tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1550222691875074441.post8455818012247577775..comments2024-01-30T05:25:56.085-07:00Comments on A Teacher's View: McLife: Generation X Looks Back At Twenty-Five Yearsmmazenkohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06602797515366983639noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1550222691875074441.post-55502557935094350282016-11-19T11:03:23.175-07:002016-11-19T11:03:23.175-07:00I agree. I always had this innate knowledge that ...I agree. I always had this innate knowledge that I shouldn't accept a pre-packaged life, but that I was supposed to carve out an existence that was something completely original. 'Monastic' is a good term to describe us, after all, we are known for owning wardrobes full of black.... Just as monasteries often help the immediate communities around them, this is what Gen X has been known for - volunteering or serving locally to change the world quietly, pragmatically, and without an overarching need for attention for doing it. I can't think of anything more valuable than striving to live authentically as we serve those of our own generation and those of other generations, particularly the kids who will still be here when we are gone. Chloe Koffashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13194170147086045368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1550222691875074441.post-38448915691639623952016-11-18T17:58:21.912-07:002016-11-18T17:58:21.912-07:00Chloe, thanks so much for the feedback and insight...Chloe, thanks so much for the feedback and insight. The spirit of Gen X has always been that "X-class" of individual who goes about life as he or she seeks it to be, as opposed to how it automatically is. That's what write Morris Burman called the "new monastic individual" who sidesteps society in pursuit of authenticity and culture. The education side of things does interest me, especially as an Xer who vividly remembers the US Dept of Ed's criticism of a "rising tide of mediocrity" among our generation. That certainly proved to be of dubious validity. We just went about changing the world in spite of the system.mmazenkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06602797515366983639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1550222691875074441.post-44163304222755316192016-11-18T14:16:00.637-07:002016-11-18T14:16:00.637-07:00Well written piece. Thanks for writing it. I am p...Well written piece. Thanks for writing it. I am proud to be a part of a generation that in spite of the odds being against us in every possible way, we do the quiet, hard work that needs to get done, and we contribute so much to the world. If anyone can bring society out of a Crisis era of history, Gen X can. We've made it this far in the continued wake of every kind of instability, and because of that, I believe we will be the ones to bring an end to it. All the friction, chaos, and struggle of the decades of our lives have made us stronger and more capable of leaving the world truly better than how we found it. Another way society let us down is the American public school system when we were growing up. I wonder if you've already written about this or if you plan to. As a Gen X teacher, you'd bring an interesting perspective to this. It's pretty extraordinary how at every single stage of our lives, every single aspect of society crumbled around us. Even more extraordinary is how we overcame (and continue to overcome) so much. Here's to the leadership of every Lost Generation, who is given the responsibility of turning the mistakes of society around, even when they are barely given credit for the hard, selfless work of cleaning up other generations' messes. Chloe Koffashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13194170147086045368noreply@blogger.com