Winter is coming: snowflakes in the classroom.
Snowflakes have no resiliance - they melt in the face of challenge, have poor mental health, and they are easily offended say their critics.
Deborah Orr wrote a sterling piece in the Guardian recently about just this issue, challenging the negative sterotypes and lazy assumption so often touted in the press.
Link: Deborah Orr on the "snowflake" generation.
Not all children are snowflakes - some of them are sunshine (happy, well adjusted and bright); others are more like tornadoes wreaking havoc wherever they go.
So what do snowflakes look like in my classroom?
1. They are anxious and overwhelmed.
They have received loud and clear all the messages about the importance of exam results - not education, mind you, just the results of the tests at the end. The message that they have received is that they are not working hard enough and that if they don't buck their ideas up they will fail and then their lives will effectively be over.
Effect: Snowflakes are often paralysed with anxiety. If they can, they will try to fly under my radar doing the minimum so that they don't attract attention. If they spent the energy they expended on fretting on doing some work, they would be just fine.
What they need: learners who are overwhelmed are unable to prioritise. We have all been there: 46 million books to mark, reports to write, parents evenings... Suddenly it is ALL too much and we can't get started on ANYTHING. They need someone to help them to
They know that the media is presenting them with an idealised image of what life is like. They understand that people only post the pictures that make them look great. They still think on some level that their life doesn't match up and they feel disatisfied. They want to be as attractive and stylish as a Kardashian or as brainy and interesting as Sherlock.
Effect: They tend to perfectionism in their work. Snowflakes will often be so consumed with the short-fall between reality and the ideal that they do not complete tasks. Some will not hand in work because it is not good enough. Others will not even start.
What they need: reassurance that nobody is perfect. Model making mistakes and putting them right in your teaching. Ban tippex; instead encourage them to accept errors and mistakes as simply part of the process of learning.
3. They can't escape from the bullies.
The standard advice to any young person experiencing negativity (after reporting bullying etc) is to minimise contact. If social media is the problem, then stop using it. If you are over 40 that probably sounds perfectly doable. Not if you are a teenager. Teenagers live their lives with a smartphone in their hand. Opting out of social media is not an option - if you are not on social media then you don't exist: you won't be in on the gossip/jokes/opinions etc that are the oxygen of your social life. And if you DO take the step of not engaging with what is happening online, then you have to imagine what people are saying behind your back which can be worse.
Effect: They are often preoccupied by negative thoughts and unable to focus on the task in hand. Some bear the scars of self-harm and are focused on opportunities to cut or ligature their way to relief.
What they need: to take charge of the situation without making it worse. Report bullying and minimise contact with negative influences. Oh, and develop the self esteem to recognise bullying for what it is - a bit pathetic and sad really.
It's hardly surprising that under the pressure of life in the 21st century, some young people develop skewed perceptions and negative thought processes. Not all do of course, but then we are all different. As Deborah Orr notes in her piece, calling them "snowflakes" is lazy and unhelpful. These young people are products of their environment. They need help, guidance and understanding but the key message has to be: don't succumb to your problems, overcome them. Thought processes can be changed, perceptions can be realigned and issues can be managed.
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