Three Facts You Need to Know to Connect with Generation Z
Generation Z–as with any generation–is living in a new “narrative.” In today’s world, kids are growing up in a time that is both exhilarating and frightening for them. This is causing changes that can be difficult to understand. In fact, they are so different from older generations that parents and adult leaders can feel both frustrated with them and fearful
Signs of the Times from the College Entrance Scandal
What can the latest college entrance scandal tell us about the shift in parenting today? Tim Elmore and Andrew McPeak discuss the four parenting trends they have observed on today's podcast. Resources: 12 Huge Mistakes Parent Can Avoid Contact: [email protected] Social: @GrowingLeaders, @TimElmore and @AndrewMcPeak
The Great Need for Social & Emotional Learning
Emotional intelligence in students has become a front and center issue for so many educators across America. Any student struggling with anxiety or depression will benefit from what educators now describe as: Social Emotional Learning or S.E.L. This topic is taking the K-12 educational world by storm, as a growing number of administrators recognize that students may be hindered from mastering reading,
Best Practices to Engage Your Student Athletes
The Director of Student Athlete Development at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Chris Everett, is interviewed by Growing Leaders' Director of Strategic Partnership, JT Thoms. Chris Everett shares about his past experiences of being a student athlete and his role in the development of current student athletes. Enjoy this interview as they talk about some of the problems
Four Lessons We Learn From Gabby Douglas
Her moment was both unbelievable and overwhelming. Gabby Douglas became the first African-American to win the Olympic all-round gold medal in gymnastics. It is the most coveted title in her sport…and she did it at sixteen years old. Gabby Douglas belongs to Generation iY. In a world where her peers are generally caught up in activities like Facebook, texting, video games,
Dos and Don’t’s For Grads Heading into the Job Hunt
'Tis the season…to enter the marketplace and hunt for a job. At least that’s true for two million college students who graduate this month. Employers plan to hire a little over ten percent more recent graduates than they did last year at this time. But what should you do if you’re about to interview for the first time? According to a study
Gender Confusion in our Kids
I am blogging all week about the best questions I received last Saturday when I spoke at a parenting conference at Northridge Church, just outside of Detroit. It was a great day of dialogue and the parents were full of insightful questions. Here is another below. Question: "It seems like I am running into more and more tweens and teens who
Does Television Cultivate Bullies?
I know this may sound ridiculous to some of you. As I flipped through channels the other night on TV, I saw one reality television program after another. Networks are full of them these days -- and in every case, the show culminated in a panel of judges making harsh remarks to those performing. We’ve all seen these shows spring up over
Waiting For Superman
Another critical movie was released over the weekend. It’s a movie I recommend everyone see -- especially if you care about kids and the future of American education. It’s called: “Waiting For Superman.” It's the documentary everyone's talking about. It tells a gripping story about the state of public school systems in America, told through the eyes of five hopeful students.
What is it About Twenty-Somethings?
Last week, the New York Times ran an article called, “What is it About Twenty-Somethings?” It was a treatment of the rising population who are aptly called “emerging adults” by author Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. You can find the article here on lemondrop. The article cleverly shares 10 clues that you really are a twenty-something, including: You plan to move back home
Atrophied Muscles in Generation iY (Part Two)
In my last blog post, I suggested that just like muscles shrink -- or atrophy -- when they’ve been in a cast for weeks, our culture has created a world where we don’t have to exercise certain emotional, social, intellectual, or spiritual muscles we used to need in the past. People skills and virtues were more prevalent in the past
Atrophy
Muscle atrophy. We all know someone who broke an arm or leg, and had it in a cast for four to six weeks. When the cast is removed -- the muscles underneath are deformed and reduced. It’s called “disuse muscular atrophy.” When muscles are not used or exerted, they shrink. This phenomenon has been studied widely in astronauts who experience
Nine Reasons for Neverland
In my last blog post, I spoke of a shift in our culture that has especially impacted students born since 1990. They’ve gotten stuck and won’t grow up. This shift actually has been slowly evolving throughout the 20th century. There has been a perfect storm of elements that have contributed to the state of our current culture that we, as leaders,
Why Can’t Johnny Read?
