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I don't like to spread these Internet things that get passed around everywhere, but I thought this one might be appropriate for the board here. My apologies if you've already seen this:

Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things. Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to try to give the Faculty a sense of the mindset of this year's incoming freshman.

Here is this year's list:

The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1984.

They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and probably did not know he had ever been shot.

They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged.

Black Monday, 1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression.

There has been only one Pope.

They were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War.

They have never feared a nuclear war.

They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.

Tianamen Square means nothing to them.

Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.

Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums.

The expression "You sound like a broken record" means nothing to them.

They have never owned a record player.

They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.

They may have never heard of an 8 track. The Compact Disc was introduced when they were 1 year old.

They have always had an answering machine.

Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black and white TV.

They have always had cable.

There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what BETA was.

They cannot fathom not having a remote control.

They don't know what a cloth baby diaper is.

They don't know about the "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up" commercial.

Feeling old yet? There's more:

They were born right after Walkmen were introduced by Sony.

Roller skating has always meant inline for them.

Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.

They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.

Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.

They have never seen Larry Bird play.

They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.

The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII and the War Between the States.

They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.

They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.

They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.

They never heard: "Where's the beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," or "De plane, de plane!".

They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. was.

The Titanic was found? They thought we always knew.

Michael Jackson has always been white.

Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not rock bands.

McDonalds never came in styrofoam containers.

There has always been MTV.

They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

Think about it!

By Dadster on Saturday, February 02, 2002 - 10:10 pm: Edit

LOL - nice list, MDMom!

By burningman on Wednesday, February 13, 2002 - 06:05 pm: Edit

How about, you are old if you can remember when a college education cost under $10,000, instead of over $150,000?

By Dadster on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 06:15 pm: Edit

Here's a way to automate the process of making yourself feel old: <dead link deleted - Admin>.

By Dadster on Saturday, March 23, 2002 - 10:35 am: Edit

Dang. Looks like the link died. All the College Confidential traffic must have blown their server.

By William on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 10:36 pm: Edit

If you really want to feel old, this was the 1980 list from 4 years ago, NOT the (as of yet unreleased) 1984 list

By Werenotstupid on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 12:22 pm: Edit

On the part of 17 and 18 year olds everywhere, I beg to differ:

"They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and probably did not know he had ever been shot."

Ronald Reagan was an era of complete right-wing conservativism, with many interesting cases such as Roe vs. Wade, etc. And he was shot in the ass. I've known that for the past 5 years or so.

"They were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War."

I remember the Cold War very clearly. Believe it or not, our "elementary school yearbooks" (yes, we actually did have them), were filled with facts about all the things that had happened during that period. Also, I remember all the specials on CNN and whatnot when the Soviet Union ceased to exist.

"They have never feared a nuclear war."

ARE YOU CRAZY?!?! You gotta be kidding me with this, right?

"They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up."

The space shuttle Challenger, in January 1986. Christa McCaullaugh (I think that's how it was spelled), was on board, and her parents made a special appearance at my elementary school when I was in 4th grade.

"Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic."

Not true. Up until about 2 years ago we still owned one of those metal bottle cap openers in my family, because when I was in 1st-2nd grade, you couldn't open one without them. Seltzer often still comes with a pop off cap.

"The expression "You sound like a broken record" means nothing to them."

Oh, please. My generation has used that expression NUMEROUS times. It was one of my favorites when I was younger.

"They have never owned a record player."

Up unti the 3rd grade, a larg record player sat on top of our entertainment unit.

"They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong."

Pac Man was one of my absolute FAVORITE video games when Nintendo first came out, way back when I was in kindergarden. My sister taught me how to play.

"They may have never heard of an 8 track. The Compact Disc was introduced when they were 1 year old."

8 track tapes. Nuff said.

"They have always had an answering machine."

We got our first answering machine when I was in 2nd grade. That's approximately 9 years of being answering-machineless.

"Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black and white TV."

I've seen TV sets with 6 channels. And some of my absolute favorite shows growing up included "I Love Lucy" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show"

"They have always had cable."

I STILL don't have cable.

"They cannot fathom not having a remote control."

Oh, but I can. The TV in my room can still only be operated by getting up out of bed on cold winter nights and pressing the buttons directly on it.

"They don't know what a cloth baby diaper is."

I've diapered a baby with one myself.

"They don't know about the "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up" commercial."

It was only one of the most notorious sayings during our youth. We watched Steve Urkle, people.

"Roller skating has always meant inline for them."

Up until 6th grade, my roller skates had 4 wheels, two in front and two in back.

"They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool."

I wore them in elementary school.

"They never took a swim and thought about Jaws."

TO THIS DAY, every time someone manages to coax me into the ocean, I tremble at the thought of shark's teeth closing around my legs. Not to mention that music theme from the movie playing over and over again in my head.

"The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII and the War Between the States."

Okay. Considering the fact that the Vietnam War happened in the 1960's, WWI and II were as early as 1918 and finished in the mid 1940's, and the Civil War (or War between the states, as you put it), was almost a hundred and forty years ago, do the math. You'll see that the time difference between the vietnam and civil wars was about 100 years. Same time period? I think not.

"They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran."

This is a joke, right?

"They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are."

My mother had them for a year or two. But she had to stop wearing them because they hurt her eyes. Basically, they're about half the size of the small ones and made of hard glass, hence the name.

"They don't know who Mork was or where he was from."

Mork and Mindy was an awesome show. Robin Williams at his finest. "NANOO NANOO!!!"

