What do Young People Not Understand

[digitS']

... that you understand. Sure .... rotary dialing ... but ....

I don't have grandchildren however I am really NOT talking about little kids.

Post-millennials are in high school. What have they missed?? What have I missed about them?

Steve

 

[digitS']

In a way, I was interested in genealogy at an early age.

Looking back, it may have begun when I was about 8. In this very odd migration pattern, I learned that my parents had grown up in quite different but similar circumstances. The similarity was that they were both from large, poor families. The difference was that they were a thousand miles apart and of somewhat different ethnic backgrounds.

Dad was from a native American community but since his parents were born after the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 and the diaspora earlier in that century, his family included European Americans. My father not only has blue eyes that I looked into yesterday while joking that he will be 27 next month instead of 101, but his father had those same blue eyes.

My mother was the granddaughter of an Englishman who came with his father as a young adult and "shipbuilders" to Canada in the 1830's. Thanks to some of my cousins who have an interest in genealogy, I have learned that many of their descendants have been born and lived out their lives south of the Canadian border, in the US.

My mother and father, both middle children of large families of kids, seemed to be retracing Mom's life and history of family migration by moving north. No, she was not Canada-born but came home from the hospital as an infant in 1919 only about 5 miles from where Dad and I were yesterday. I think that I should try once again this summer, to find the location of my great grandparents' farmstead on the Idaho Washington border.

Dad asked me yesterday about his own cousins, strangely enough, his youngest uncle also migrated across Oklahoma and Texas, growing very near El Paso before also moving to southern Oregon. Dad and his uncle didn't get along well but I was startled to learn that they lived in Central Point ( @Rhodie Ranch ) when we visited with my grandmother. I was about 9 and Dad's cousins were not much older than I was. I woke up this morning dreaming about their home that I visited that day, oh so many years ago ... how about that?

I never saw them before or since, and yet, that family had crossed half a continent to live just about a dozen miles from where I did ... Like I said, Dad didn't get along with his uncle. Now, Dad wants to know about those kids ... .

Steve

 

[Beekissed]

In a word? Everything.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH2019]

cursive writing (when you have to decipher it), and how to put down their 'dumb' phones long enough to do actual work! i've seen this where i work and those kids don't usually last long because they need to take a selfie every 5 seconds when they shouldn't even have it near sensitive info!

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

working for every dime that they get.
how to save every dime you make.

My kids didn't learn that...even though I tried to teach them and didn't grant their every wish.

 

[digitS']

Ha! @Chickie'sMomaInNH2019 Cursive ...

We had penmanship in elementary school. I thought that I was doing okay - my teachers didn't. I had to take it again in junior high! There was one student in the room - me .

I should have been embarrassed about it but, it was kinda like math. Well, I cared some about math. I could have been embarrassed as I was in the 3rd grade and tHeve worked like a little demon to overcome his speech deficiencies in Speech Therapy!

I was finally left alone about cursive and went back to the Underwood and printing ...

There was a receptionist in the office that I visited today. She was a nice person to talk to and had a name plate on her desk. I must have sat there in my chair for almost a minute trying to understand the cursive writing and the spelling of her name! It was something like this:


My first thought was that it might be a very unusual spelling for:


And, I wondered if a Baby Boomer or GenX'er would name their daughter Srene or Serene ... thinking that it might be quite nice to do so . Of course, the light finally came on and I realized that it was the old-fashioned name: Irene. Honestly, I was almost as startled that there are Millennials named, Irene!

Steve
http://www.behindthename.com/name/irene/top/united-states

 

[canesisters]

MAPS!
Everyday I have 'professional' 20-30yr old truck drivers come into the landfill for the first time. I give them this 'map'

In a good month, 1 in 5 will ACTUALLY follow the road, climb the hill & find the working area.
Many pull away from the scale and within 50yards will make a sharp right into the shop parking lot.
At least one will make a hard left and end up stuck in the swamp. And at least one will drive PAST the giant hill, circle all around and end up back at the scale.
I remember having a maps class when I was in elementary school. We learned about how to follow directions, to turn the map to match the landmarks in front of us, etc. Then the teacher took us all into the playground where she had hidden a bunch of little things and divided us up into teams. We had to follow our team's map to find the item.
These days, if the GPS voice isn't calling out turn by turn, people have NO idea how to get to anywhere unfamiliar.

 

[digitS']

You know one problem with today's maps?

Auto rotating screens. If the map is always "up" - meaning North: you turn East, now that's North on your map. You turn South, now that's North on your map!

Maybe "your" map can be properly turned, @canesisters . Yours may be printed on paper. Might not help ... because Millennials have no experience with paper maps! You are right .

Years ago, I'd pick up a map at any gas station in any new town where I wanted to find my route. I just looked through my map stash today ... there's one with a 2004 copyright. Bought that one. The others are from the 1990's. Let's see ... how do I freeze the auto rotate on my phone?? O no, "settings!"

Steve
who has trouble tearing plastic wrap because he learned technique with wax paper

 

[so lucky]

Maybe young people need to take a required orienteering class, where you learn to find your way in the wild (without your phone)
I love maps, old fashioned maps. I have tried to teach the grandkids a little about maps, but sometimes they direct me to our sought-out location with their phone and google maps. And I'm happy that an 11 year old can use google maps, but, still.....(longing for the good old days)

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

That was a good memory, So Lucky. I took Orienteering in ROTC in college! I love maps too!