The “good old days?”

I had the chance over the weekend to attend a parent meeting for my son Jonah's violin instructor. It was a great meeting with lots of good discussion about parental involvement in practice, performance, motivation, all the things involved with learning a skill.

Theresa (the instructor) at one point asked us to describe the differences between the ways we grew up and the ways our kids are growing up today. What followed was the predictable list of things that seemed to convince all of us that we grew up in "the good old days" and that kids today are growing up lazier, no appreciation for the simple things, needing to be entertained, not used to playing outside, soft, and all with a sense of entitlement.

While all this is probably true to some extent (although I'll bet each generation down through time has thought or said the same thing about the next generation) the conversation made me squirm. I finally raised my hand and tried to flip the discussion around. Our kids are growing up with much more of a global world view and think nothing of wanting to travel internationally. Three of my own kids have traveled much more internationally than I have. The kids of this generation, in many cases, have a much more developed sense of obligation to help those less fortunate, to protect the environment, and to be real with one another and with themselves. 

Additionally, no generation in the history of mankind has the tools available to them like this one. The Internet really has changed everything.To be able to connect around the world, instantaneously. Classrooms in America sharing with classrooms in China, in real time over the web. To be able to communicate your thoughts, your dreams, your visions for how the world should be on the web for others to read (without the traditional publishing gatekeepers) is something unheard of just 20 years ago. This stuff changes a person and changes the way they look at the world around them.

I believe that for all the faults…THESE are the good old days. These are the days of incredible opportunity. These are the times when anything can happen. These are the times when YOU really can make a difference and influence the culture in a way your parents never could. 

So, how are you leveraging these tools? How are you changing your world? How are you raising your kids (or teaching your students, or training your campers) to change their world?