1. What do you admire/dislike about younger/older generations?
2. How do the following elements manifest themselves in discussions about young and old people?
- unskilled yet proud
- a desire to change/'fix' other people
- wisdom
- culture shock
- technology
3. As a young person, did you ever hear something like "When I was your age,..."? Who said it, what did they say exactly?
4. Have you read Ivan Turgenev's 'Fathers and Sons', Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman', or Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'? How are generational differences exploited in these novels? Do you know any other novels which highlight the differences between generations?
5. Have there been any periods of time when the gap between young and old has increased? (I'm thinking of the 60/70s in the US) Does the gap shrink/increase in accordance with other socio-economic factors? Can you think of any examples?
Read the article here: My Generation Reading
6. Do you agree with the author when he says it's fear of being replaced that makes the older generation criticise the young?
7. The author cites several historical examples of 'youth hating' from the past, is this because the generation gap is a cyclical phenomenon? Can you imagine a time when it didn't happen?
8. The UK (and the US, I guess) have both had a series of distinct teenage 'movements' (teddy boys, punks, mods, rockers, skinheads etc), and these all started after WW2. Was post-WW2 a 'watershed moment' for teenagers in your country?
..........
Situation
You are a leading sociologist doing research into generational differences. Your research has indicated that there isn't any evidence to suggest that the current generation is any better/worse than previous generations. You do, however, believe that there are changes in opinion which occur over a lifetime. This leads to twenty-year-olds being more narcissistic than fifty-year-olds, and older people misremembering their youth.
You've been invited on to a radio show to expound on your theories and answer questions from the host (your teacher).
..........
Discuss quotes
“For the first half of your life, people tell you what you should do; for the
second half, they tell you what you should have done.”
--- Richard Needham
"Every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers."
--- Lewis Mumford
“Wisdom doesn’t necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself.”
--- Tom Wilson
“It is fortunate that each generation does not comprehend its own ignorance. We are thus enabled to call our ancestors barbarous."
--- Charles Dudley Warner
"Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late."
--- Thomas Sowell
“In youth we run into difficulties; in old age difficulties run into us.”
--- Josh Billings
Student Handout here: My Generation
Photo: Eva Elijas
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