"The Titanic was found? They thought we always knew."

Considering the fact it wasn't found until 1985, how could you possibly have known?

"Michael Jackson has always been white."

Except for the 70's, where he was dark as the day as long and sported an afro very like the fashion of those days back then. You know, when such songs came out such as "ABC" and "I'll be there."

"McDonalds never came in styrofoam containers."

They didn't stop using them until just a few years ago.

"They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter."

My father's typwriter is the very first thing I learned how to type with.

JEEZE guys, we weren't born yesterday.

That is all.

Brought to you by an 18 year old East Coast Girl, protecting the intelligence of college-bound seniors everywhere....

By Olivia Williamson on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 11:59 pm: Edit

East Coast Girl:

pretty good, but maybe you should go back and check the dates of the Roe v. Wade case...although it certainly was a hot topic during the Reagan era, he didn't have anything to do with it originally....

- Olivia

By dsflk on Sunday, January 19, 2003 - 06:46 pm: Edit

And BETA was the Sony Betamax. Of course, the Betamax of our era is probably Tivo.

By Morgantruce (Morgantruce) on Friday, January 31, 2003 - 10:09 am: Edit

This thread is really about how history is taught.

The usual method involves using a pair of textbooks that begin in 1492 and extends up to the Reagan administration--depending on how big a budget the local school board has for new textbooks. Students are then subjected to some world history that covers the Egyptians to the Cold War. OK, kid… now you’re ready for college!

Anyone who has ever warmed a classroom seat knows that the last third of ANY textbook is rarely looked at. The reasons for this omission are legion: driver's ed, assembly, football, unending announcements on the loudspeaker...(fill in your favorite consumer of classroom time!)

The result of this odd arrangement is that our children have little idea about the history of their parent's generation. We are supposed to be passing on our values to our children, but we never get around to telling them about the world and national affairs of our generation. We leave this important duty to the History Channel and hope for the best.

The study of recent history—the last 25 years or so---is urgent information that students are rarely, if ever, formally taught. I have a life-long habit of thumbing through books from the back of the book forward---something to do with my religious upbringing :>) I always wanted to know how things worked out…first!

Yes, there are efforts to educate our children about “current events”---as if they could possibly understand what is happening today when they are largely ignorant of what transpired in the recent past. I guess we could take some comfort in the fact that this lack of recent historical perspective…is not the worst handicap we have foisted upon the next generation.

By momof2 on Friday, January 31, 2003 - 11:13 am: Edit

Great post - just too true. I've long thought that high schools would do well to cover the 60's through 90's the last few weeks of May. Since everyone has spring fever and doesn't want to do much, folks who had lived through these eras could come in to help the 30-yr. old (born in the year of Roe v. Wade!) teachers where needed. - maybe bring some "visual aids" out of storage. I know I've done everything I can think of to fill in the gaps in knowledge for my kids - old letters from the Gulf of Tonkin, even a couple of funeral programs... They still can't imagine Vietnam war protests, separate movie theaters for blacks or girls not being able to wear pants to school. I guess you feel old when you discover displays from your childhood and teens exhibited at the Smithsonian.

By Dadster on Friday, January 31, 2003 - 07:16 pm: Edit

>>I guess you feel old when you discover displays from your childhood and teens exhibited at the Smithsonian.<<

Or in antique stores!

By Morgantruce (Morgantruce) on Saturday, February 01, 2003 - 09:06 am: Edit

"They still can't imagine Vietnam war protests..."
-----------------
Check out the demeaner of the current crop of young antiwar activists. That should be enough to make you squirm--no matter what side of the isle you were on 30 years ago--or what side of the isle you are on today.

As a veteran of both war and protest, I am thankful that the memory of both experiences fade somewhat with time. The one memory that does not fade is the dreadful experience of watching the "Scroll of Honor" that appeared nightly at the end of the evening news.

Oh... please spare us a repeat of THAT...

By Thedad (Thedad) on Saturday, February 01, 2003 - 12:03 pm: Edit

Speaking of the Smithsonian, when we were looking at the "Spirit of St. Louis," I didn't have the heart to tell my daughter that I was the back-up pilot.


Well she seems to THINK I'm that old. When she was small, she thought that "Olden Times" conflated my childhood in elementary school, the era of kings and queens, and dinosaurs.

By Morgantruce (Morgantruce) on Saturday, February 01, 2003 - 12:41 pm: Edit

Part of getting old is remembering where you were when Kennedy got shot... or when the World Trade Center was hit. I think we'll be remembering what we were doing this morning...

February 1, 2003

By Autodidact (Autodidact) on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 03:42 pm: Edit

Excellent posts! My daughter totally concurs that they (teenagers) are not nearly so clueless as represented, and history presentations leave a lot to be desired in terms of the last 50 years or so. Too little history, too much political correctness since then.

By Dwaynehoover (Dwaynehoover) on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 03:50 pm: Edit

you parents talk too much...such long posts make me doze off...

By Kalitiha (Kalitiha) on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 04:01 pm: Edit

The list is completely asanine. I know at least a little bit about everything on this list. And the USSR fell in 1991, which is most definitely not 11 years after 1984. If they wanted to pick a more accurate list, they should have chosen more events from the 50's and 60's--maybe 70's. But, it's freaking ridiculous to think that we won't understand pop phenomenas from our own decade. We can remember at least part of the 80's, and John Hughes movies have filled in the gaps.