Three of factors limiting tenacity in students are: Fatigue, Personal Expectations and Social Media.
How are you seeing a lack of tenacity and optimism impacting your students?
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Three of factors limiting tenacity in students are: Fatigue, Personal Expectations and Social Media.
How are you seeing a lack of tenacity and optimism impacting your students?
Technology is meant to improve our general lifestyle and social media is supposed to shrink the world to our advantage, so we can speak to people, especially loved ones from across the world.
But, many young people are hooked to the internet and misuse technology, especially social media. This has turned them into internet zombies who lounge in uncomfortable positions, accessing social media platforms, browsing through unimportant things and uploading inappropriate posts/pictures in an attempt of self-gratification from external recognition. They end up deflated when they don’t get the appraisal that they expect and are fatigued by spending hours and hours on their devices, living in the fool’s paradise of social media; letting ‘real’ opportunities pass by and not living in the present.
This has made me realise that by saying something so simple & obvious to the older generation like “this task is going to be hard and that’s ok….it is not a reflection on you personally but a learning activity” can help to trigger a change of thought and move from pessimism to optimism.
I often say things along the lines of this to my students as well. I never call assessments ‘tests or exams’ for fear of creating panic.
I think this is a great strategy to verbalise that difficulty is OK and learning comes from taking some risk – hopefully supporting a growth towards optimism
Fatigue and social media greatly impact on the tenacity in students. Nowadays, students spend too much time on social media like Instagram and facebook. The paradigm and value shared by the majority on the social media become their own belief. If most people share a negative view on something, our students will follow the same view as well. If our students spend too much time on social media or other activities, they will feel tired and cannot concentrate in class.
The students spent a lot of time judging teachers, but not learning from them. Respect for the role of educator seems that have been lost on students who feel that all they need to do is “google” a topic to get a psss, therefore why should they be bother to concentrate in class. In an educational enviroment where we, as educators are being forced to focus on NAPLAN tests, HSC Exams etc, students can be forgiven in thinking that knowledge is shallow, and all they need is a pass.
i agree Alan – social media does command a lot of people’s time and attention. However, this is not a problem just reserved for younger generations; I find a lot of middle aged people obsessing over their social media accounts. Also, the influence of popular culture on people’s points of view has always been around but perhaps due to the number of people social media reaches it looks worse.
The three Fatigue, personal Expectations and Social Media have slowly been entering the classroom hindering the students performance. Thus being said they portray on social media an air of excellence although in reality the skills are not up to industry standards and the student is then confused when they cannot hold down employment.
It makes sense after this explanation the thought process behind having multiple jobs/careers now.
Totally agree, that’s why it is easier to change jobs rather than challenge yourself and persist with difficult situations.
The personal expectation of study/work not being meet, that is, not easy is reflected when students leave a course when the workload starts to build – mostly through their inactivity at the beginning of the course. The students poor performance is seen as an external factor.
Fatigue and social media is impacting severely. Some are tired because they are working and some are tired because they have been on the social media for too long. Due to fatigue, they don’t apply their thinking and do not try to attempt any problems in the session.
My students have the same problem. Some students need to work long hours to pay for their living here and some spend too much time on checking things on their smartphones. Both groups of students cannot concentrate in class. They just wait for copying answers.
Absolutely. Those students who arrive at school fatigued fail to learn. When pushed they respond “It’s too hard.”
I see this often
Absolutely agree – fatigue is a massive contributor. We are told we can have everything all at once and this is just not possible. We should strive to achieve all our goals maybe just not all in the same week/ month/ day.
I feel the pressure of “Social Media Reality” has a huge impact on how students see themselves in comparison to others – the filtered, staged, “beautiful” reality on social media is not reality – but this is what they are striving for. So many of our students struggle with mental health issues that are impacting their tenacity and therefore their learning.
I agree. I am concerned with the sexualisation of my young students by multinational entertainment industries who market dolls – none of them are realistic or reflective of them!
