a This Millennial Rant Deserves A Trophy For Being Most Wrong By now, there's a good chance you've seen this viral video about "millennials in the workplace," which has over four million views. If you're on social media, you've probably seen people share it with comments like "insightful" and "this," which translate to "I agree with what he's saying, but can't make a compelling argument as to why." And the media certainly loves it: Millennials are entitled, narcissistic and lazy - but it's not their fault: Expert A Claims every child wins aprize' and Watch This Guy Perfectly Explain Social media has left Gen Yunebleto Everything That’s Wrong With The deal with the real world Millennial Generation ‘Author goes on huge rant about “entitled, narcissistic, self- interested, unfocused and lazy" Millennials ‘The speaker is Simon Sinek, who, among other things, is a “leadership consultant” and sells books and courses on how to make people work better. It's suspicious that a man ‘whose livelihood revolves around being paid to solve problems in the workplace is telling us that there's a big new problem in the workplace that needs to be solved, But te larger issue is that his speech is vapid, full of baffling generalizations, and, frankly, alittle insulting, So at the risk of being a sensitive, self-entitled snowflake, allow me to explore how this random middle-aged man didn't "perfectly explain’ anything. Sinek says millennials "confound" business leaders because they're unhappy in the workplace, despite being given a "purpose" and lots of free food, because millennials are apparently kindergartners settling in for snack time. The first cause of this problem is supposedly "failed parenting strategies”. Sinek rattles off bunch of generalizations about how millennials were constantly told they were special when growing up, as opposed to all those other generations who were told they were useless pieces of shit. He also says that millennials got into honors classes and got top grades not by earning them, but because their parents complained to teachers. Wait, was that an option? Weird, when I got bad grades, my parents just told me to study more. If any of iy peers! parents were yelling at the school to make their kids look smarter, I certainly wasn't aware of it. Sinek then complains about participation medals. "They got a medal for coming in last,” he says, raising his eyebrow like we should all find this equally hilarious and appalling, Sinek says "the science is pretty clear" that this awful act devalues hard work while embarrassing the people who came in last. That's weird, it took me five seconds to find science that say’s the exact opposite ~ that rewarding effort encourages kids to keep trying, and helps them see the value of hard work. And maybe, just maybe, giving a kid a plastic medal when they're eight doesn’t forever shape their psyche.I aa te ener iliindie Simon, let me tell you about my participation trophies. I got them for playing soccer, and they were handed out from a bag at the end of the year at lunch time. My response to getting the trophy was not: "Well, I'm sure that with this prize I'm going to get a well-paid job as an adult." It was: "Cool, a trophy! Now I'm going to go back to thinking about Pokemon or playing, because I am a child." Later, it was a nice reminder of time spent playing with my friends, and as I got older, eventually only the teams that ‘won were rewarded, This did not make us sad — it was what we expected, and wanted, because we were actually capable of observing adult society, and we noticed that professional sports teams weren't handed many trophies for constantly losing. But Simon says all of this caused us to drift through life until one day we entered the "real world," which to Simon means the workplace. And once we are in the "real world," we were all surprised to discover that we weren't special and that our moms couldn't make our bosses give us promotions. And so "in an instant, their entire self- image was shattered," What? Do you think no millennial ever watched their parents struggle with their career? Do high school and college exams, where you are literally graded on your performance and told that it will shape your future, not count as a "real world” which can affect your self-image? What the fuck are you talking about? But ‘Simon is convinced that because of this, millennials have lower self-esteem than previous generations. Simon then discusses social media addiction by pointing out that texting, Facebook, Instagram, etc. can give your brain a hit of dopamine. While that's true, Simon disingenuously compares it only to addictive behaviors like smoking, gambling, and drinking, while ignoring that you can also get