Boomers "optimistic"
Bit confused by some of the descriptions of boomers growing up distrusting authorities and being instructed to distrust banks and other institutions yet the is generation is also considered more optimistic.
Stuart,
the point really isn't so much of exactly where do generations begin & end, but rather the awareness that each generation has unique qualities & perspectives. The more we understand differences, the better we can serve.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
No kidding, Boomers have surrendered to "the man"! They have now become the authorities".
I noticed that this course started the Xers at 1960, giving the Boomer era a 1943-1959 birth frame. Most sources classify Boomers as being born from 1946-64, which I think is a better predictor of attitudes and behaviors of the post WWII generation. I'm an Xer according to this course but a Boomer otherwise. I more so identify with the Boomer era in that we were raised to trust but grew to see why we shouldn't. Innately, I think Boomers are traditionalists but are cynical/distrusting as well only because of key historical US events.
Xers, 1965-80, were born and raised with the Watergates, etc.
I also do not observe that Boomers are optimistic. The ones I have had in class and my own "baby brother" boomer appear more in a pretend world, avoiding reality. They miss critique of projects and are more likely to come up with alternate solutions not responsive to the directions.
I'm on the cusp of boomer and x-er. I feel more like a boomer as my parents were older so I think my values come from that. Therefore, I think I grew up learning to trust authority figures, but through peer experiences, picking up on the cues of my friends (who's parents were younger than mine), I began to question authority in middle school.
My mother was a babyboomer and I myself would be a generation x baby. I do believe I have inherited many of my parents ways and ideals that pertain to learning and authority. I take this into consideration when teaching different cohorts as well..
As a boomer, I do have a distrust of authority. I feel that authority is not always in our best interest. Like my beatnick and hippie bretheren said back in the 50's and 60's, never trust anyone over 30 (and those tended to be the authority/establishment figures).
