I’m going to let you in on a little secret: our career expectations are totally messed up.
You know what else I think?
In school the curriculum is linear and clearly defined; teachers check homework daily; and students advance en masse (yearly) often irrespective of their relative abilities.
But can we really blame new recruits for failing to understand the complex work environment, for wanting constant feedback or expecting yearly promotions without the slightest bit of introspection vis-a-vis their actual performance?
Personally, I find it hard to hold it against them, or us for that matter; we’ve all become acclimatized to a system that makes little to no effort to mirror the real world.
Maybe it’s time to rethink the education system
If I can’t convince you, maybe Sir Ken Robinson can:
I think that particular RSA Animate might be one of my favorites. Very interesting points made, and I agree a main contributor to the growing sense of entitlement, which I have to admit, drives me crazy sometimes. However, while education may be the root of the problem, I also think there are plenty of other contributing factors within modern society that could share the blame here (i.e. technology, no-consequence parenting, advertising, even politics…). Perhaps parents need to start taking a greater interest in their kids education both on the “production line” as Sir Robinson likens the public education system to, and, even more importantly, at home.