Connecting the Principles of Learning with Teaching in Today’s Classroom
“Four Distinct Generations of Learners”
Traditionalists
Baby Boomers
Born: 1900 -1945
Population: 75 Million
Key Word: Loyal
Born: 1946 – 1964
Population: 80 Million
Key Word: Optimistic
The Places:
 Sarajevo, Pearl Harbor, Normandy, Hiroshima, Korea, Iwo Jima
 The front porch, the church pew, the kitchen table
The Happenings:
 The roaring twenties, World War I & World War II, The Great
Depression, Scarcity
Their Symbols:
 Sputnik, swastikas, flattops
 The value of a dollar
Daily Activities:
 Driving, cigarettes, ice cold Coca-Cola, 45s, the twist
The Sayings:
 Stand beside her & guide her
 Save for a rainy day
 Waste not, want not
People They Have Known:
 Joe DiMaggio, Joe Louis, Joe McCarthy, Dr. Spock, Alfred
Hitchcock, the Rat Pack, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Duke
Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Charles Lindberg, Edward R. Murrow,
John Wayne, Bob Hope, Elizabeth Taylor, Betty Grable, Betty
Crocker…
The Places:
 Watergate Hotel, Hanoi Hilton, Kent State, Vietnam
 Sit-ins, love ins, Laugh-In, Woodstock
 The suburbs, the boardroom, the courtroom
The Happenings:
 Vietnam, Watergate, OPEC oil embargo
 Human rights, women’s rights, G.I. loans
 Television
Consumer Products:
 Bell-bottoms, mood rings, Rolex watches,
 Junk food, junk bonds
The Descriptors:
 Escapism, competition, questioning, opportunities
People They Have Known:
 Martin Luther King Jr., the Kingston Trio, Richard Milhous Nixon,
John F. Kennedy, Eldridge Cleaver, Beaver Cleaver, Rosa Parks,
Peter Benchley, “Deep Throat,” McEnroe v. Connors, the Manson
family, the Osmond family, Barbara Streisand, John Belushi, Janis
Joplin, Captain Kangaroo, Captain Kirk, the Monkees, the Beatles,
the Stones…
Connecting the Principles of Learning with Teaching in Today’s Classroom
“Four Distinct Generations of Learners”
Generation Xers
Millennials
Born: 1965 – 1980
Population: 46 Million
Key Word: Skepticism
Born: 1981 - 1999
Population: 76 Million
Key Word: Realistic
The Places:
 Soviet Union, Somalia, Cannes, Chernobyl
 Starbucks, International Space Station
 24hr Media News
The Happenings:
 Questioning of the presidency, the military, religion, corporate
America
 Movies about the making of movies
 New types of violence, divorce
 Latchkey programs, children on milk cartons
The Inventions:
 Cable TV, VCR’s video games, cell phones, microwaves, the home
computer
The Generation:
 Faith in themselves, independent, resourceful
People They Have Known:
 The Brat Pack, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Monica Lewinsky, the
Ayatollah Khomeini, Ted Bundy, Al Bundy, Beavis & Butthead, the
Menedez brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Clarence Thomas, Newt
Gingrich, OJ Simpson, Dilbert, Dennis Rodman, supermodels,
Madonna, Michael Jordan…
AKA:
 Generation Y, Baby Busters, Generation Next
The Places:
 Virtual & tangible
 Chat rooms, 90210, Oklahoma City, cyberspace, outer-space
 Anywhere on the internet
The Happenings:
 Personal Safety, School Violence
The Inventions:
 Cell phones, pagers, computers always
The group:
 Doses of loyalty, optimism, skepticism
 Realistic
 Appreciation of diversity
 Negotiations
People They Have Known:
Prince William, Chelsea Clinton, Tinky Winky, Ricky Martin,
Paris Hilton, Claire Danes, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kurt Cobain and
Courtney Love, Barney, Britney, Jessica, the Backstreet Boys,
Eminem, Felicity, Buffy, Cartman, Marilyn Manson, Mark
McGwire and Sammy Sosa, and Venus and Serena Williams…