Real-world lessons from younger folks

Image credit: Pixabay

The other day, we visited a friend. They shared an interesting observation about travelling with their two grown-up children. 

"If the kids are with us, we have no problem finding a good restaurant or booking a hotel while touring," they said. "But without them, we just depend on tour operators. It's so difficult to figure out which places are good; all our time goes into research. These kids just look at their phones and find everything in a jiffy!"

That made me think about the capabilities of younger folks.

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Another day, a neighbour dropped by. We were discussing social media, disinformation, misinformation, AI-generated videos and so on. 

She shared a story: "My 11-year-old son asked me a question. I had no clue. I then quickly Googled it on my phone and gave him the answer. His immediate reply was: 'You looked that up online. Are you sure what you're saying is correct?'"

The young boy was questioning the reliability of information, from a trusted adult! 

That was a pointer to the sort of digital literacy and critical thinking that people of my generation are still struggling with!

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Image credit: Pixabay

A few months before my retirement in April, tenth-grade students from a well-known school in Bengaluru visited our media house. I was tasked with giving them a short talk about a typical day in the life of a journalist: how news is gathered, processed, and how the next day's newspaper is brought out.

After my presentation, I took questions from the students. Here are just two of the questions: 

"Why do news reports say 'according to a source'? Why don't you tell us who the source is?"

"I was watching news about the Ukraine war on TV. Isn't it risky for journalists to be in war zones? How do they manage to get there amid all the firing and shelling?"

I was left wondering if I am talking to 10-grade students or J-School students! 

The questions revealed not just curiosity, but also an understanding of journalism which took me by surprise.

DISPELLING MYTHS ABOUT YOUTH

These examples run contrary to some common assumptions about the younger folks: that they lack understanding, they are disorganised, or they aren't ready for life's challenges. 

On the contrary, I think, there are a lot of things we can learn from them. 

Their curiosity, confidence, and ability to work around ever-evolving technology are quite remarkable. More importantly, they know new ways of doing things and they are determined to follow their passions.

NO EXPERIENCE? NO PROBLEM

We traditionally associate wisdom with experience. True, younger folks lack that. But they have plenty to make up for it.

Their engagement with technology is an eye-opener. 

The typical older generation response is often: "Oh! We managed perfectly well without these modern gadgets." 

As a senior citizen myself, I've had similar thoughts.

While that may be true, it's neither progressive nor positive. 

What strikes me most about younger minds is their curiosity and willingness to experiment without the baggage of the past.

Unlike my generation, they don't spend too much time planning. They begin with a rough sketch of their path forward, then tackle challenges, improvise, and course-correct in real-time.

QUESTIONING STATUS QUO

Even with traditional social norms, they look for newer methods. They have the conviction to prioritise convenience and adaptability over restrictive conformity.

A mother once told me about her teenage daughter's response to being asked to do housework: 

"Why are you only asking me? Why aren't you asking my brother to do the same?" 

The typical older generation argument is: "This is how it has always been done."

The younger generation responds: "Why should it still be done that way?" 

They don't just question; they often propose alternatives.

They're more conscious of equity (not just equality, which a college student once told me is outdated), as well as saving time, using resources efficiently, and achieving better outcomes.

REAL-TIME ADAPTATION

Young people are like natural innovators! 

Look at how they start YouTube channels with nothing but phone cameras, or launch philanthropic or community programmes through social media accounts. 

One example is Shraddha Jain who moved from coding (in information technology) to comedy. This is her YouTube channel.

As she says in this 2022 interview with ET Now's Brand Equity, it wasn’t an easy transformation at all.

 SHOULD WE WORRY ABOUT YOUNGER FOLKS?

I don't think there's anything to worry. 

Just as we expected our previous generations to have faith in us when we were young, we need to pass the baton and place that same confidence in the next generation.

However, there is one legitimate concern. It is not about them. It is about us: the absence of enough good role models among elders.

Are we setting the right examples, at home and outside? What about public servants like politicians who are always in the public domain dominating news programmes? 

REAL TEACHERS

This post is part of
Blogchatter Blog Hop

Learning is a two-way process. 

While we focus on teaching young people about life, they're quietly showing us ways and means to live that many of us have forgotten or never developed.

They grow with their curiosity. They display honesty with their questions. This uncertain world finds a way forward with their adaptability.

While we wonder whether they are ready for the world, the moot question is: are we ready to learn from them?

Learning English

The debate raging in Karnataka over teaching English in government schools from Std I baffles me.

My logic is simple: you don't need to be taught your mother tongue. It's there in your blood. The importance of English today is only too obvious. I just can't understand what's to be debated on whether children should be taught English from Std I.

The apparent fear is that Kannada will die if children are taught English. Who needs whom? Children need the language, or the language needs children? Whose death is more important: language or children?

Language is a tool; used for a purpose. A one-year-old doesn't need a language to talk to her mother. Later her needs increase, and thereby a language to communicate.

There is a world of difference between a bicycle and a car. When you need a car, you don't take your bicycle. And, you don't refuse to buy a car, because you feel bicycles will become extinct if you don't buy and use them. A local language has its use. The bonding it can create is amazing. But that's just about it. English can take you much farther, like a car.

I have seen many people, residing outside Kerala, who have grown up speaking English at home, later picking up easily Malayalam, without anyone teaching them. A cousin of mine, who grew up in Bhopal speaking Hindi with his siblings and parents, did his MBA in a Kerala college, and got his first job also in Kerala. Nobody taught him Malayalam. It just came to him. And, it served its purposed well, just to talk to the localites.

The misplaced chauvinism is not restricted to Karnataka. It's rampant in the supposedly intellectual state of Kerala. English is scorned and condemned, there. People are looked down upon if they speak in English.

Mercifully, the youth who want to learn English do so, quietly. And, India has a good number of them. So much so, countries like the US and Britain are mighty impressed and outsourcing their work from India.

Wish our language chauvinists knew this!