Here’s a very recent RYS post that is both sad and frightening:
http://rateyourstudents.blogspot.com/2010/01/in-lab-with-lucy.html
Resolved: The American people should significantly decrease the number of people attending colleges.
And here’s a recent article from the NY Times on what current college applicants are looking for.
It has always been thus. “Wahhh, kids today.” Old story.
It was Will Rogers, was it not, who taught, “The schools ain’t what they used to be and never was.”
Still, I see a dramatic difference between the college students today and the ones I was teaching 15-20 years ago. Many of the recent ones (the younger set) are more frequently unable to deal with challenge, criticism, or adversity; want to negotiate everything; view themselves as consumers and customers; want that degree quickly but hate working towards it; treat the classroom as if it were their own dining room or entertainment center, etc.