well hurt graduates’ hiring prospects. The Washington Post reported May 17, 2009, that after contacting eight to 10 area schools, about 35 to 40 percent of seniors are graduating without jobs or a predetermined plan in place. Typically, that number is 10 to 15 percent.
Given, this is the worst economy we’ve seen in a long time. Companies are hurting, and jobs are scarce. But that is all the more reason for graduates to pay attention to every detail that will help them secure a good job.
Why am I saying there is a lack of curiosity? This past spring semester, I had approximately 75 students in four classes. I interact with these students in class twice a week. I talk with them in the halls. They come to my office for things. They participate in our PR Group, the student professional association chapter. Yet in all of these interactions, only occasionally will someone ask a question of any substance. Few make observations that capture insightful interest in or understanding of things. Most never even comment on their surroundings. They seem oblivious to a deeper exploration of ideas and concepts, not only the abstract or obtuse, but the practical as well, like how to get and keep jobs in communication/PR/IMC.
In short, they seem to be devoid of curiosity. Some specific examples:
- Students rarely if ever ask about the working world. I spent 35 years earning a living doing what I now teach. It seems to me that that might provoke some questions. College is a time of becoming exposed to many new and different ideas and concepts. Why then are there so few probing questions? Why so few substantive questions about careers and work?
- Students don’t ask why things are the way they are. They seem to accept everything at face value.
- This is a personal, nonscientific observation, but I think it tells us something; students don’t seem to notice things around them. A specific example of this is that students do not see things in my office. I have a small but nicely appointed office with a few carefully chosen decorations, like interesting photos and original art. I purposely designed my office to be an interesting and relaxing place to visit or work. But students don’t comment on photos, memorabilia, etc. They don’t even see these things.
It does not hurt my feelings that students who visit my office do not comment on my artwork. But it does bother me that they don’t even notice their surroundings. What if it was a job interview? The ability to converse easily, perhaps initiate a conversation about a unique photo or piece of art, is a plus for the job seeker. The abiity to build rapport and sell yourself with employers is critically important.
As a manager who hired, trained, and terminated many employees in my career, the ability and willingness to ask probing questions is a competitive advantage for job seekers.
One of my more memorable supervisors got furious at employees who didn’t demonstrate curiosity. He blasted employees who “were not the least bit curious at why sales were flat, or why this project did not work, or that process cost so much, etc.” In general, he wanted curious employees who dug deep to find better ways of doing things. Those employees were favored. The employees with curiosity were trusted with more meaningful assignments. They got raises and promotions. But first, they got hired.
As May graduates try to enter the job market, I think a sense of curiosity is a big plus.
Professor Potter,
This post took the words out of my mouth. I was just at work today, talking to my managers about the difference between workers who will succeed and those that will stay in the same position. Curiosity is an important factor, however, as a student, I understand the fear of asking such questions. I believe the main reason is that students feel intimidated to ask professionals, such as yourself, beginner’s questions. However, do you feel like some of the fault can be placed on professors and professionals who don’t make themselves as accessible and inviting?
Sanja
This is an excellent conversation about curiosity, Les. Could it be for some students that each class taken is treated similarly to a purchase at a store? You hand in specified papers to the professor (cashier) and you get a receipt back with your grade on it. Then if you think you were charged the wrong amount (your grade) you complain and ask to have the amount you were charged (your grade) changed. I wonder if our consumer culture has something to do with this. Perhaps, also contributing is the way some children grow up smothered in praise from those around them with little hint that they could do anything wrong. It’s no wonder many come to us the way they do as they have been trained to act that way.
Thankfully, there are some students and parents who treat the educational process differently. I wish I would hear more frequently from those who do value a course and from those who do not treat education as another purchase made to receive a trophy (the diploma) as the end product.
–Garry
Prof. Bolan raises a good point – I wish to disbute just one aspect of that point.
I find my feathers bristled just slightly at the beginning of the second paragraph. “Thankfully, there are some students and parents who treat the educational process differently.” What about the educational system? If an ideal world is one where grades are not treated as transactions, why is there so much emphasis put on them by the institutions which disburse the receipts?
It starts early. You need good grades in Middle School and a high entrance exam score to get into a good high school. Get good grades in high school and make sure you score well on the SATs or you won’t get into a good college! And don’t let your GPA slip below a certain number or you won’t get honors or you might lose your scholarship! Only after college do graduates suffer the ENORMOUS let down that all that grade-chasing did absolutely no good what-so-ever.
