• College students need to have their classes for next semester & job hunting/networking.
• Seniors need to start working on scholarships & organizing their paperwork for FAFSA/CSS profile.
• Juniors need to be studying for SAT/ACT & scheduling college visits.
• Sophomores need to be studying for the PSAT & developing a college list.
• Freshman need to be exploring majors.
• ALL students need to be doing community service.

Forget the Turkey job and get going!

Let’s analyze this:
Generation Y, as defined by Strauss and Howe, the leaders in generation naming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss_and_Howe, suggest that we were born in 1961 just out of the “Baby Boomer” generation and we include every person born up to 1979, when most of us graduated from High School. We are approaching 50 and many of us did not have access to a computer until we entered into our mid 20′s. We love the idea of cell phones but damn it..we are having a tough time seeing text messages and we struggle with not typing all words correctly…missing the whole point of the “texting” concept. Hence we call our kids when we switch phones or go to buy one and need to understand the best buy. Or as my daughter had to help me turn the volume down

Now as good as I am with technology at the age I am, there is nothing so great as to have an X’er to speed up the lesson and get the job done. For example, starting my business… how smart was I to hire a young sophomore from High School to help me build and launch my site. How great was it to have Nicole tell me things like, “You need more pictures” or “Do YouTube videos”. And so I did!! Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bjW4MlSIcI Raw but fun and taped by Nicole with her guidance.

Okay enough about me. My point is, for all of us business owners, think about the new marketing strategies that are at our finger tips and how easily the Xer can supply you with knowledge or for that matter learn more quickly the new methods your company is trying to engage in.

We Yers are a cautious bunch when it comes to computers, facebook, twitter, and social networking. Make a list of your needs whether you are a business owner or a manager and when interviewing “that Xer” ask them if they know how to get that list of needs met. You will see just how good a days work looks when you have an Xer working for you. Moving your company towards networking and technological advancement.

Hire them…don’t despair…and get a face lift for your company!!

Rebecca M. Carroll, M.Ed., CPC-the coaching educator is the owner of Rural Educational services providing educational coaching, mediation, college planning online. Check out her free college planning webinars.
http://www.thecoachingeducator.com

There are several movies over the past few years that have been quite entertaining about  young adults not being ready for what is called “the start up” years.  They usually provide all kinds of situations where the kids live at home, have either no motivation towards working or can’t keep a job and have a group of other friends that are in similar situations that they hang out with.  They justify their lives with playing games, sleeping all day when the world is normally functioning and leaning heavily on their parents for housing, food and fun money.  All the while the parents have no idea what to do. We all know this situation either because it is our own or because we know people in it.

According to Mel Levine, M.D. founder of ALL KINDS OF MINDS INSTITUTE the start up years are roughly from 16 to 29.  This is the time that young people whether educated or not need to understand how to negotiate those first few years on the job and all the relational issues that present themselves. However many young adults are struggling with this period in a larger way and these struggles include not being able to perform well on the job or unprepared for the demands of a schedule and the spoken and unspoken rules of the work environment partly because they spent most of their lives being able to do what they wanted when they wanted to and how they want to without any consequences. The consequences that happen on the job are huge.  Many young people are fired, become known as a liability or cannot get along with co-workers.

Right now our culture supports attitudes that require instant gratification with immediate rewards instead of patiently working on a project or waiting for an extended period of time for something desired.  For example this weekend I was dropping my son off at the airport and discovered that the flight was cancelled.  There were people calmly waiting for their turn to reschedule a new flight and there were an array of people that were loudly having tantrums. Did they get better treatment?  I would summate that they didn’t, however more importantly they disrupted the airport with their perceived ideas of entitlement all the while their children were either observing or participating in their own display of perceive entitlement with whining, throwing themselves on the ground or name calling the parents.

Where this attitude comes from is directly related to how parents handle the everyday task of parenting.  This is not nature my friends, this is nurture.  There is no argument here.  How you treat your kids impacts how your kids are able to handle the transition into young adulthood. These kids, rich or poor, from two parent families or one parent end up not being ready or productive in the “start up” years.

We have the kids that are idolized, believed to be fragile or allowed to rule their families.  It is important for parents to evaluate if they are creating these circumstances for their children.  That is the beginning of helping their child become productive work ready adults. Overcome your fear of being disliked or the tantrums that your child will throw by setting limits and sticking to them.  Choose consequences that can be followed up with, not unrealist ones because it is not in the best interest of children to be given the power especially teenagers because your afraid that they will hurt themselves or become angry.  Self monitoring feelings and tantrums should be well on their way at five years of age and are completely unacceptable in the work  environment. Kids know their parents care when parents set limits and will describe parents that do not set limits in their lives as uncaring.

A large part of life, starting as a young child should includes frustration, conflict and loss. It is important to allow these experiences to emerge and take a sideline position.  By that I mean help by hearing your children but letting them figure out the resolution or offering advice when asked however not taking the action to correct the situation.  Allow your children to work on strategies themselves and be the guide not the savior because relational issues come up in the adult world and kids need the experience and understanding of how to solve them.

Finally use caution in providing material possessions and idol status.  Childhood should include winning and losing. There will be authority figures like teachers, bosses, advisors etc in their lives who will praise them as well as criticize them.  Every act of accomplishment will not get a trophy or even acknowledged. Help your children who will eventually be young adults understand that in life no one is without good times and bad times.

