On teaching elder care, more reflections

More often than not, a college teacher is someone who is older than his or her students. That means there is already a “generation gap” and that the values and life goals of teachers and students are likely to be different. When there is a common goal, i.e., for the students to achieve certain learning outcomes in elder care, conflicts seem inevitable.

How should a teacher respond to the behavior of those who are younger and less experienced in life? More specifically, how should I respond to those whose values are vastly different from mine?

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I find myself becoming upset when students come late to class and don’t seem bothered by it. I become upset when I see them chatting in class, oblivious to the noise they are making. I get upset when they look at their iPads all the time and don’t look at the PowerPoint presentation on the classroom screen. Often, there is hardly any eye contact. And, certainly, I am upset when the student to whom I direct a question appears unaware of what is going on.

Sometimes, these classroom behaviors make me sad; other times, angry. The way I, as an older person, see it, they have nothing to do with a generation gap. Punctuality and attentiveness are classroom etiquettes expected of a learner in an educational context. To me, they are matters of common courtesy.

In the eyes of the younger generation, however, it seems that such behaviors are no longer expected and that I need to lower my expectations. To get students to accept and open up to me, I must accept what I find inappropriate. Sadly, according to my colleagues, not confronting students about their actions appears to be the new norm.

Nowadays, as a gero teacher, I need to repeatedly remind myself not to impose what I value upon my students. I know we grew up in different worlds and that our experiences shape us. I need to tell myself that being angry or sad will not help me win over my students and that I need to accept who they are before trying to change their behavior.

To know the origins of my frustrations and to stop being frustrated (because frustration will not help my teaching), I need to reflect on my own behavior, attitudes, and beliefs. In addition to knowing my self and my own limits, I must remind myself that, before I can teach the younger generation in a way that speaks to them, I need to understand and accept them.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.