The old youth angst, cynicism, and alienation are all giving way to a new confidence about the future and a new trust in parents and authorities. Rates of youth crime, school violence, teen pregnancy, suicide, and the worst forms of substance abuse are all heading down, while measures of teen optimism, achievement, and sense of peer solidarity are all heading up. It's not like your childhood anymore, Bart Simpson. And in many ways it's the opposite of yours, Beaver Cleaver. On living up to the high expectations of adults and friends.
Polls show that today's kids' biggest worries grades and college admissions.
Most kids say they fear homework and grades far more than they do school violence. In most states, scores on the new standard tests are improving. Our own teacher poll shows that the most dramatic gains are occurring at the younger grades, suggesting that Millennials will be a generation of strongly positive academic trends from first cohort to last. To Millennials, diversity doesn't mean black or white, it means Korean, Malaysian, Latvian, Guatemalan, Peruvian, Nigerian, Trinidadian, and skins in more hues from more places than seen on any generation in any society in the history of humanity. America is awash in individualism, in everything from careers to lifestyles.