exponential leaps in a condensed timeline

We have all, whether forcibly or voluntarily have taken a history class or two. I remember learning about the birth of America. In the late 1800s we entered the industrial revolution that led to increased production of goods on the home front as well as revolutionary technological advancements by way of railroad , which just 2 decades later birthed the idea of the automobile. Now from that point forward there were set backs and comebacks by way of unprecedented economic hardship, world wars, and other less defined wars. But through and through America's culture and way of life did not waiver. Men, women and even children had well defined outlines on how and what to be but also why. And as a whole America prospered. Now i am all for bending the rules, and going against the grain in hopes of progress and revolutionary ideas, but let me digress. Fast forward 100 years to the 1990s. Many baby boomers born in the 60s and even the 70s were now adults. Raising young children who were brought into a starkly different world then their parents were raised in. With the quantum leaps of technology ever creating a new socio economical landscape as well as opening new doors in such a short period of time for the first time in our nation's existence we had children being raised by people who were molded by “ old world rules”. It would be like growing up on Venus for 25 years having children and moving to Alabama. The technological jump from the mid 1990s to present day is one that , if graphed, would blow people's minds. The years in this time frame saw cultural norms, technological advancements , the right and wrongs, the code of conduct and level of perceived entitlement change drastically. Our parents, who grew up with few culture changing technological advancements compared to generations prior, outside of maybe color TV, were forged in fire. The boomers born in the 60s were very young when our country entered the Vietnam and Korean wars respectively. The code and way of life instilled in them since birth was one of duality. In one sense they grew up during the Civil rights movement and the free spirit generation. This allowed them to adopt a more inclusive less decisive view of society around them , while still subscribing to the notion that nothing will ever be handed to you, and anything worth having is worth working hard for. These ideals are why some, especially those of that era champion the sentiment that this was the true height of America. The opus. The hardworking, diligent, never give up, yet less barbaric , people are equal set of ideals seemed to be an ideal balance that surprisingly upheld until the aforementioned 1990s. We had a nation of blue collar workers, with clearly defined gender roles and behaviors raising children who were told in school you don't go to the factory at 16 and get a job , you stay in the scholastic realm and continue your education until you can enter a field that may or may not have even existed when their parents were in school. As time went on schools seemed to focus on teaching practical lessons and skills less and less and focused more on extending those liberal inclusive ideals that were introduced in our parents youth. School became more about a curriculum and an agenda More so then delving into a young person's interests or molding them for future success. Now , not only were we products of conflicting ideas between home and school but whole generations seriously lacked any real guidance that was Taylor made for them because, well to this point none had existed. We had essentially dropped off a colony of young people onto a planet we knew very little about but expected them to take the reins and guide our countries future to new heights. Along with overwhelming foreign stimuli from every direction, young people were tasked with navigating an entirely different social landscape then had ever previously existed. Norms amongst friends, dating lives, jobs, everything changed almost yearly leaving little room for anyone to adjust let alone settle into anything of substance or longevity. From the time one entered university as a freshman to the time they graduated the world would flip twice over , making navigating any major or coursework impossible. This led to the degradation in value of degrees. At one point , just a decade prior a degree in higher education really set you apart from the field and was certainly a fast track to outperform your less educated peers. Fast forward two decades and a college degree is near obsolete outside of a select few hyper specialties, ie: surgeons, lawyers, etc. We've entered a very different yet also somewhat similar predicament we once faced. America's youth is tasked with once again getting out in front of the curve and have the fore sight to not just keep up with the times but proactively seek what the next big answer is in our advancement. This is made possible by things like internet and technology being more widespread amongst most everybody these days. Contrary to that though, we are seeing the earth's population also increase exponentially leading to a massive uptick in competition amongst people in their respective fields. Couple that with technology breaking down boarders and creating a true global landscape also increases competition. Where as in our parents youth they were competing with peers locally, today's youth are competing with people across all states and even continents. Now competition is normally a prime indicator of growth and progress, because historically humans rose to the occasion, adapted and pushed the needle forward. However, growing up in a time of peace ( mostly, if not at least very different from the world wars of the past), as well as the old adage that boomers seemed to adopt the “ I want my children to have a life I never had”, many young people today seem to carry this inherent level of entitlement. There is less of a drive in recent generations to innovate, create, and all in all understand the core principal of if it's worth having it's worth working your tail off for. This has had a profoundly negative result despite the competition in which overall service and quality of goods has degraded despite technological advancements and a blue print for success just decades removed. For all of the things we have in place today , one thing that's seriously lacking is guidance. It's become apparent that these boomer parents have given up on trying to find the next best right answer or ways to even speak to their child because frankly it'd be like teaching english cursive to a 5th grader who only speaks mandarin Chinese. So they stopped giving the outdated, societal deemed “ wrong” answers, and started giving none. What we need is real mentors to guide the youth. True experts and pioneers of their field, real geniuses who understand sociology and psychology and mental health and wellness. This may be a hot take but our kids should get all of the math literature science basics before 6th grade. From that point forward they should be guided by these masters and pioneers who can accurately identify what the child might have skill in and what their interests are. This leads to a generation of 18 year old ADULTS, who are more emotionally stable and mature then the 40 year Olds of today. More job ready then anyone going through the school curriculums of today mold. We are entering a time of serious change. A time where our timeline will continue to be condensed and the landscape changes overnight instead of over years. If our system of preparing the youth for this doesn't become perfected we will continue to see many youth without purpose or real understanding of who they are or what to do. And as we know idle hands are the devils playground. This leads to the rise of devious behaviors and other vices that can completely de-rail a young person's life, or ruin in entirely, never to recover. I'm not suggesting this leads to some utopia because there will always be outliers but if we can fix one system that makes the youth more whole, more self aware, better prepared, and less apt to stray from a successful course I think we would be eradicating much of the issues that plague societies to this day.

Kevin Salaman