The Mindset List

In an Associated Press article in the local paper on Wednesday, there was an article on this year’s  Mindset List issued annually by two professors at Beloit College in Wisconsin.  This list is directed to teachers regarding the knowledge or mindset of the incoming freshmen for the Class of 2016.  This year’s list makes us of earlier generations take notice.

For example, this group of young adults never saw a paper airline ticket or carried luggage.  They never knew of an NFL team in Los Angeles but, always, knew of the Jacksonville Jaguars. They always have known of women in leadership positions and women who have flown in space shuttles and pilot war planes.  The are the electronic generation of MP3s and Ipods but have little use for radios. 

Changes like this occur often but here are some of the sadder implications, In their adolescence this class knows of their parents’ suffering or worrying about unemployment and the recession and, instead of graduating with jobs waiting for them, they do not know jobs and a good economy will be there when they graduate. 

As is true of another sad trend in society over the last 50 years, many of this class are less likely to identify with any religion.  As a consequence of this and their lack of religious study and training, they do not know much of the contents of the Bible.  So, as one of the authors of this list points out, they do not know basic biblical terms which must be explained to them in their studies of Milton and Shakespeare. 

The dangers of this is potentially very extreme to our society since this class will not have a real appreciation of Judaism and Christianity and the basics of Mosaic law represented by the Ten Commandments.  Without this basic and fundamental knowledge of the bedrock of our society and its laws, it is no wonder that they will be open to and accepting of dangerous trends such as calling homosexual unions marriage for example.  The consequences of these deficits in knowledge is bound to affect our society’s future ethics, mores, morals and, thus, behavior.  Will it be for good or, as I fear, for the worst?

What say you?

Let the light of our Lord shine upon you!

REM (Ray Makowski) Co-Founder, Director and Secretary-Treasurer