I just met with a superintendent and her associate for a school district event in Georgia. My respect for them went up as we talked. We found ourselves drifting to the topic of student success and the ineffectiveness of schools today. As educators, I suspected they might be a bit defensive. They were not in the least. In fact, they got
My Fourth Concern for the Year 2030
Here is my fourth and final concern for the year 2030. To read my previous blog posts on the previous three concerns, click here for the first one, here for the second and here for the third. 4. The inability to remain in a long-term commitment. Because our world talks in sound bites, tweets and texts, we have reduced our capacity to
My Third Concern for the Year 2030
Here is my third concern for the year 2030. For my first concern, click here, and for my second concern, click here. 3. Immediate responses they receive for any craving or inquiry they express. Receiving instant response to any and all requests is not healthy for any human being, yet we’ve all become accustomed to it. By and large, our
My Second Concern for the Year 2030
Here is my second concern for the year 2030. 2. The homogenous interactions limited to their own age group. I mention this one in a previous post. It used to be that students attended a one-room schoolhouse. While there are some downsides to this environment, one of the upsides is that they were forced to interact all the time with younger kids
My Concerns for the Year 2030
Here is the first of four blog posts. This is my first concern for the year 2030. I will do more than 80 events this year, most of them at schools. At these campuses, I will often host informal focus groups to allow students to weigh in on the issues that are front and center in their lives. I will tell these
A Narcissistic World
This is the final word of a six word blog series that describes the world our kids are growing up in. Whether they’ve entered college, still in high school, middle school, or elementary school, these words explain why they end up the way they do as young adults. Let me know your thoughts and what’s happening in your part of
A Programmed World
I am intrigued by this word below. It is word #5 that describes the world that adolescents are growing up in today. This word describes their world from early childhood onward. This blog post is one of a series of six. I’d like to hear what you think. Their world is programmed. Generation iY kids (born since 1990) are seldom required
A Superficial World
Below is word number four in my series of six words that describe the world in which our kids are growing up. I am hopeful we, adults, can lead them well, but there’ll be changes we must make to prepare them to enter the world of adults. Below is my latest entry. See what you think… Their world is superficial. Kids
Shooting for the Right Goals
Keeping students satisfied is not the same as helping them succeed Written by: Jerry Pattengale As I swished my long jump shot, the packed gym roared. Suddenly I was very alone. They were the wrong fans, and that was the wrong basket. There was nowhere to hide. In the celebrated Indiana state basketball tournament, I had earned legendary status in an instant, for all
Quiet Giants and Unsung Heroes
Captain Kangaroo passed away on January 23, 2004 at age 76. This is a bit odd to me because, frankly, he always looked to be 76, when I watched him on TV as a kid. He always came across as this meek, gentle guy who found his niche with kids. Flipping through channels on my TV remote recently, I saw
Two Extraordinary Schools
I'm in Tuscaloosa for four days on the campus of the University of Alabama. I arrived on Saturday for the Crimson Tide's homecoming weekend, and got to go down on the field before their big football game against the University of South Carolina. I was like a kid in a candy store. Why do I get to do this? It's all
From Illusion to Disillusion
What a difference five years makes. When social scientists began assessing Generation Y (The Millennials born between 1984-2002), their prospects were bright. We began reading about them a decade ago, when authors Howe and Strauss touted their confident attitudes, self-esteem and optimism. Jobs were readily available as commerce was still booming for the most part. Today—not so much. Our nation is in
Full Days Empty Hearts
This month, I feel like a politician on a campaign trail. I am doing a total of seventeen speaking events, locally and on the road—speaking to students, teachers, executives and administrators about leading the next generation. It is both exhilarating and exhausting. So far, I’ve done five events…and experienced two flight cancellations, three flight delays and several nights where
Left Brain Schools in a Right Brain World
I remember an activity from my early childhood. When we were in elementary school, my sisters and I used to play “school.” We’d get the chalk- board out, the chairs and the map—and one of us would be the teacher. Sometimes, we’d get the G.I. Joe’s or stuffed animals involved, to enlarge the class size a bit. When we didn’t know
Please Say No
I just finished doing some staff training with a great group of leaders who serve in a non-profit organization. They work with young adult volunteers between 17 and 25 years old. During our discussion, one of the staff members told me that her roommate is an elementary school teacher who was also going through training as an educator. What she told
Groom the Gift, Tame the Tude
I love working with students. I believe in this next generation of kids--the ones born between 1984 and 2002. Whatever you choose to call them, Millennials, Generation Y, the Digital Generation, their sheer size and demographic are destined to transform our culture, as they become adults. Social scientists believe they will be the largest generation in American history, somewhere between
A First Year Experience…
I just finished speaking at a conference in Orlando. The event is called: "First Year Experience." It's attended by deans and directors who program for first year students at universities across the country. This was my second year experience at the First Year Experience event. :o) In my session, I suggested something that launched a little discussion. I reminded attendees that
Inspired at Auburn…
Every now and then, you just get inspired. Last Thursday, I spoke at a leadership conference at Auburn University. It was hosted by student leaders on campus for potential Auburn students coming from high schools all over the South. Four of us from our "Growing Leaders" office drove over from Atlanta to be part of this. We suspected this would be
I’m Working on a New Book…Wanna Help?
There's been a fire burning inside of me for more than two years. As I travel, I hear so many complaints and compliments about this next generation of kids. Some call them Millennials, others call them Generation Y, the Digital Generation, Sunshine Kids, MTV Generation, Screenagers, et all. What strikes me is the disparity on the comments I hear. Many adults