I believe that fatigue is a big impact on students as they do not get enough sleep since a lot of students in the 21st century use social media and are addicted to it. When the students do not give enough sleep they are too tired to continue to try their best.
I agree. My students have the same problem.
I agree with this, Alicia. They not are only fatigued, but also end up deflated when they don’t get the appraisal that they expect and are fatigued by spending hours and hours on their devices, living in the fool’s paradise of social media; letting ‘real’ opportunities pass by and not living in the present.
Also even when they are going to be or trying to sleep at a reasonable time they are anxious and so it is not relaxed quality sleep.
I agree that the impact of social media on student expectations sets them up for wanting to achieve unrealistic goals.
I agree with you. Social media portrays an unrealistic world where students believe it’s real.
Correct, social media portrays unrealistic goals and it is so damaging to the well being of our future generation
Kim it is a good point and having an understanding of the mindset this triggers is so incredibly valuable.
I totally agree with your comments, Kim
I definitely notice that the personal expectations of my students are that they will just be able understand a task or concept straight away. They can’t comprehend that there will be topics or tasks that require more effort than others and that these are specific to them and their strengths and weaknesses.
In general younger students appear very tired when coming to class and fall asleep at times, indicating fatigue.
Young students are coming to school more fatigue. I wonder if the reason is because they may have more access to video games and ipads which the white light used impacts their sleep patterns.
Students are busy participating in extra-curricular activities often daily outside of school. When they arrive home they are then accessing their devices. Many don’t have wind-down time which would also be causing fatigue.
Resilience is the name of the game: It informs determination. Success is not a dirty word; however, failure needs to be seen as a stepping stone to that success. Making mistakes and failing adds up to tangible learning.
If there is no opportunity given to fail (as in losing a football game or a failing a maths test), how can students experience the buzz of achievement when they do succeed?
Without the opportunity to learn from failing, there can be no real resilience imbued.
Very true, we all learn from our mistakes
After teaching for more than 28 years in TAFE NSW, I find tenacity and optimism from within most students to be quite fluid. 1st yr apprentices – optimistic, 2nd yr apprentices less tenacious and 3rd yr apprentices quite motivated to complete. By building meaningful relationships and encouragement, students tend to complete their studies successfully. I love to guide a class through all 3 yrs and ride the roller coaster that the Teaching Profession offers.
William, you are so right. The teacher – student relationship plays a critical role in helping students go the distance. I have experienced time and time again.
This is very encouraging to read William!
Tired, exhausted and overwhelmed is how i would describe many students i work with, clearly linked to impact of social media…
I agree Cassie. However, a lot of my students recharge by coming into class at 8am with a 4 pack of Red Bull or V. Not that it works!
That’s right, Cassie. They are not just physically exhausted but mentally and psychologically effected too. They spend hours and hours on social media expecting external recognition with post and pictures, but end up deflated when they don’t get what they expect. They live in a fool’s paradise, letting ‘real’ opportunities pass by.
The students often use their phones to photograph slides or information or look up information or technical words so we can’t ban them in the classroom but many fear missing out on messages and are texting or constantly checking their phones.
i know myself that i am distracted by my phone, so how do we balance this?
Yes Cassie, I agree. I tend to set class rules at the start of the term: phones on silent in class. However, as a phone is a mini computer, it is an invaluable tool – but student may only use the tool if it is part of what we are doing. Further to this, I tell students that if they want to use their phones, they have to leave the class to do so. They will miss out if they do this… and that seems to do the trick.
Yes, I have students who are on their phones during class also.
Social media is a massive issue in students I teach. They def see the best side of things and relate it to their own lives! Through daily interactions with them and conversations I see this daily!
It saddens me to think they take so much notice of things that more often than not are made up or not shown in the correct light.
That’s true, one of the many negative impacts of social media on this society
I see fatigue as the main factor in limiting tenacity. Lack of sleep due to shift work and social media is the main cause of fatigue.
Yes alot of the teenagers I teach work as well, one today told me she will work 24 hours over the weekend! Huge amount!