Professor Bolan, I agree with your first paragraph – we are products of our environment. I never had the opportunity to be in any of your classes, and I know from speaking to my colleagues that I most certainly missed out. I think we would have had a great time in class. Ask Les for confirmation – I ask a LOT of questions.
Sanja,
Thank you for commenting. You raise a good point. Yes, I do believe that professors and professionals can be at fault for not creating an open and honest environment in which students or younger workers feel comfortable asking questions. Sadly, many professors and professionals do not make themselves available and accessible.
But I do. I work very hard to make my students (as I did my employees when I was a practitioner) feel comfortable to ask anything at any time. My door is always open to conversations. I ask for questions repeatedly in class: “do you understand this? What questions do you have? Any questions at all, about anything?”
I never get defensive when asked any question. The problem is that there are just too few substantive questions. I understand your point that students or younger workers might be fearful to ask questions of someone who has more experience. Here again, it is the responsibility of the authority figure to break down the barriers. We must set the stage for open, honest two-way dialogue.
I’ll keep trying. I wish you were in my classes. I wish you the best in all that you do, Sanja.
Les
Hi Les,
I find your post very interesting because of two reasons:
1) My friend was just talking to me about how he’s the only person in his classes to ask questions and engage his professor in discussions. He was wondering whether his fellow students appreciated the insights that came from his curiosity, or if they were annoyed by his dominance in the classroom.
2) I’ve always been a curious person and I’ve noticed that my friends are similar in nature. Perhaps I simply draw people like me to my social circle, as I have met other Millennials such as you have described, but I see my fellow Gen Yers asking questions and wanted to dig deeper to gain an understanding of the world around them. Which can been seen positively, as you have encouraged, but may also be seen as an annoyance (ever heard of my generation being called “Generation Why”?).
- Stacey
Les, this is such an excellent observation! I’ll also note that you were careful not to say ALL Millennials lack curiosity, but I agree with you that it seems this generation is less interested in what is going on in the world around them. I’ve noticed this in the classes I’ve taught. On Friday, I was at a seminar in which another practitioner who also teaches made the same observation. He said he often throws out questions in his class that have little or nothing to do with the subject matter — just to get the students talking about something!
I believe a big reason for this lack of curiosity and interest in the rest of the world is the popularity of social media. Online venues like Facebook and MySpace put all of the focus on “me.” It’s all about what I think, how I’m feeling, what I’m doing, what’s on my mind. The online world revolves around “me” and that carries over into the real world. If someone makes a comment with which I disagree, I can delete it or “unfriend” the person. I can post hundreds of photos of myself, not caring how they might appear to potential employers. I can even refer to myself in the third person!
Eventually, something will balance this out. But for now, this generation of digital natives is being taught to be self-absorbed and inwardly focused. It’s not entirely their fault — our generation paved the way for this situation to arise. But it sure makes our jobs as their teachers and mentors more difficult.
An update to “Curiosity” –
I just posted grades for the spring semester, and now the phone calls, emails, and text messages come regularly from students who simply can’t understand why they got the grade they got.
I hate this time of the year, because it is only now that I see real curiosity. If a little more curiosity was displayed during the semester about the work, then perhaps grades would have been higher.
I apologize for being negative, but this always happens.
You may wish to seek counsel from some of your colleagues. There are some excellent professors at TU who are old pros! T
Their “keys to success” in terms of avoiding end of semester grade shock are that they give their students very clear objectives in their courses. Outcomes for each assignment are conveyed during the semester. Feedback and assessment of student work is fair, continual, and according to predetermined criteria that is well understood by both teacher and student. It is a working partnership from the first day of class to the last. (Hence, the final grade is never a surprise.)
I am baby boomer enjoying the company of millinials in classes I am taking as a returning student to TU. I have found them to be curious, world-wise, technologically savvy, respectful of diversity in race, nationality, sexual orientation, extrordinarily skilled at working in groups and teams and learning from one another—and at the same time comfortanle with sublimating their desires for individual recognition to glory for the group. They are considerate and polite to boot! They are extrordinary in all of these areas and I believe they will bring about important changes to our culture/society/world.
Hello Les, great points about an interesting topic. The “challenge” I have with my students is twofold — they don’t understand much (if anything) about the business world, thus they have no idea how they “fit” into the picture and many lack intellectual curiosity.
