21st Century Student Observation
Running head: 21st CENTURY STUDENT
21st Century Student Observation
Jordan F. Hollern
Grand Canyon University: EDU 527
12/12/2011
21st Century Student Observation While observing middle school, high school and college age students at a local mall, I was taken aback by the differences in styles and attitudes from when I attended those various levels of education. I observed and noted many attributes and behaviors of these various peer groups and notice some similarities and some differences between each group. The peer group, which consists of friends who are of approximately the same age and social status, is one of the most important institutions for shaping a child’s social behavior (Webb, Cite). Although some social stereotypes where confirmed, others where surprisingly disproved. The first behavior that I studied was the communication styles and verbiage of each peer group. The most glaring similarity that I found amongst most of the students I observed was the improper use of the English language. The word that was used incorrectly the most was the word “like.” It was used in almost every sentence that was spoken between the different peer groups and almost every time it was spoken it was said between words i.e. “I was like… and he was like…” This form of communication has spanned a generation, however because this misuse was very common when I was growing up and progressively weakened as I aged. The other form of communication that I observed was that of the text message. I was surprised by how much each peer group used texting to communicate with each other. I observed that text messaging has replaced normal conversation amongst every age group. Generations have been dealing with changes in technology for decades but the integration of the cell phone into our society has dramatically changed the way that children communicate between each other. The second observation that I noted was that of the interpersonal skills that each
21st Century Student Observation
Jordan F. Hollern
Grand Canyon University: EDU 527
12/12/2011
21st Century Student Observation While observing middle school, high school and college age students at a local mall, I was taken aback by the differences in styles and attitudes from when I attended those various levels of education. I observed and noted many attributes and behaviors of these various peer groups and notice some similarities and some differences between each group. The peer group, which consists of friends who are of approximately the same age and social status, is one of the most important institutions for shaping a child’s social behavior (Webb, Cite). Although some social stereotypes where confirmed, others where surprisingly disproved. The first behavior that I studied was the communication styles and verbiage of each peer group. The most glaring similarity that I found amongst most of the students I observed was the improper use of the English language. The word that was used incorrectly the most was the word “like.” It was used in almost every sentence that was spoken between the different peer groups and almost every time it was spoken it was said between words i.e. “I was like… and he was like…” This form of communication has spanned a generation, however because this misuse was very common when I was growing up and progressively weakened as I aged. The other form of communication that I observed was that of the text message. I was surprised by how much each peer group used texting to communicate with each other. I observed that text messaging has replaced normal conversation amongst every age group. Generations have been dealing with changes in technology for decades but the integration of the cell phone into our society has dramatically changed the way that children communicate between each other. The second observation that I noted was that of the interpersonal skills that each
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