Essay

Generation Gap
“Generation gap is a difference in values and attitudes between one generation and another” (“Generation Gap”, n.d.) and it has become more and more conspicuous in my hometown in China. In particular, many elders feel that they cannot understand the young generation and mistake a characteristic of the outspoken young as disrespect (Husan, 2005). As time goes by, this misunderstanding between the two generations grows and subsequently widens the gap. Sometimes, the consequence of the generation gap can be severe. For instance, it might tear the family, or even more seriously, it might tear the nation (“Queen Calls for Young and Old to Bridge Generation Gap”, 2006). Though bridging generation gap needs both generations’ efforts, the elder generation needs to contribute more. That is because how the young generation behaves is an outcome of the rapid social change. Therefore, what could be done to dissolve the misunderstanding and bridge the generation gap between two generations is that the elders have to adapt to the young. Specifically, there are three solutions: controlling parents’ temper, educators improving the professional knowledge, the government preparing relevant steps.
Firstly, it is very important for parents not to lose their temper when their children disobey their orders. Nowadays, many children prefer to speak to their parents in a direct way. For example, if a child catches his/her parents interfering in his/her personal life, he/she probably will yell at his/her parents or slam the door heavily in front of them. These behaviors may contradict the norm the parents learnt before which is respecting the elders in any conditions. Nevertheless, the parents cannot lose their temper. Instead, they should figure out the reasons their children go against their orders and think about an alternative way to enter into their children’s world. For instance, the parents can pat their children’s shoulder when the children are upset or frustrated (Dadashri, 2001). Day after day, most of the children will not contradict their parents intentionally and the distance between two generations will become smaller. In summary, parents controlling their mood can bridge the generation gap and make the children listen to them more.
Secondly, educators need to improve their professional knowledge and understand the words and deeds of students. Since many students are now very outspoken and impulsive, they won’t be as polite to the teachers as their elders were when they were at school (Prasad, 1996). If a teacher has a high reputation in certain academic area, almost all the children will admire and respect him/her. They will behave properly in front of the teacher. Sometimes though there are still some students who would like to test the boundaries of the discipline on purpose; if the teacher is able to see the purpose of the students’ action, he/she will be able to educate the students well and have a good relationship with the students (“Pupil Discipline is Key Issue for Students and NQTs - ATL survey”, 2006). To sum up, improving the educators’ professional knowledge and the ability to understand the student can minimize the generation gap with the young.
Thirdly, preparing measures for the young’s unexpected opinions is crucial for a government to rule a nation. Lacking of measures sometimes will cause unnecessary deaths and injuries. A famous example would be the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989. Due to some unsolved disagreements between the representatives of the student union and the Central Committee of the Communist Party, students held a series of demonstrations which were against the government. After two months, the government didn’t find any peaceful solution; instead, they used military to beat down the demonstration parade. The crackdown caused at least two hundred deaths and several thousand people injured (“Tiananmen Square Protest of 1989”, n.d.). Thus, if the government has prepared measures such as setting up a special department to deal with the student’s opinion, serious demonstrations like the above case could be avoided more or less. In short, the generation gap can be reduced by the government preparing measures for the young.
In conclusion, if the three groups of the elder generation, parents, educators and government can control their mood, improve professional knowledge as well as prepare measures for the young respectively, the misunderstanding which is mentioned in the beginning can be reduced and consequently the generation gap will be minimized.


References
Darash, R. P. (2001). Generation gap: The relationship between parents & children. Retrieved on Oct 16, 2007 from http://www.dadashri.org/bookpandc.html
Generation gap. (n.d.). Retrieved Oct 10, 2007, from http://www.answers.com/topic/generation-gap?cat=technology
Husain A. (2005). Bridging the generation gap – A critical and worthy endeavor. Retrieved Oct 9, 2007, from http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1157962510122&pagename=Zone-English-Youth%2FYTELayout
Prasad, R. (1996). Generation gap (2nd ed.). India: SanPark Press
Pupil discipline is key issue for students and NQTs - ATL survey. (2006). Retrieved on Oct 16, 2007, from http://www.epolitix.com/NR/exeres/19DA5E54-2CC5-4676-9FD8-8C4F5DC0252B
Queen calls for young and old to bridge generation gap. (2006). Retrieved Oct 7, 2007, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/12/26/1818246.htm
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. (n.d.). Retrieved Oct 15, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989