Many of our students work in the hospitality industry so fatigue is a real issue as their shift hours can be long, late and physically demanding.
agree, it’s about being connected 24 X 7, how can we teach our students to be present?
Fatigue is definitely an issue – between social media and working evenings while they are studying, students are often submitting assessments at 2-3am and then either arriving late to classes or falling asleep.
Just a thought – fatigue = energy drinks??
I really feel for my students when I hear them seeing failure as pervasive i.e. I didn’t pass the assignment I might as well give-up. I can understand why we moved to Not Yet Competent. It is terminology that is trying to encourage people to see it as a temporary setback but I’m not sure that helps a pessimistic view
I agree Lisa, many students in my class have energy drinks because of fatigue.
We also see students with energy drinks and coffee to get them through and then not eating correctly, so a vicious cycle and a reliance on caffeine.
I am feeling a lot of empathy for this generation of learners. They are a product of what we have made them and I don’t think they get enough credit when it is due. I don’t think the need for approval for example is necessarily limited to their generation. As a Gen X myself, I see plenty of my peers seeking external validation – myself included – for tasks that should be intrinsically rewarding.
Even without social media, consider the images and messaging they are receiving from us. Politics excludes them. They see a broken and chaotic world around them that we expect them to not only inherit but fix. That may have some impact on their pessimism?
I find an absence of routine ( eating, sleeping) impacts my students, as well as juggling family, ‘having it all’ and working shift work type jobs. Personal expectations are often that learning/ study /assessment should be ‘easy’ and that they will be ‘spoon fed’ the answers to enable success. Social media is seen as a go to for answers — if it is on FB it must be true !
Yes, a lot of students lack routine.
I agree – personal expectations that the course should be easy and they just want to “know the answers” rather than actual learn for themselves
Yes. I stress the importance of routine with the parents I work with. Many feel the more they can cram into their lives outside school hours the better.
Some students perceive their social media profile as reality, instead of fantasy. It’s the way they want their life to be and not how it really is.
Whole television series are built on the premise of this is what my life is like and it is the before the camera life. I don’t think people can tell the difference
When I was growing up, why didn’t my family have a Butler, Nanny or House Keeper? Brady Bunch, Different Strokes to name a few examples.
Many students are distracted by their mobiles phones they are constantly checking and they struggle to focus on what is currently happening. The mature students are focused on the discussion and what they can get out of their lessons and even if they are career changing they are positive about an opportunity of employment.
Some of my students struggle to concentrate because of their outside influences. Shift work, social media, gaming impact on their sleep patterns.
I have the same issues with some students because of shift work and social media.
Yes shift work is a big issue in my class
I am seeing many of my students with diagnosed mental health concerns. They are always tired and are constantly on their phones, checking social media and comparing.
Yes, I agree as issues with mental health seem to be increasing in many of our students. They seem to be constantly stressed and under pressure.
Donna, I also agree . Anxiety seems to be fed by social media and the presentation of illusion as truth
Then why aren’t we addressing this with them? I don’t think they lack the ability to understand the gap. I feel like we are seriously underestimating this generation.
Many of my students are optimistic about their futures, or at least they speak as though they are – they speak with confidence about getting into careers where there is a lot of competition to enter and which will require tenacity and hard work to get there. However their personal expectations, probably based on what they see in the media, including social media, are that it will be easy for them to get there. There is little appreciation of difficulties they may need to overcome or sense of how much effort they may need to put in.
Oh Lisa, this is my experience at times too. Some of my students seem to feel that work will fall from the trees into their laps with hours and locations that suit and flexibility to accommodate their every whim. The ‘real’ world of work is quite a wake up call.
Others are prepared to work hard and realise the need for a beginning or entry level role before they can lead !
Students today are attached to there devices and if they don’t look at Facebook or Instagram regularly they will actually sneak off to the bathroom to check. Students in my class I would say a high percentage are pessimists and are always tired.
Yes I agree with you – I am amazed how they hold their devices as if they are going to be snatched from them – they need to be constantly checking them which is very distracting. They say they have sore eyes and are tired.
