It seems every conference I go to lately has a session focusing on "Millennials" and how amazing they are and how out of touch teachers and curriculums are with them. As a result of this mismatch, student success is declining. A University of Pennsylvania study suggests otherwise. It found that students are falling short of their intellectual potential not because of inadequate teachers, boring textbooks and large class sizes but a failure to exercise self-discipline. "Hard work is no longer seen as a key factor in academic success. Kids have convinced parents that it is the teacher or the system that is the problem not their own lack of effort. Today the teacher is supposed to be responsible for motivating the student" (USA Today 8 March 2006: 11A).

Humm. Just show up for class, consume the "service", expect to do well. A writing assigment that averaged 10-15 hours to write (not including research) 20 years ago does not fly today. The expectation is 1-2 hours. Activists will point out how many hours students work at jobs, how long their commutes are, ESL issues, etc., but I see lots of video game playing, IM'g, movie watching. Expectations are way off and learning objectives are not being met to the degree they once were. Hold the line and everyone would fail the course. Some faculty hold the line, take the heat, and the student work is truely impressive.

We need to expect more from this generation. Its time to turn up the heat. India and China's graduates are ready to take up the slack.