What time is it? Nostalgia, Gen Z and the
return of history.
Last week, I had the opportunity of attending a Christian Education National (CEN) conference and Annual General Meeting in Canberra, along with Christian Schools Tasmania’s CEO, David Gillman, Brian Bosveld, our business manager and the Principals from our other three schools.
It was an extremely encouraging time, with some outstanding local and international speakers discussing current issues that Christian Schools, both here in Australia and overseas, are facing. The issues discussed were not merely confined to the teaching and learning space, but included some meaty and controversial topics that are challenging the very values that we uphold as a Christian organisation.
There is no question that we are living in an ever-changing world. An expression that I have heard used frequently is that we are now living in a ‘VUCA’ world. That is, Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. The current pandemic has undoubtedly contributed to this, and COVID-19 has been an accelerant in some ways, to speed up change, particularly for our young folk.
One of my favourite speakers at the conference was Sam Burrows, who spoke of “Nostalgia”, “Gen Z”, and “History's Return”. Sam, a lecturer from Laidlaw College in New Zealand, noted that many 'old things' were becoming popular again. An example of this is current artists remixing music from the 1970s and 80s, with ‘retro’ imagery used on album covers which, to many, creates an element of 'safety'. As humans, we often tend to find safety in the past, particularly our memories of the past.
Our current online culture has created an environment where, for some, they are living in a time with no time. The pre-adolescents and the teenagers of today struggle to imagine a future that has any hope, with most not remembering a time that hasn’t had some element of pain, distress or anxiety. Think of 9/11, pandemics, wars… the list goes on. Unlike Baby Boomers and those who lived through the 80s, who often find solace in nostalgia, our young generation is finding solace and comfort by creating an alternate reality, one that is lived online. The average daily screen time for individuals of Gen Z is 7.22 hours per day. This online culture has created a generation that finds face-to-face interaction more and more challenging. Commonly, these individuals will more readily participate in the mean-on-purpose, 'take down' culture on others that social media platforms like Tik Tok promote.
These changing times call for schools to consider how these current trends impact our children and how we, as educators, can be more innovative and adaptive in our pedagogical approaches. Traditional teaching models are becoming obsolete, and friendly, compliant students will not thrive in a VUCA world. We need to encourage and develop students who are brave enough to be ‘distractors’ and go against the current culture. Students who are willing to be risk-takers. We also need to develop competencies in our students, such as entrepreneurism, critical thinking and citizenship, as these competencies will be vital for successful futures in a VUCA world.
Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.
— Ecclesiastes 3:1
Drew Roberts — Acting Principal