There are just so many distractions for learners, it’s hard for them to stay on task when they need to check their Facebook and Instagram pages.
Yes they are very distracted and they seem to block out everything that is happening around them to engage in their social media.
I see all three areas impacting students but mainly social media and I agree with Michael that there is lack of sleep involved. I am seeing the issues of mental health becoming more of a problem due to the unrealistic portrayal of social media.
Yes, definitely a lack of sleep involved.
Lack of Sleep is definitely having a big impact on students learning
I agree, the impact of social media on mental health is huge.
I think it’s easy to see how social media can set up unrealistic expectations for impressionable young minds. It also, of course, offers a whole new vehicle for bullies, which must take a huge toll on many young people.
Hi Glen, I agree with you that social media is having a very big impact on our students. Its because of fatigue which is caused by lack of sleep which makes them tired and exhausted. They tend to loose interest in their daily activities. Also social media can set up unrealistic expectations for young minds and when they get the expected things they tend to feel very pessimistic.
Definitely, it’s very hard for them to concentrate more than a few minutes without checking their accounts.
I make a joke about phones being surgically removed for periods in class. I wonder what is happening with connected delivery? Social media uses the same clever technology as poker machines – addictive technology
They want to be able to do it right the first time without reasonable practice of the task.
They measure their success at a task by how it looks against everyone else’s in the class
They are always only half concentrating because they are always checking their phone.
I agree Joanne. Sometimes I want to throw their phones out the window!
Totally agree Joanne, I am experiencing exactly the same in my class.
Agree with you Joanne
Agree Joanne…often if they don’t ‘master’ it the first time they give up.
I had one student in particular who’s whole body clock was out of sync with the rest of us as he woud game until 3am every morning. Then obviously be so tired for a day time class. A lack of optimism I see every day when it all gets ‘too hard’ – as Michael said, they think they’re on the wrong path when it’s no longer easy and fun, so they jump ship.
The boys seem to be the ones up gaming till 3am and unable to get up in the morning to come to college – either walking in late or deciding not to bother. For the girls the distraction of social media is the biggest cause of sleeplessness, either because they are on their phones or worrying about what they are missing.
I see a great divide between students displaying a lack of tenacity and those that aren’t. Fatigue is certainly an issue and anecdotally many students functioned better in the online learning environment due to being able to sleep in to recover from their night time online world and continue their schoolwork well past 3pm.
This has really been very obvious during the COVID-19 change to online learning. Students I’ve never heard speak in class before all of a sudden are answering questions online.
I’ve seen this too. Also students completing activities at midnight or later, fits nicely into their body clock and social lives.
Interesting as we had the opposite experience. Most of our very young (<17 years) students were unable to engage in online learning at all. Various reasons of course, many out of their control. It's interesting that their ability to engage in social media does not equate to digital literacy.
Lack of tenacity – struggle to persevere with anything other than short easy tasks and may refuse to try more difficult tasks.
When it all gets ‘too hard’, it’s no longer ‘easy’, many are likely to bail.
That’s for sure
Yes, this is so typical of today’s students. Maybe it is not their fault given what is going on around them?
Spot on Matthew
Yes, ‘challenging yourself’ seems to be an unknown concept. Students like to only work within their comfort zone.
I included this in my last comment. The reliance on social media by our students is a major factor in how they operate in everyday life. Their health is affected – lack of sleep but also a lack of involvement in physical activity – both so important in their mental and social well being.
Absolutely! And the comparison of their lives to the lives they perceive others are living… so damaging.
Hi Sue, I agree with you that social media is having a very big impact on our students. Its because of fatigue which is caused by lack of sleep which makes them tired and exhausted. They tend to loose interest in their daily activities. Also social media can set up unrealistic expectations for young minds and when they get the expected things they tend to feel very pessimistic.
Social media is powerful. You only need to look at how Twitter and Facebook have shaped our political landscape in recent times to understand exactly how effective it can be in persuading public opinion
I agree. It is a dangerous tool in the hands of young people whose opinions can be shaped and influenced so easily.