a release of dopamine by exercising, accomplishing a goal, or yetting a hug froma friend. Also, that's a vast oversimplification of what dopamine is and does. Simon argues that we have "an entire generation that has access to an addictive, numbing chemical through social media and cell phones." Sure, and we all have access to drugs and alcohol too. Have you noticed that, while some people struggle with alcohol addiction, we haven't become the first generation in human history to be made up entirely of alcoholics? Because most people are in fact capable of consuming in moderation? But no, To Simon, we're all addicts incapable of forming proper human relationships or even sitting through meetings, and our lives are all going to be destroyed by our iPhones, Next, he adds a "sense of impatience” to our many desires. ‘Amazon has next-day shipping! Netflix lets you stream movies! Tinder exists! But there "is no app" for job satisfaction and strong relationships, and this is apperently making us hate our lives because we're not instantly making a difference in the world. Hey, Simon? I know that changing the world through hard work and having the ability to stream a movie whenever I want are vastly different, /'m not a goddamn moron. Yes, some millennials have unrealistic expectations because they're still adjusting to adult life. Simon concludes by blaming corporations for not teaching millennials patience, social skills, and how to find fulfillment, "The total lack of good leadership in our world today is making them feel the way they do" is the conclusion he conveniently arrives at, arguing that companies need to work harder to make up for the failures of society andparents. And nothing says "good management" like "substitute parents." His solutions include taking cellphones out of conference rooms and dinners with friends, and having more small talk instead. Solving an entire generation's problems is as easy as your dad's family dinner rules. Put down the phone and you'll enjoy life more. That's the ingenious, re-heard conclusion that this 15-minute video with four million views was never-befor building toward. Well thanks, Simon. Now where's your solution to the fact that salaries are voing own while the cost of health care and education and housing is going up? What leadership solutions will help the fact that 40 percent of America’s unemployed are millennials? Social media addiction can be a problem, sure, but that's like saying the biggest problem on the Titanic was thatthe food was too salty. Millennials arent stressed out because their Facebook posts arent getting enough likes; they're stressed ut because the economy is shaky and society's reaction is "Stop texting so much and team to love life, you self-centered kids!" Where I live, the unemployment rate is 85 percent, My millennial friends would like job satisfaction, but some would also just Tove to have a fucking job. Don't infantilize us. Don't act like you're some great sage eifting us with wise insights when you refuse fo acknowledge the actual problem. Complaining about millennials is an industry now. Those angry headlines generate clicks, and Simon is far from the only person to have written about how to manage millennials," a if they'te self-centered aliens who just arrived onthe planet. ‘But we're not unique. Baby boomers were dubbed the "Me Generation” because they were considered lazy and narcissistic. The goddamn ancient Grecks complained about their uppity kids IPevery generation was as lazy as the previous generation claimed, we'd have already devolved into moss-covered sloth people. ‘You want to know the real seeret to managing people well? Treat them as individuals, not a faceless mass sharing the same traits. Grammar: recognizing types of nouns Collective nouns: A collective noun is a noun that names group of individual people or things. Exercise 1: Cirele the nouns in the following sentences. Underline the five that are collective nouns. 1.- It was common for a group to use drums, signals, or lanterns to send messages. 2.- These messages could only be seen or heard by a crowd a short distance away. 3. During World War I, messages were tied to the legs of pigeons and sent to distant troops. 4.~ Flags or lights were us at sea. 5.