The hub of family homes — the dining table. This was supplied by one of the many happy customers of Envisage Furniture.
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Here is how this story came about. School magazine delivered to my home by a reader; delivered to the hospital by my family; a small paragraph headlined ‘Ask your mother’ enthralled me.
Today’s teenagers are part of Generation Z; the first modern generation to score lower, scholastically, than the previous generation. I don’t know why that shocked me, but it did. The wash-up was a decline in attention, memory, literacy, numeracy, executive function and general IQ.
And according to material on YouTube, there is also a reluctance, across the world, to employ Generation Z. One in six companies won’t hire them because they are willing to change careers three times (careers, not jobs); they won’t take management roles, and because they prefer to work at night, in a nine-to-five world. But remember, they are also far from strong in some important areas.
Generation Z covers people who were born from 1997 to 2012.
Dr Jared Cooney Horvath was a teacher and is now a cognitive neuroscientist.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in mind, brain and education from Harvard University and a PhD in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Melbourne. He has lectured and conducted research at prominent institutions including Harvard and the University of Melbourne.
His current focus is on bringing brain and behavioural science directly to schools, teachers and communities. He directs an organisation entitled LME Global. He created an international program to help students and educators understand practical learning mechanics.
He has written six books and published more than 60 research articles across major outlets such as The New Yorker and Harvard Business Review. He has worked with more than 400 schools, 8000 teachers and 50,000 students, and is now based in the United States.
Earlier this year, he had the job of explaining Generation Z to Congress. Now, in my opinion, Congress has proven itself to be about as smart as our state government; however, there may have been a couple of people worth talking to.
Fundamentally, this is what he told them:
For most of the 20th century, cognitive performance steadily improved across generations, driven largely by expanding access to formal education and improved teaching. Beginning in the mid-2000s, this trend plateaued then reversed in many Western nations. Multiple indicators now show stagnation or decline. Add computers and screens — no matter who pays for them or how good the motivation is — and education results worsen.
The Programme for International Student Assessment tracks the academic performance of 15-year-olds across dozens of countries. When students report classroom computer use, higher daily screen exposure consistently corresponds to lower scores in reading, mathematics, and science. More screen time equals lower performance.
I consider this little story to be important to the Western world — including our children and grandchildren. And thanks everyone; I’m home and recovering.
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