Resilience and fact checking skills are needed.
For a historical perspective, I don’t think that a lack of tenacity or optimism is a particularly unique phenomenon for students. I remember being in high school before the days of the internet and mobile phones- there were still plenty of distractions and reasons to stay up late. The technology has changed but it really seems more like a self-regulation issue. How many teachers lack tenacity or optimism due to social media, personal expectations and fatigue as a result of their long working hours?
Speaking of long working hours. I can think of nothing better than completing this in the current work climate.
If we were all better self regulators we would have had it finished long ago : )
Absolutely agree Mat. Technology and social media are just the latest distraction.
I wish to join the line supporting Mat. I too can recall passively switching off by switching on the TV for mindless hours during my misspent youth. Those negative feelings of pessimism and apathy were there before social media was a thing. I admit I don’t know if those sentiments are more prevalent nowadays.
I really liked the reference to the media, particularly social media and pop culture saying “Life is meant to be easy and convenient at all times”. Clearly when we and our young people compare our “behind the scenes to everyone else’s highlight reel” we can’t measure up. I completely see this trend in the Wellbeing of our students and young people n particular. I think it clearly and obviusly links to the previously discussed concepts of the ‘self esteem movement’. and seeking the external validation.
Many students report that their use of social media at home is constant and late into the night if not the early morning. They are tired, don’t get up in the morning, often the carers are not there as jobs are shift work or other, students arrive anywhere up to 2 hours after school starts but they are not concerned as it’s common. Social media reliance during school hours is high with local limitations holding it in check, mostly/sometimes! The need for validation through these platforms causes the greatest social issues we see.
The validation thing surely will have big effects down the track..
Yes I agree
The giving up too early issue impacts significantly on schools, realising that they need to keep going, try again, learn from mistakes
yep
But aren’t young people spending longer at school than previous generations? I just wonder how does all this fit in with them giving up too easily?
Definitely fatigue because kids aren’t sleeping as much as they used to. This impacts on their ability to focus and learn. I also think many of the expectations are lower because less is expected.
I agree very strongly that fatigue is a huge factor affecting students ability to concentrate and therefore learn in today’s technological era!
My students who are working at night time and study during the day and then always on mobile phone..I believe tiredness is common.
I feel like the biggest impact is fatigue and from various causes. Not only are we looking at students who are tired from all the extra curricular activities and high expectations from others but also fatigue from students who are on devices and don’t have structure and routines at home.
Another factor is that instant gratification they get from social media or the internet. If you have to work for it what is the point? Many know they can Google it and get the answer and information they need – with just a few clicks!
Yes Alyssa, an evening routine is important. After dinner no more internet. Read a book. Go to sleep. They don’t like it because a lot of friends will be gaming late into the night.
Routine is a wonderful thing for young people! It creates stability and structure and teaches students to better manage time.
I agree with your comment regarding the ease of researching topics using Google. I grew up in an era when there was no or limited internet and research was completed using texts from a library…how things have changed! It is easy and instant nowadays.
Whenever I/we talk to students about the importance of sleep and boundary setting re: technology and social media they look at us as though we are from a different planet. It’s almost (and I’m sure previous generations have though the same thing) that they look at you and think “what would you know – this isn’t part of your world. You have no right to tell us how to live our ‘lives'”… and as we all know it IS such a big part of their lives!!!
I think we can make strong links between the ‘fatigue’ and ‘instant gratification’ concepts here when it comes to nutrition. Three of the fundamental building blocks of health and wellbeing are nutrition + sleep + physical activity.
How many of our students (and staff?) are perpetually tired – seek the instant gratification (quick fix) of a coffee, energy drink or sugary food. Then the short term fix wears off, or more realistically drops to a point lower than previously, and the perceived need for the quick fix cycle repeats.
I agree Alyssa, but I think that fatigue affects students and teachers equally.
