Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit

Earlier generations have weathered recessions, of course; this stall we’re in has the look of something nastier. Social Security and Medicare are going to be diminished, at best. Hours worked are up even as hiring staggers along: Blood from a stone looks to be the normal order of things “going forward,” to borrow the business-speak. Economists are warning that even when the economy recuperates, full employment will be lower and growth will be slower-a sad little rhyme that adds up to something decidedly ­unpoetic. A majority of Americans say, for the first time ever, that this generation will not be better off than its parents.

—New York Magazine

Generation X is sick of your bullshit.

The first generation to do worse than its parents? Please. Been there. Generation X was told that so many times that it can’t even read those words without hearing Winona Ryder’s voice in its heads. Or maybe it’s Ethan Hawke’s. Possibly Bridget Fonda’s. Generation X is getting older, and can’t remember those movies so well anymore. In retrospect, maybe they weren’t very good to begin with.

But Generation X is tired of your sense of entitlement. Generation X also graduated during a recession. It had even shittier jobs, and actually had to pay for its own music. (At least, when music mattered most to it.) Generation X is used to being fucked over. It lost its meager savings in the dot-com bust. Then came George Bush, and 9/11, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Generation X bore the brunt of all that. And then came the housing crisis.

Generation X wasn’t surprised. Generation X kind of expected it.

Generation X is a journeyman. It didn’t invent hip hop, or punk rock, or even electronica (it’s pretty sure those dudes in Kraftwerk are boomers) but it perfected all of them, and made them its own. It didn’t invent the Web, but it largely built the damn thing. Generation X gave you Google and Twitter and blogging; Run DMC and Radiohead and Nirvana and Notorious B.I.G. Not that it gets any credit.

But that’s okay. Generation X is used to being ignored, stuffed between two much larger, much more vocal, demographics. But whatever! Generation X is self-sufficient. It was a latchkey child. Its parents were too busy fulfilling their own personal ambitions to notice any of its trophies-which were admittedly few and far between because they were only awarded for victories, not participation.

In fairness, Generation X could use a better spokesperson. Barack Obama is just a little too senior to count among its own, and it has debts older than Mark Zuckerberg. Generation X hasn’t had a real voice since Kurt Cobain blew his brains out, Tupac was murdered, Jeff Mangum went crazy, David Foster Wallace hung himself, Jeff Buckley drowned, River Phoenix overdosed, Elliott Smith stabbed himself (twice) in the heart, Axl got fat.

Generation X is beyond all that bullshit now. It quit smoking and doing coke a long time ago. It has blood pressure issues and is heavier than it would like to be. It might still take some ecstasy, if it knew where to get some. But probably not. Generation X has to be up really early tomorrow morning.

Generation X is tired.

It’s a parent now, and there’s always so damn much to do. Generation X wishes it had better health insurance and a deeper savings account. It wonders where its 30s went. It wonders if it still has time to catch up.

Right now, Generation X just wants a beer and to be left alone. It just wants to sit here quietly and think for a minute. Can you just do that, okay? It knows that you are so very special and so very numerous, but can you just leave it alone? Just for a little bit? Just long enough to sneak one last fucking cigarette? No?

Whatever. It’s cool.

Generation X is used to disappointments. Generation X knows you didn’t even read the whole thing. It doesn’t want or expect your reblogs; it picked the wrong platform.

Generation X should have posted this to LiveJournal.

Republished from Mat Honan’s tumblr.

Smartphones in Classrooms?

According to a news article in from Global today, the Toronto District School Board is lifting it’s cell phone ban in classrooms starting in September.

Trustees of the Toronto District School Board approved a motion Wednesday night lifting the ban on using cell phones and other mobile devices in city classrooms.

In a statement released early Thursday morning, the board said students may use cell phones and PDA devices in classrooms and hallways, “provided it does not distract from student learning or school activities.” Teachers will ultimately have the final say on the use of electronic devices in their classrooms.

The changes to the policy will take effect starting in September.

The ban was implemented in 2007 over fears from trustees that cell phones distract students and cause disruptions in classrooms.

While the article makes it sound like the Toronto District School Board is finally making its way into the current century, the humour of it all is that the actual decision is being left up to individual teachers.

Yes, I’m sure there will be forward thinking educators who recognize the value of having access to mobile technology and smartphones, but many will still continue to restrict the use of the phones all together.

The argument over cellular phones volleys back and forth across two thoughts; that cell phones are distracting, and that smartphones are useful.

As an educator I firmly believe smartphones are incredibly useful and an integrated part of our daily lives.However—I also believe they have their place.

My in classroom sessions usually run for 3 hours and are divided up into three blocks covering a lecture portion, group work, then an open class discussion. During the initial lecture portion, my rule has always been, and will always be, “laptops closed and phones on silent”. Once the group work begins, laptops and phone usage is allowed, so long as the usage is topic related. Do I expect that everything done is class related? Hell no. But as long as it’s not disruptive, and the work is completed, I honestly see no reason why students should not be allowed to have access to the technology.

Over the year I have had several students complete group research using their smartphone (instead of a laptop), which to me is the perfect example of how cell phones can be used properly and within limitations in a classroom setting. The reason this fact is important to mention is because my classes—part of a computer or media based program—take place in rooms with no computers other than the one powering the display projector.

The main topic I teach centres around digital society, yet the classrooms have no access to technology other than what the students themselves bring.

I believe this situation is reflective across the board, and that is exactly why I applaud the Toronto District School Board for raising the ban. I hope my fellow educators can see past the distraction and find a way to compromise for the technology.

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