May 18, 2023, 7:40 AM
May 18, 2023, 7:40 AM
Starting in the year 2000, a new generation emerged, called the crystal or “Z” generation, young people who were more sensitive, creative and highly intuitive. They were born in a time of many changes in the world, are digital natives, with a heightened sense of empathy with others, spiritual and sensitive to the environment.
This is a generation that, although it has been called ‘crystal’ because openly expresses their emotions and thoughtsis becoming empowered, is hyperconnected and is willing to change the world reality, marked by poverty, the environmental crisis and the destruction of wild fauna and flora, among others, says Verónica Ágreda, rector of Unifranz.
“They are quite reflective generations and they are putting their finger on the sore spot, because Do you think a change is needed?that growth for the sake of growth (…) is not right and they become environmental, human rights, gender equality, animal care and planet preservation activists”, he indicates.
The so-called “crystal” generation are different from past generations. This term refers to young people committed to activism in various causes such as social justice.
One of the most recurring criticisms against this generation, which is between the ages of 18 and 23, is the supposed overprotection with which many have grown up. It is due, above all, to change in upbringing and education by parents; different from that of the other generations whose upbringing was much stricter, based on order, discipline and the teaching of values.
For Ágreda, an academic who works in the professional training of young people. grown ups they believe that young people are disconnected from reality, although this is not the case because they are permanently interconnected, thanks to new technologies, social networks and mobile phones, with other communities in various parts of the world and who, surely, share the same values, principles and feelings.
“The truth is that cultural phenomena and urban cultures are emerging where the protagonists are precisely the young people who correspond to this new generation and who They are calling for the care of the environment, who are looking for non-violent demonstrations, who are looking for nnew forms of expressionwho find in digital art and the metaverse other ways of generating new realities”, he adds.
Education also underwent changes with the pandemic. Young people have adapted to circumstances
The pandemic revealed the crisis in education
The crisis in education is not of recent data – according to Ágreda – but rather a structural problem that has been dragging on for decades, even since the founding of the republic 198 years ago. The pandemic only exposed those ills.
“The pandemic arrives and shows us what the reality of education is in Bolivia and the world. And parents are challenged to understand the role of the teacher, to accompany their children in carrying out tasks and to appreciate the great work that teachers do”, she affirms.
Since the pandemic, not only students but also parents and families have begun to appreciate the importance of children going to class, sharing with classmates, and learning. They also began to value teachers, mentors, and guides.
the pandemic It has been a lesson for humanity as a whole, mainly in areas as sensitive as health and education.
Finally, in the same line defined by UNESCO, Ágreda ensures that education must be a process throughout life, but based on soft skills developed and purposes set by each person. “In short, learning should be fun.”
