Things are just different now than the world I remember growing up and maturing in. And perhaps by the time readers finish reading this column, I’ll sound like a cynical, middle-aged man heading towards being a grumpy old codger. But some of these changes are worth mentioning. First, people just raise children differently. I’ve observed discipline particularly, where appropriate corporal punishment has given way to timeouts, minimal consequences for bad behavior, and fear of letting a child lose sometime. Time and time again in sports, academic competition and in situations where there are clearly spoils associated with better performance, we create this atmosphere where “everyone is a winner” or where we award participation medals. Children need to experience defeat so that they can work harder, become more resilient, and learn to deal with adversity. No one in the job market has ever given the runner-up for a CEO position any kind of second-place accolade or compensation that comes along with attaining the position.
Second, people have become very disconnected and unappreciative of the outdoors, probably thanks to technology and this unproven statement that, “It’s hotter now than it was back then…” Thinking back to my time in school, I remember just about every family in my neighborhood. Now, people tend to struggle to remember their next-door neighbor’s name.
Third, reading, processing and critical thinking are not what they used to be. Kids in my generation who were about to do a term paper really had to work. There was no copy and paste from the internet and doing a document overnight. We had to check out books, read and summarize material on notecards which was a surefire method of avoiding plagiarism. People can say that kids are more advanced and smarter these days, but I would challenge any of them if it was possible to sit in one of my elementary classrooms from years ago and try to keep up with kids who had to read and process information as a foundation for their education. There is certainly more information and better ways to access it these days, but let’s not confuse this abundance with any type of intellectual advancement. In fact, when you get a moment go back and look at newspaper archives from a century ago and compare them to any of today’s publications and you’ll come away with a great deal of respect for the writing and drafting of antiquity.
Balancing a good literacy-based education with health and wellness was also quite a bit better back then. Kids built up their immunity by being outside, fishing, eating wild berries near ditch banks, and playing sports – particularly pickup games in the summer and after school. You just didn’t hear of children with hypertension, diabetes, and obesity years ago.
Fourth, telling one’s truth instead of THE truth has given many in the world license to practice rude behavior, follow conspiracy theories, and disregard common sense, logic, wisdom, and proven practices.
I will grant that the world with all of its predators, diversions, and dangers has become an even more evil and more ominous place, leading to much of our isolation and dehumanization of others. But the world I grew up in was simpler and a lot easier to navigate.