= These codes were called semaphore systems by their audience. .ed by a team to send a message over hilltops or between ships Compound nouns: A compound noun is made up af two or more words. They are usually written in on of three ways:‘Separate words Hyphenated words ‘Combined words Hard drive Cure-all Congresswoman Chief justice Cha-cha Network Empire State Building Mother-in-law Classroom Exercise 2: The following paragraph has a total of ten compound nouns. Underline each one of them. The U.S, Postal Service was established by the government. The position of postmaster general was created to supervise the mail service. The first postmaster general was Benjamin Franklin, The pony express was started by the United States Post Office. The riders carried mail on horseback and were known for their prompt delivery. Mail was also carried on stagecoaches. Today, the United States Postal Service is self-supporting and is exploring many new technologies. Using Common and Proper Nouns All nouns can be divided into two large groups: common nouns and proper nouns. A common noun names usually a general class of people, places or things. A proper noun names a specific person, place or thing, In a sentence, common nouns are not capitalized. Proper nouns are always capitalized. ‘Common Nouns Proper Nouns book ‘Alexander Graham Bell (Village New Hampshire inventor The New York Times Exercise 3: Place a C after each common noun and a P after each proper noun. House Janitor Saint Joseph History Media Anchor Century Lens Venice Beach Blackboard Shelf Ray Charles Newark Airport Couch Sunrise Colombus Circle Lawyer Mug Exercise 4: Replace each underlined common noun (and it’s article) with one of the proper nouns supplied. You will use one of the proper nouns twice. Make other minor changes as needed. Samuel F. B. Morse, New York, United States, Morse Code‘Te telegraph was the first electronic medium, It sent and recieved electrical signals rer long distance wires, One of the fis inventors of the telegraph was aman, He was ove otand inventor who lived in country. In 1837, the man demonstrated the system ina city/stae, The code later revolved from his invention, Subjects and verbs jet ofa sentence will always indicate the number in which the ‘The number ofthe sul verb must be conjugated. Peers Conjugate the verb inthe parenthesis according tthe subject 1.=Lena and Stef (eet, simple past) at a partyin the suburbs. 21 (if, simple past) a novel during spring break. 3. You always (break, simple present) my heart when you don’t (answer, simple present) the phone. 4 When he (notice, simple past) the fire, he (scream, simple past) as hard as he could. 5-We (think, simple past) Mark (hit, simple past) his sister but she_____(ay, simple past) it. (fo be, simple past) Will. 6 They. (steal, simple past) the computer from the classroomIdentifying Nouns PRETEEN sey ply’ ‘fil in the missing following sentences. eisai GRAMMAR EXERCISES 6-12 ing Nouns In the ested. Fy the nouns in each of the fllow- 5 s. Explain why ng seneences EXP y each word that int enue functions a8 ‘a noun, word with the kind of noun £4 1, Alexander Graham Bell invented the L Baap noun) invented the {common telephon®. 0 et ston transmission 18 called & a: tis invention was patented 17 1876. feompound noun). 3, This invention was able to transmit a 3, Because we have {compound noun). voice over wines eeare able to watch more than 4, before the telephone, people could only channels. ‘mit clicks, using the telegraph. 4, Before the (common noun), people had 5, bell then founded the Bell Telephone Beaten to the radio for news. Company: My favorite baseball (collective noun) §s the (proper noun)- pm Classifying Nouns Write lective, compound OF Prome noun Writing Sentences ineach ofthe following sentences: Label Carer euns Use each of the following kinds of nouns in a sentence: 1. common noun that names & PLAS names a person proper noun that 1, In 1895. a system was built that Im Jpied a group to send and receive 2. Signals through the aur. 3, collective noun 2, This system of sending electrical sig- &: hyphenated compound noun als was called radio by i audience. 3. noun that names an idea Find It in Your 3A a we in New York heard the rst : broadcast in 1906. bom Reading Examint 'e a newspaper or mag- 4, Philo T. Farnsworth was the first American inventor to use television technology: azine article to find examples of common 5, The first regularly scheduled program and proper nouns. was broadcast on July 1 1941, in New York City. eee cy, department stores began Poe Find It in Your A ed these new appliances ‘Writing Review a plece of your own ea to teams of experts, io writing to find at least two examples of ology improved rapidly. Collective and compound nouns. fier communt- 8. Today, radio stations o Writing Application tles many choices. ‘cans follow football [emer Mite ten sentences of your own tO 9. How would Ameri a type of technology. 10 without radio and television? . Inthe United States. about one of very 250 Americans had a telephone describe your use of ce srvge at least ten common nouns and four proper nouns in your description. by the year 1894. Section Review * 199 eal i 5