I have always found the Beloit College “mindset list” amusing to read (although some years are better than others) and I think that professors should heed it. This is the list of things that characterize the knowledge and experience of income freshmen — this year, those students born in 1998. Beloit is trying to remind profs that some of their assumptions — and their analogies in lectures — need updating.
So this year’s list, just released, makes such statements as:
Vladimir Putin has always been calling the shots at the Kremlin.
They have never had to watch or listen to programs at a scheduled time.
They have no memory of Bob Dole promoting Viagra.
SpongeBob SquarePants has always lived at Bikini Bottom.
The United States has always been at war.
Next, the Beloit team should listen to professors’ lectures and cite some of the allusions from the past that leave students shaking their heads.