Here’s an example: many students enter the public relations sequence with little or no idea what PR/communications is. Somewhere, someone told them that this would be a good major for them, usually having to do with “being good with people” and no mention of writing, research, or strategic thinking skills.
They enter our three-semester program still not knowing much about the major, then the first semester take “Principles of Public Relations.” For the first time, they finally have a PR prof teaching them about their major. However, getting them to get involved or ask meaningful questions is grueling.
The next semester is the meat of the program — three courses: “Writing for PR,” “Public Relations Research,” and “Public Relations: Issues, Practices, and Problems” (a case study course). After one 15-week course, they are slammed with these three, but it is finally a course load in their major. It is difficult work, but rather than rejoice that they will finally get to know what PR/communications is, they complain about the amount of work and toughness.
At a point where their curiosity should be at its highest, many check out based on the workload. Most do not read the required materials my colleagues and I assign, even if it is timely essays and short articles drawn from important PR periodicals, such as PRWeek, Ragan newsletters, and blogs.
Some students sit in class and say nothing for 15 weeks, despite my pleas for them to engage. Others make no effort at all. However, there are a handful each semester that do the work, read the material, engage with the profession, and ask great questions and provide thoughtful commentary. I guess this is why we all continue to teach.
Let me end this long reply with this: I thoroughly enjoy teaching and like all my students as individuals. I want them to achieve all their hopes and aspirations. However, I know that some of them are not cut out for a career as professional communicators, at least not when I have them in class. Perhaps some magic switch will kick in at some later date, which for their sake I hope does. But, I do know that a trait all my very best students share is intellectual curiosity and a drive for success that I can’t define.
I have to respond to HL. I know Les very well. We often discuss our experiences in the classroom and how we approach teaching (I’m an adjunct instructor at another school). I know for a fact that Les clearly spells out his expectations of students from day one. In fact, he has gone to great lengths to make sure that students not only hear and read the syllabi for his classes, but they understand what is expected of them and make a commitment to do what is required to succeed in his classes. I have little sympathy for students who “don’t understand” why they received the grade they did. If they attend class, complete the assignments on time, participate in class discussions and study for the exams, there should be no surprises at the end of the semester.
I will agree with Mr. Holland. Les’s syllabus was one of the clearest I ever received in my time at Towson.
I as well have little sympathy for my fellow “students who “don’t understand” why they received the grade they did.”" Let’s examine that sentence in depth and see if we can get to the root of the problem.
Pay attention fellow Millenials – this one’s for you!
The word “received” belongs nowhere near grades. You earn a grade, you don’t get it. No matter what it is, you’ll see the grade you deserve. I agree with most of the people who’ve ever posted on this topic on Les’s blog, that it’s an issue of entitlement.
The Millenial generation, for whatever reason, seems to feel entitled to the moon if that’s what our little hearts desire. Perhaps we can blame it on our parents, that they cheered us on even we were doing poorly or let us win at family game night. Maybe it’s to be blamed on our teachers, who invented 4th and 5th and 6th place so no one “got their feelings hurt.” Maybe it’s our entire society who glorifies pop stars with mediocre talent instead of firefighters and police officers who demonstrate real strength and courage every day. Squeeze out a few notes that some other star already sang and you too can be the next American Idol!!!
I’m so sorry to rant, but it really annoys me that my generation can be so oblivious to the world around them, yet think they’re entitled to everything it offers. Most of all, it REALLY gets to me that I’m lumped in with all the other non-thinkers.
Les, thanks again for letting me release some pent-up rage. Don’t let my generation get you down. You’re the best and I miss your wisdom and humor every day. Hope this finds you well!
[...] great friend Les Potter wrote an insightful essay questioning the lack of curiosity among the Millennial students he teaches at Towson University in Maryland. When someone of [...]
[...] best friend and professional mentor Les Potter recently blogged about this subject. Les is a few years into his new career as a visiting professor of public relations and integrated [...]
Thank you for posting your observations on the lack of curiosity among students today. Unfortunately, I think I know the cause of this lack of curiosity and there is nothing that can be done. Forty years ago less than 10% of the population pursued a college degree and today it is over 25%.
I have a poster of “The Outsiders” (I teach film) and students always comment on how many famous actors were in that movie as youths. Actually, I get tired of students bringing it up–it seems like more of a distraction than anything. It does draw them in to all of the other elements in my office, like a tiny framed still from “Metropolis” or cards and notes from previous students. Maybe with today’s sheltered youth you kind have to begin with the familiar.