Get Your Students Hired
I have been teaching adults for over a year now in a technical school and have been disappointed with the lack of work ethic and responsibility students have. Age of students range from 20 to 40 and the lack of responsibility and accountability is startling. I have tried to encourage that they take more responsibility and pride in their work in addition to being accountable for their learning efforts and have seen some change but overall, the majority still have poor work ethics. I feel that recent generations have developed an entitlement complex where they feel they can to put little effort into things but expect big results. Has anyone else noticed this trend and does anyone have any other recommendations to encouraging self motivation and accountablility?
We have noticed this trend at our school also. My mother also teaches at another local college and this same problem seems to exist. I think some of these issue are something that could be addressed early in a college career. Younger students coming directly from a High School environment seem to have more of the entitlement attitude. When the expectations of the college environment are imposed upon them they may wake up and take their work more seriously. Not saying that takes care of the problem 100% of the time otherwise we would not have this discussion but I believe it does work for some of the students.
I have also found sharing stories from my industry helps. Showing examples of the quality of work that is expected in the industry can drive a bit of fear in the students that are below the quality bar that is expected.
Jeanette,
I understand about being concerned with work ethic. As a culinary instructor, I often have career changers in my classes that have no professional kitchen experience. In the beginning I was irritated by their lack of drive and often thought some students would never make it in "the real world". However, I soon realized that without clear information about what is expected in a professional kitchen there is no way to hold them to such high expectations. Therefore I try to include stories and situational examples of what they can expect. I also suggest that everyone spend time "staging" (like volunteering) in restaurants to find out if they like the pace and work requirements of a restaurant.
Sincerely,
Jennifer
Jeanette, what conversations have you had with your students about your concerns? Have you tried to build a dialog with respect to their expectations? May be good for you to gain a better understanding of their expectations so you can inform them of the reality of life and how things work within the industry you represent as the area of teaching you provide. For some students they need a good discussion to help them understand what will be needed to be successful.
James Jackson
Yes, yes, and yes, lack of motivation, accountability, the age of entitlement is rapidly growing section of our population.
How do I handle it?
I do my very best to engage with each of my students on a daily basis. I try to learn all of their names by day two, this way I can address them by name in a professional matter. I do not think this happens outside of the class, meaning more people say hey buddie or you. This is not very motivating, calling someone by name means you recongnize them as an individual.