I have some very good news for you oft-maligned Millennials. You, and your cohorts, come across as a combination of Einstein, Edison and Marie Curie all rolled into one after witnessing a most disturbing video survey that tested the current events knowledge of Gen Z students at Texas Tech University (home of the Red Raiders, BTW).
You’re about to witness a video that will dumbfound you. In fact, you’ll be beyond shocked by the dumbed down intellectual prowess of Gen Z students attending the university (Note: These Gen Zers are NOT Phys. Ed. majors. As you’ll hear, each is pursuing a serious major that, upon graduation, will position them to one day land a position of power (god forbid).
But, before you recoil in disgust from the video, I first want to share some pertinent Gen Z vs. Millennial statistics for your consideration (Note: Anyone born after the year 1995 is considered a member of Gen Z. Millennials were born between the years 1980-1995).
So, some quick comparisons between the two competing generations, courtesy of some firm named A. Decco, whose professionals interviewed some 1,001 seniors at various colleges and universities. FYI, A. Decco’s tagline is, “Better work. Better Life.” After witnessing the video, though, I suggest A. Decco precede their first two calls to action with “Better Education”. There’s no way the current group of Gen Zers will achieve either of the other two life goals without the first.
Anyway, both generations’ top priorities are:
- Landing their first job (Here’s hoping the Zers leave this video at home when they sit down for that first interview.)
- Both aspire to be financially stable (31 percent of Millennials and 28 percent of GenZers, respectively)
- And, here’s the kicker (which is hard to argue): More than a third of Gen Zers feel their college hasn’t done a good job preparing them for the future. (Lord knows if I toiled for one of Texas Tech’s competitors, I would simply show this video over and over at recruiting fairs and tell parents, “Hey, we’re beyond mediocre, but we’re not this bad. If you’re going to choose to mortgage your kids’ future and go deeply into debt, at least choose a marginal school like ours whose students might have some remote shot at future success.”).
Anyway, enough suspense.
Kick back, click the link and take a look at the young men and women who will one day soon be leading America (click here to watch).
Oh, and if the Donald (and/or his crack campaign team) have a chance to view it, they might want to amend their rallying cry to read, “Let’s make America semi-literate again.”
Have to believe the administration at Texas Tech is apoplectic over this video. I wonder if they’ve addressed it on their website or are just waiting for a new news cycle to let it fade into oblivion? I’d stake John Biden’s personal net worth on the latter strategy.
Scary. AND, I just lost my summer associate to a presumably better gig!
These kids today….well, I will not try to find another from this institution of higher learning.
Btw, Matt, regardless of where one places Texas Tech, the fact remains their students are beyond clueless and ill-prepared to compete in a world that has long passed them by. They’ve also no doubt mortgaged their futures to earn a TT diploma. That’s criminal, whether it occurs at Yale or Texas Tech.
Bedrock: So, to answer your point, why don’t we stop 20 people on the streets of New York representing all age groups (including The Greatst Generation) and ask them the same questions. No way Boomers and GG’s wouldn’t know who won the Civil War or who we won our independence from. Willing to bet on that. And, Matt, why don’t we interview 20 Drew students as a compare, and contrast?
Let’s ask if anyone knows who John Roberts is, too!
This is the most shocking, disturbing video I have ever seen.
I agree with the comments above. I would love to see this done at another higher-ranking school, but would also like to see it completed by older generations in some of these fields. Not trying to defend these kids, but I think sometimes when people are put on the spot and a camera is in their face, sometimes the dumbest (or no) answers come out.
I also don’t think this is a generational thing. Willing to bet some students at the same school decades ago would have had similar trouble.
Certainly, we need better educations from colleges/universities, but we as a country should be focusing on elementary-high school education, too. These were mostly questions that should have been nailed with a good base education.
Agree, Diane. Great idea re: East Coast schools. Maybe we just send our own video crew to NYU, CUNY, etc., and see how Manhattan students do.
This is just depressing. Can we ask the same questions to students at an East-Coast school, just to see if the stupidity is limited to Texas?
Unbelievable. And to think these people actually vote!
Agreed. I would say consider the source. Texas Tech is ranked No. 168 by U.S. News & World Report, and accepts two-thirds of all applicants. Compare TT to a school like Yale, which accepts just 6%. There are always going to be haves and have-nots, economically and intellectually. This video shows the have-nots.
Just remind me to never get treated at a hospital or get my taxes done by an accountant in Lubbock.