Millennials are the most educated generation in American history - a third of the over-26s have a four-year college degree - but they also have astronomical student debt. Two-thirds of millennials with bachelor's degrees or student loans have an average of $27,000 available. Student loan debt is half what it was two decades ago, when half of graduates had no credit, according to a Pew survey. [Sources: 4] According to a recent Gallup poll, young people are optimistic. Eighty percent of millennials (between 18 and 29 years old) are positive about the future and say that their standard of living is improving. You'd think they'd be wondering what it's worth having student loans. [Sources: 4] Millennials are less confident about their economic prospects than any other generation today, she noted. Unemployment among young adults has reached a record high, and only eight in ten millennials say they have enough money to live the lives they want and expect for the future. [Sources: 4] Millennials are the most educated and diverse generation in history, at least among those who have passed them by. They also spend less than they earn, with 52 per cent of millennials saving for retirement by the age of 34. At that point, only 42 percent of boomers had retirement savings. Millennials spend about half their income on Gen X and boomers of the same age, according to a Kent analysis of separate Federal Reserve data. [Sources: 6] The individual incomes of young workers have remained relatively constant over the last 50 years. But this masks a large gap between the incomes of millennials and those with college education who do not. Household income trends of young adults also differ according to education. Household wealth among millennials seems to accumulate less than among older generations of the same age. [Sources: 2] Among millennials with less than a bachelor's degree, the figure is 25 percent. If this figure applies to non-Hispanic white millennials, it jumps to 32% for non-Hispanic black millennials, 20% for Hispanic millennials, and 17% for millennials. [Sources: 6] In 1966, a majority (58%) of Silent Generation women aged 22 to 37 were economically inactive, while 40% were economically active. In 1985, half of young boomer women were in work (66%) and half were inactive (28%). Among millennial women, 72% are now in work, while a quarter are inactive. [Sources: 2] The large waves of immigration to America in the 1980 "s and 1990" s from Latin America and Asia, coupled with the aging white populace1, made millennials more racially and ethnically diverse than any generation before them. Most white baby boomers and their elders were born at a time when immigration was at an all-time low and the immigrants who came to the United States were predominantly white Europeans. America's small minority consisted largely of black Americans living in segregated cities. [Sources: 3] The millennial generation, now comprising 75 million people, is the racially and ethnically diverse adult generation in American history. It is also America's largest, dwarfing the current size of the post-war baby boom generation. Millennials make up about a quarter of the total US population, 30% of the voting-age population, and two-fifths of the working-age population. [Sources: 3] By 2019, there are expected to be 73 million millennials, overtaking baby boomers as the largest living adult generation. With more births than the underlying baby boom generation, millennials outnumber boomers in part because immigration has increased their numbers. [Sources: 2] A new generation, the millennial bloc, is changing faster than ever. This is evident in relationships, in the learning environment and in the workplace. We have no choice but to keep up with the changes and drive them forward. [Sources: 5] Millennials will continue to influence education. They bring with them a new generation personality that does so with optimism, structure, team orientation and a self-confidence bordering on entitlement. As students, they will be forced to learn how institutions communicate and educate in new ways. [Sources: 1] Offer opportunities for interpersonal engagement outside regular office hours. Ask questions that judge students "learning based on concepts and principles that allow them to apply their knowledge to real-world situations. Millennials are used to a supervised and structured environment. [Sources: 7] Students have grown up using computers and the Internet to use their talents and knowledge. Students today are able to learn curriculum materials over the Internet, libraries and course technology without receiving guidance. Don't be afraid to ask for help with technology or help shape jobs and projects. [Sources: 7] Take the time to get to know the values of the students, ask questions and have discussions that are not part of a planned lecture. At the beginning of each year, ask students to share their names and passions and write them down wherever they are. Group the students according to their interests and give them the opportunity to perform differentiated tasks that are relevant to their interests. Share your own values, interests and experiences with today's students and respond to the voices of elders. [Sources: 7] Here are a few ways to make learning experiences work for millennials. Make a relationship before you start by addressing the students by their name. Use a course management system, especially when it is used to accept and evaluate orders. Remember that millennials hold their noses about authoritarians. [Sources: 5] Sophia Sanchez is a new online ESL and EFL instructor and passionate educator. She found her true reputation for teaching when she had to juggle writing and a desk job. When she is not busy earning a living, she works as a volunteer social worker. [Sources: 5] ED7 Twenge, J. M. (2009) Generational Change and its Effects on Teaching: Teaching Generation Me. Today's students are shaping the higher education space. M. S., Sydneybridge, W. Yorks. M., (April 2011) A study on the cognitive determinants of the entitlement mentality of Generation Ys in the Academy of Educational Leadership. [Sources: 1] In 2000, Neil Howe and William Strauss published Millennials: The Rise of the Next Great Generation, which portrayed turn-of-the-century teenagers as committed, optimistic, and comfortable followers of the rule. Criticizing youth has to do with inevitable change. When human hair turns gray, the elders look at their successors with a frown. [Sources: 8] Every fall and summer that followed, millennials became the next generation of heroes, destined to grow up triumphantly, determined to take action and build communities (G.I.). Each round, each generation fit into one of four different archetypes - prophet, nomad, hero, artist - and repeated the same sequence. [Sources: 8] This generation spread the idea that people of a certain age share different personalities, values, and virtues, but occupy the same place as they grow up. This, in turn, confirms the notion that millennials are a mystery waiting to be solved. [Sources: 8] Millennials are not only the most diverse generation that has ever existed, they also perceive diversity differently from their predecessors. They define diversity as the range of unique experiences, identities, ideas and opinions embodied by an individual. Inclusion implies a collaborative environment that values participation and diversity of perspectives. [Sources: 0] Sources: [0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5799841/ [1]: https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/reports/millennial-generation-research-review [2]: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations-2/ [3]: https://www.brookings.edu/research/millennials/ [4]: https://www.bentley.edu/news/nowuknow-unbridled-optimism-millennials [5]: https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/university-venus/millennial-learners [6]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/27/millennial-recession-covid/ [7]: https://teaching.cornell.edu/resource/understanding-engaging-todays-learners [8]: https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-millennial-muddle/