The Dumbest Generation: The Millennial Generation

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Grand Central Pub., 2010. Ringel, Paul. “How Banning Books Marginalizes Children.”

Even though we are the most educated cohort in American history, my generation is entering a job-market where half of positions pay less than $18 an hour. That is the definition of a low-wage economy and makes millennials disproportionately likely to occupy jobs that don’t provide enough income. In addition, many young people start their careers with massive student loan debt, which eats away at whatever wages they

Advancements on what we know about the primacy effect and the recency effect are shown by the inability of most people to recall presidents who were in the middle of the list. The first and last eight to nine presidents were significantly recalled at higher rates than any others. These results better our knowledge on how items are forgotten over time. In addition, results displayed that pre-recency presidents were commonly remembered by the generations of college students in the first study as well as adults in the second study. President Lincoln and his immediate successors were remembered in their correct numbered position at a higher rate than others suggesting that presidents who are significant to our history are better recalled among generations.

Since the inception of the no-fault law, divorce rates in America have increased. Wardle found that twenty-five of the thirty-five states with no-fault divorce laws in effect before 1980 experienced increases in divorce rates. In eleven states, the rate of divorce was more than twice the previous rate of increase (Wardle). Michael S. Berger, a Columbia University graduate with a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion, believes the entire family suffers when the parents are unhappy or are in conflict.

Since the 1960’s, premarital sex has increased in popularity and the average marriage age increased as well. People started having sex earlier and getting married later, and that gap continues to grow as time goes on (Source A). Source G confirms that about 47% of American high schoolers are already having sex. This statistic, no matter how much it rises or falls, proves that there will always be sexually active students that require information on how to do so safely. Conservative sources will emphasize the fact that the majority of high schoolers are still virgins, but this majority is made up by a thin margin, and in reality this fact means nearly half of the US student population is sexually active.

In fact, “By 2001, nearly 2.8 million girls participated in athletics, representing 41.5 percent of varsity athletes in American high schools—more than an 847 percent increase from 1971” (Women’s Sports Foundation). An 847 percent increase is difficult to even comprehend. This means that the final amount has increased by a little more than nine times the original amount. To see that much of a difference from 295,000 women participants prior to Title IX is amazing progress toward the end goal of creating equality between the two sexes.

Despite an increase of education scores in the past decade, the United States still trenches behind many countries. Scores found in the Programme for International Student Assessment, the most popular cross sectional test, finds that the United State ranks thirty-eight out of seventy-one countries in test performances of english, math and science literary. But within the country itself contains a deeper issue. The term “achievement gap” is used to describe the polarity between the academic performances of minorities, such as Black and Hispanics, to those of Asians and White students; which are found to be much lower than the latter. Besides test scores, this achievement gap is most apparent in grades and drop-out rates as well.

Even though over the years more minorities have decided to go to college and get a degree, statistically speaking whites are still ahead in most enrolled and graduated in America (graph at the bottom). And it’s not because they’re smarter, it’s because of money. One of the top reasons minorities don’t go to college is because of money to afford to go to college. There’s not much help for minorities, unless you count loans and infinite debt because our debt will keep accumulating until you do leave college and by the time your settled in your career and ready to pay off your loans they would have doubled or tripled by then. One program that does help minorities in being able to go to college is the Gates Millennium scholar program.

From kindergarten to beyond high school, a majority of adults push students to go to college. The pressure grows for teens. High school students are expected to know what they want to do by their senior year. Today it seems as if college is a teenager or a student’s only option, but they might spend the rest of their lives paying off student debt. There is no doubt that college tuition today is substantially higher than ever before, making future students think twice about whether college is right for them.

While in fact, the wage gap increases as the level of education increases. A woman’s bachelor degree earns only 71.4 % of a man’s salary, and a woman’s graduate degree is worth even less and earns 69% of men with graduate degrees salaries. While in today’s world, students are strongly encouraged to pursue higher degrees to earn more, but for women this is disheartening seeing that the extra effort of pursuing a higher education being unmatched for their efforts. This is the 21st century and America is the land of opportunity, it is pure common sense that hard-working people should receive equal rewards for their efforts.

Unfortunately, Brya’s story is not uncommon. According to statistics gathered by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), while eighty-one percent of high school students graduate on time, less than sixty percent of these students continue on to college (Mortenson). A recent poll conducted by a college student asking two hundred-fifty recent high school graduates why they chose not to attend college right out of high school, shows a whopping two hundred eighteen students say it was because they could not afford to attend.2 With many graduates choosing to work or into the military, instead of going to college, the question now becomes are they really

In his essay “John J. Macionis” which appear as The Twenty-First-Century Campus: Where is the Men? And this article show how the women have great social equality after long time of being not accepted in college. He describe who the women were not welcome in all the colleges or universities in United States in one century ago. Few years ago the number of women who go to college has increase until they finally matched the men. Moreover, the low income make more women go to college then men, and that because they able to find a jobs without needing for college degree.

Furthermore, this Millennial generation are “narcissism” more higher than any other generation “The incidence of narcissistic personality disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their 20s as for the generation that 's now 65 or older” (Stein et al. 28). However, Millennial believe in themselves and  though they are the most important  and special person. Not only that Stein also blamed Baby boomers, who are now the parents of Millennials for made their children 's achievement by self-respect. The author continuing explain that confident are extreme for some t    “self-esteem is great for getting a job or hooking up at a bar but

“As college students head back to the classroom this semester, a harsh reality confronts them - the rewards for the time, energy, and money that young people put into college are less than they were a decade ago”(Source C). Young college graduates have seen wages, deteriorate. This lack of wage growth has been surprising to those who have read about the ast unfilled need for college graduates. After gains in the 1980s and 1990s, hourly wages for young college graduated in 2000 decreases. For young college-educated men in 2000 hourly wages were $22.75, but almost dropped a full dollar $21.77 by 2010.

This novel simply adds to the ever widening chasm separating the old from the young. The education system has been failing for years and that was not initiated by Twitter or shooter games. These arguments are simply a knee jerk fear reaction to the uncertainty of the nation’s future. This is something