A different worldview?

It’s the start of another year and the students are arriving back in droves.

Although the campus here does get a bit quieter over the summer, when the students arrive back for the start of the year it is very noticeable – particularly as the first few weeks are always those where everyone shows up eager to start their studies. You notice it even more if you try and move around campus when classes are changing, or when you try and buy your morning coffee. I have to admit that every year when the students arrive, I really enjoy seeing all the fresh faces even though they seem to be getting younger each year as I couldn’t possibly be getting any older, could I?

This led me to think about what was different about these students and what they have known over their lifetime. I then remembered the Beloit College Mindset List. Beloit is a small, liberal arts college founded in 1846 in Beloit, Wisconsin. It is most famous for the Mindset List, which started in 1997 as a list of things that shape the worldview of students who are about to embark on tertiary education and are generally 18 years of age.

I thought that it might be interesting to enumerate a few of the items from the most recent list as a reminder about the worldview of some students – albeit from a US viewpoint. Here are a few of my favourites (the number indicates its position on the list):

‘Among the iconic figures who have never been alive in their (the current students) lifetimes are Joe DiMaggio, John F. Kennedy Jr., Walter Payton, and Dusty Springfield.

3. They are the first generation for whom a “phone” has been primarily a video game, direction finder, electronic telegraph, and research library.
8. They have largely grown up in a floppy-less world.
10. There have always been emojis to cheer us up.
14. Donald Trump has always been a political figure, as a Democrat, an Independent, and a Republican.
19. In their lifetimes, Blackberry has gone from being a wild fruit to being a communications device to becoming a wild fruit again.
23. The seat of Germany’s government has always been back in Berlin.
29. An ophthalmologist named Bashar al-Assad has always provided vision for the Syrian military.
41. As toddlers, they may have taught their grandparents how to Skype.
50. Wikipedia has steadily gained acceptance by their teachers.’

Note: As the Beloit list is no longer being compiled, please refer to the new Marist list and Mindset Lists for similar project results.

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

I hope your year has started well, and that the next time you see a first-year student you might think a bit differently about their ‘worldview’.

Kathie Rabel

AAIR President

Picture of Kathie behind a desk and the words 'From the President'

Read the March 2018 AAIR newsletter
Right Here, Right Now!

March 2018 Newsletter