I’m definitely seeing the impact of fatigue in my classroom. So many students falling asleep at desks! It certainly is a concern. I thought it was really interesting hearing the psychologist say how many of the problems they see could be solved by the kids getting more sleep.
Yes Julia, we all feel better after a restful sleep. Especially young people who are still growing. Routine and diet is so important, especially after dinner time.
Fatigue is very visible in the students I teach today, due to poor habits, lack of routine and the access to devices and hence social media, and the inability to self-monitor or control the use of the device themselves,
I agree Rebecca. Time management issues in their learning stem from this. I believe that parents are finding it difficult to provide boundaries at home in regards to phone usage. Social media has become so entrenched in the lives of young people.
Many students are tired in the classroom and take it personally when they don’t achieve a goal or do well in a test or race etc.
I have noticed a definite shift in the level of students that are tired, agitated and unable to deal with the day to day operation of a classroom. Many are using devices very early in the morning and very late at night, adding to the already lack of resilience in children.
I agree Emma and it is very challenging to get these students to try challenging tasks that require higher order thinking.
Tenacity has become a rare attribute.
Several students are constantly tired, listless and disengaged.
Yes they are and it is hard because the short, easy tasks or the ones with inbuilt feedback are completed far more regularly by these students and that perpetuates the problem.
I see a lack of tenacity as a big issue today particularly in terms of mental health and people dealing with the challenges of life. It was good to be reminded of the impact fatigue and tiredness on learning and mental health. Many students come to school tired. Getting a small amount of sleep seems to be the expected norm among students. Social media, streaming channels, gaming and the need to be connected are all playing havoc with sleep and allow for little down time which is worrying. I also think the comment that previous generations believed that life wasn’t meant to be easy build resilience and fostered a more optimistic way to cope. So yes I believe that fatigue, personal expectations and social media are impacting not only our students but their parents as well.
This is what I am also seeing – wholeheartedly agree.
Social media drives students and their parents to compete. Particularly the amount of extra curriculum activities students are involved in, contributing to their fatigue and inability to deal with disappointment or boredom.
I agree with you Sarah so parents need to step up and control the use of social media in their house. A very wise police officer told me that all phones and devices in her house are turned off and collected at the end of each day. If this became a common practices perhaps kids would get more sleep and therefore may have more tenacity to manage the ups and downs of life. Also parents would get more sleep. There is nothing worse then hearing phone alerts going off all night in your teenage children’s bedrooms. It affected my mental health.
Social media can be so wonderful but the pressures to “compete” must be so overwhelming for students. I can’t imagine going through school these days – my FOMO would be activated constantly!
Having moved schools recently, I have gone from an extremely low socioeconomic community to an inspirational one. the students in both are similar in that they are all tired, all constantly connected to their phones, and totally dependent on the feedback online being positive. the students in the first school, had a much poorer lifestyle but were more realistic in their expectations. Perhaps because they were unable to be given the things they desired as easily as in the inspirational community.
Students aren’t the only ones who have felt like “Life shouldn’t be this hard”, and wishing that careers, relationships and journeys should be more effortless. Standard media as well as social media promote this. All the advertising of luxuries. TV shows that have compressed the amount of time a project has been completed in, and don’t really show the hard graft required, time involved and intricacies involved in modifying custom cars, or renovating a house for instance. This is only conveyed by actually doing it.
Lack of sleep is a massive factor in teaching within a classroom, because all parents face the constant struggle of setting boundaries, and some have a situation where there is so much challenge in their lives, that setting this extra boundary at this point in time is just too hard. We’ve all been there.
Parents really do struggle with the setting of boundaries, and teenagers know really well how to play the game. They are tired. I have had to wake students in class more often than I ever imagined.
You are right on the immediacy of the shows they watch. No-one mentions the years of the participants stuffing up that happened before they joined the TV program.
Its important to that parents realise that they have a huge responsibility to guide their children through growing up with its attendant social media, friendship issues, sleep issues etc.
I hadn’t really ever thought about the “life shouldn’t be this hard” thing. It is definitely thought-provoking. Such a valuable insight into the minds of our students!