Rebecca M. Carroll-The Coaching Educator found at http://www.thecoachingeducator.com

What kind of projects should I be doing to help my children qualify for scholarships and grants?

Dear Angela;

Great Question, especially if your children are young as it will allow you the time to mentor them and prepare them for projects that they can coordinate or be a part of at an older age.

Parents can work with their child incorporating community service when they are little by making food together for your local food shelter or by going through clothes and donating them. Another great way to mentor you children is to help an elderly person in your neighborhood either by cleaning up the yard or visiting the person on a regular basis.

Many agencies are looking for help however due to liability issues, request that your teen be a certain age or you will have to accompany them. Calling ahead and asking the agency if there is an age limit for their volunteers is a great way to connect.

If your children are entering High School. I always suggest that you help your child pick a community service project that has meaning to them. It is also very helpful to pick one that can be ongoing and thematic. Colleges and groups that give scholarships really like to see that kind of commitment. Colleges also are interested in students that have proven themselves in their own communities.

If you mentor your children at a young age, community involvement will come naturally and that will help them to engage within their college communities as well. A good number to work towards is 100 hours a year through high school. Have your children keep track of all hours in order to be able to easily fill out the scholarship forms as well as use it on a resume.

The Coaching Educator

My wife was laid off and has been unable to find a job that has comparable income. My daughter is a good student and got accepted at all the schools she applied to. Should we have her attend our local community college or let her go to another college out of state? I am worried about the cost of college and have 2 more kids in middle and high school.

Dear John;

That is a great question that many parents are facing in this financial climate. It is hard for me to advise you without seeing the financial aid packages. However you can take the packages and compare them including the hidden costs.

1. Have your daughter call every school’s financial aid office and ask if the scholarships and grants listed will be given each year or just for freshman year? Also she should ask if there are any department scholarships the following years and how can she apply for them?

2. Understand that “work study” may be written on the package, however it is not guaranteed and many students have a hard time finding a work study position. If you live near enough to the college you can have your daughter find out where the jobs are listed and apply for them before she gets on campus or during orientation.

3. Add up the full cost of the student loans both subsidized and unsubsidized and multiply that by 4. Do the same with the parent plus loans and sit down and show them to your daughter.

Many financial aid offers appear to be complete awards and they are not. They include the “opportunity” for loans for students and parents. My own children opted to go to schools that gave enough financial aid that they would not have to take out loans and did not require that I take out a parent plus loan. When my son entered his sophomore year he needed to take out a $3700. dollar loan and he chose to live at home to save money. This decision came after we compared his budget and he realized that living at home would allow him to ski and afford his car. Many of his friends that had lived in the dorm their freshman year also chose the same root in order to be able to save money and afford some of the extra curricular activity that they all enjoyed.

Help your daughter make a wise choice by gathering the information and sitting down with the facts. One of those facts should include the decrease in your income due to your wifes lay off. I have found that most students when given the opportunity to make an informed choice will make the one that saves the most money for themselves and their families.

I hope this helps in your decision making process.

The Coaching Educator

I finally have my sons grades and they are not great! He completed his second year of college and he is not worried about it and acts like I should not be worried. I am very upset. What can I do? I feel like money is going down the drain!!

Dear Amanda;

You are not alone in your concern around your sons grades or your sons lack of concern. You do have many options though for dealing with this situation. However they will require you to set a structure and hold your son accountable to that structure. Setting the structure is not as hard as holding someone accountable to your requirements.

If you are paying for a portion of his education or all of his education you can set or define your expectations. For example: I will continue to help you pay for your education if you earn at least a C or above in every class.

The hard part will be if he does not. You must then follow through with not funding his education. This would be a natural consequence that would result from what you have communicated. By taking a semester off, he may value his education more or he may immediately be upset with you, however he will not change his actions without you changing yours. As long as you tolerate his lack of concern for his actions you are not providing him with “the incentive” to change his behavior.

Sit down and write out your expectations and hold a meeting with him. Have a frank talk with him about your expectations and what will happen if he does not follow through.

I also would encourage you to check out the services provided in the parent virtual room at http://www.thecoachingeducator.com. Many parents are struggling with the same issues and benefit greatly from having other parents to connect with around educating their children.

My son has transferred from one accredited college to another after completing 2 years. In the process the new school changed their credits from 3 credits to 4 credits per each class. My son was told that he would need to take more classes because he was short credits due to their new credit system. Is there anything we can do about this?

Dear Deb;

One thing your son can do is review the hours spent in his former schools classes and see if they match the hours spent per semester in each class in the new schools schedule during the same year and semesters. I believe that he would be able to reflect that the hours of the schools will be matched and therefor your son may be able to present a case for awarding 4 credits and stay on track for graduation. First place to start would be admissions and inquire in that office. Admissions usually is the starting point for all transferring students. However if he has already started at the new school then the credit issue will be handled by another office. Take down the names of all the people and their titles that he speaks to.

Another way to approach this might be to go directly to the department head. Upon review of the transcript that you sent to me, I see that he is short credits in 4 classes due to their new 4 credit per class status. The department head has the authority to allow independent studies or he/she may suggest another 4 credit class that will count for the missing credits.

Most colleges are willing to work with students and keep them on track for graduation. Encourage him to follow up with the department head with a request for either an independent study that will cover the required credits or an offered class within the department.

I hope this answers your question. Please keep me posted on the outcome of the meeting with the department head.

Rebecca M. Carroll: The Coaching Educator

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