Single parents
The material presented is not only excellent for educators but can also be a great resource for international students. They would gain a better understanding of generational differences in the United States which could be quite different from those in their country of origin. Additionally, although many factors pertaining to the four generations have been presented there doesn't seem to be any discussion of the shift in the United States to single parent households.
Kevin,
this is a good observation & this definitely has had an impact on the more recent generations.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I agree, I was raised by a single parent and had to learn to teach myself. Now that I teach, I try and recognize each generation and adapt teaching styles to reach all of them.
I had never thought about these "generation" based issues. Thank you for putting this together in a way that is easy to understand.
One would think that children raised by a single parent would be self motivated.
I feel the same way, being raised in a single parent household forces you to "step it up" and be a bit more aggressive in learning & in life in general.
I agree, as a single parent myself and came from a single parent family. I was always worked hard at everything I did. Because my mother instilled values and morals that I had to be better than her she uses to work two jobs. As now as a teacher I look at everybody generation group and I try to base my teaching day on everyone learning style and generation group.
Deidra,
yes it really is important that we understand & accomodate the diversity that is present in our classes.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I can relate to what you are saying, I've was raised by both parents, but in two different households, therefore, I was given different information depending on who I asked. This really had me confused at times, but it also gave me a better direction on how to adapt to different learning techniques.
From first-hand perspective, I can offer that at times, all need support and understanding. While self-motivation often accompanies children raised by a single parent, so does frustration when they struggle on a topic. Through self-teaching, these students often are reluctant to ask for help when they most need it.
