The Class of 2011

Thanks to Carla Beard, The Web English Teacher for drawing my attention to this list of things we need to remember about the mindset of students entering college with year.

The majority of our first year students were born in 1989 (and if that doesn't make you feel old...). For them, the world has certain realities. I was particularly struck by a few:

What Berlin Wall?

They have never "rolled down" a car window

Nelson Mandela has always been free

Fava beans have always been a pop culture reference

U2 has always been more than a spy plane. (shows you how long they've been going!

Tiananmen Square is associated with an Olympics venue, not the scene of a massacre

Check out the whole list - it provides quite a bit of food for thought, and reminds us teachers to be careful about our cultural references. They might not be as "obvious" as we thought!

Crossposted at RealToads (yes, yet another blog)