For most college students Iraq has always been a problem, Ctrl + Alt + Del is as basic as ‘ABC,’ Paul Newman has always made salad dressing and directory assistance has never been free.
These are just a few examples of items found on the sixth annual “Beloit College Mindset List,” which tries to bridge the communication gap between professors and students.
The list is distributed to professors and staff members at Beloit College in Wisconsin. It is designed to give them an understanding of what terms and events incoming freshmen can relate to.
William Bankston, a sociology professor, said the communication gap between professors and students is a result of two different age groups trying to discuss topics.
As a consequence, neither has any idea of what the other is talking about, Bankston said.
And while there is no list like this distributed on the LSU campus, some students and teachers understand how it could be helpful.
Louis Day, a LSU mass communication professor, said he sometimes runs into communication gaps with students. Day said the most common example of this is when he refers to the Vietnam War during class discussions.
“I was in Vietnam,” Day said. “And I think some students believe the Vietnam War was really the same thing as the war between the states – it’s ancient history to a lot of them.”
Day said he sometimes wonders if his examples are getting through to the students because of their untimeliness.
And if there is a subject matter that Day does not understand, he has no qualms about consulting a younger instructor for assistance.
“Sometimes I have to ask some of my younger colleagues if they know the name of such and such, and they will say ‘oh yes,'” Day said. “And it will be the name of some group that I have never heard of. But I do that just to see, if I use the name in class, will students understand this.”
Some students agree with Day’s assessment that there is somewhat of a communication gap between teachers and students.
Jennifer Milazzo, an English sophomore, said she believes the communication gap is a result of the generation gap between most students and professors.
She said a lot of references to early 60s and 70s television shows often confuse her.
“We obviously do not know much about it since we did not live through that time period,” Milazzo said.
Karl Lehman, a biological sciences freshman, said he has not run into a problem yet at LSU, but did run into a few communication problems with his high school history teacher.
Lehman said a good solution to the problem could lie in more communication.
“Let the students ask more questions that they would like to know about,” Lehman said. Once a lesson is taught, teachers could let students ask questions about the topic using current events in the place of old examples, he said.
The list consists of 50 items that incoming freshmen can relate with.
Day said he has an idea for an addition to the list.
“Students believe there have always been self-service gas stations,” Day said. “But, actually when I was growing up self service was unheard of and you really got service. The attendant would come out and fill your tank, check everything under the hood and sweep out your car. That’s why they call it a service station. And I must confess that is something I do miss.”
Also included in the list are items that separate students’ mindsets from their instructors’.
Among the items on that list are, “For many of them today, it’s all about the ‘bling, bling’, they know who the ‘heroes in a half shell’ are and they can still sing the rap chorus to the ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ and the theme song from ‘Duck Tales.'”
Day said he understands how the “Beloit College Mindset List” could be beneficial to instructors.
“These items collectively remind us that we are dealing with a generation that cannot relate to some of the things that we relate to,” Day said. “If we are using the terms by way of examples then we have to remember that some students may not be able to relate to them entirely.”
The complete list can be viewed by going to the Beloit College Web site at www.beloit.edu.