December 19, 2024 • 24 mins
The college admissions process has changed drastically, and so has the reality of what students face once they’re admitted. In this episode, our guest Jennifer shares her expert insights into the challenges of the modern education landscape, the post-pandemic impact on students, and what parents can do to set their kids up for success—not just in college, but in life. We cover practical strategies, the importance of resilience, and how to embrace a growth mindset to thrive academically and professionally.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why college admissions are more competitive than ever—and how it affects students.
- How the pandemic has shaped academic readiness and mental health for today’s generation.
- The crucial skills students need to transition successfully from high school to college.
- Strategies for managing distractions and building effective study habits.
- Why failure is essential to growth—and how parents can encourage resilience in their kids.
Links & Resources
- Jennifer’s website: https://www.jgtalks.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jgtalksorg/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-gershberg-99bb409b/
- Course: https://jgtalks.thinkific.com/
Want more from SheSpeaks?
* Sign up for our podcast newsletter HERE! *
- Connect with us on Instagram, FB & Twitter @shespeaksup
- Contact us at podcast@shespeaks.com
- WATCH our podcast on YouTube @SheSpeaksTV
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
For a lot of my parent talks.
I really try to focus theparents on things they can do to
prepare their children forsuccess once they're in college,
because everyone's so worriedabout getting their kids in and
very little thought is given towhat happens to these kids once
they're there, and that's whenthe floundering occurs.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Welcome back to the show.
Hope you're all having awonderful holiday season.
It is definitely one of thosetimes of year that I know we are
all wanting to enjoy some timeoff with friends and family.
We did our she Speaks surveyand that was the number one
thing that people told us theywanted this holiday season was
(00:52):
to be able to spend some timeconnecting with friends and
families.
So today we have our very finalepisode of 2024, and it's a
really fun episode of 2024.
And it's a really fun episodeIf you have a child that may be
going off to college soon or youhave anyone in your life who is
going off to college or incollege now recently graduated.
(01:16):
This is a really interestingepisode we have on Jennifer
Gershberg.
She is a former professor, aspeaker, a course creator.
She has such in-depthunderstanding of what college
students are going through andreally what the impact was and
has been of COVID and not justCOVID but also the way that kids
(01:42):
have been raised in the last 15, 20 years.
She's got some really terrificinsights on how that is
impacting kids when they get tocollege and what are some of the
pitfalls kids are experiencingwhen they're in school, how
COVID also has impacted that.
This is a really interestingconversation.
(02:03):
Impacted that this is a reallyinteresting conversation, and
Jennifer talks a lot about howshe's observed a notable decline
in student competencies,meaning their abilities to
succeed in the classroomenvironment, as well as mental
health, following the pandemic.
So you're going to hear somereally interesting insights from
Jennifer on that.
(02:24):
We talk about what are some tipsthat parents need to be keeping
in mind for how to think aboutraising their kids so that they
are resilient and they are ableto succeed in that next step,
when they get to the point ofgoing to college.
We talk about what are the topskills that parents need to make
(02:46):
sure their kids have, and thenwe also talk about what are some
of the things that we areobserving with this generation
of kids who are finishingcollege and going out into the
workforce.
One of the stats that Jennifershared with me, which I was just
blown away, was that six out ofnine employers have already
(03:08):
fired college grads thatgraduated from May of 2024.
So we're now in December of 24,and these are kids who
graduated in May, got jobs, andsix out of nine employers say
that they have already firedkids that graduated in May of
2024.
(03:28):
Now, obviously, there's someeconomic elements with that, but
there's also things related tothem being prepared, these kids
being prepared for the workforce.
So this is a very interestingconversation.
I think you'll get a lot out ofthis chat, hopefully.
If you do get some greatinsights, please feel free to
(03:49):
share it with anybody who youknow has a kid going to college
or getting ready to go tocollege or kids in college,
because that's what Jenniferspends her time doing really
helping to advise students andtheir parents.
With that, I'm going to let youhear my terrific conversation
with Jennifer.
We're going to jump right intoit.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Jennifer, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm thrilled to be here.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Well, I am looking forward to talking with you, as
we were just chatting before westarted.
I have a sophomore now incollege and I also have a senior
in high school who's about togo off to college next year and
I am knee deep in the collegeexperience and I have to say I
(04:37):
feel like it's quite differentthan when I applied to college
all those years ago and I feellike it's more.
Just the nature of it is somuch more stressful because it's
so competitive to get intoschools these days.
So I'm just curious if youcould talk a little bit of just
like what that experience isAbsolutely so.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
as you said, the landscape has really changed
from when you and I both applied.
I think it's due to a number offactors that have made the
admissions game so much morecompetitive.
First of all, it's much easierfor people to apply to schools,
so people are, on average,applying to many, many more
schools than you and I did.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Is that because of the Common App.
Is that what they call that?
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Yes, it's the Common App.
It's just really easy.
You click another button andyou know.
Not all schools have separatesupplemental essays, so it's not
that much more work to apply tomore schools.
Just the schools are gettingbombarded by so many more
applications, so the admissionsrates necessarily have to become
(05:48):
lower.
And there is still this testoptional landscape.
Now Some schools are bringingback the required standardized
tests, but many schools arestill test optional.
And you know the standardizedtesting can be used as a
differentiator because gradeinflation in high schools is so
(06:11):
very rampant nowadays.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
This is something also for those listening who
don't have kids yet, maybe readyto go to college, or maybe your
kids are already out of college.
But I've been seeing that kidswill be saying, oh, I have a 4.8
GPA and I'm like, wait a second, isn't it out of 4.0?
Speaker 1 (06:32):
That's part of it.
When they have over a 4.0, it'sbecause they have a weighted
GPA.
So you get more credit forgrades in AP and honors classes.
That's how you get above a 4.0.
But the rate of studentsgetting all as is much higher
now than it was in our day andhonestly, it's not uncommon at
(06:57):
all.
It creates a challenge, I think, for colleges to sort of have a
basis for comparison amongstudents when so many applicants
have perfect grades, and it'snot that this generation is so
much more gifted than ourgeneration.
(07:19):
So when you couple that withthe test optional feature, it
really becomes more of acrapshoot of who gets in and who
doesn't.
So in part I blame the pandemicbecause there was this complete
relaxation of standards, Ithink appropriately to some
(07:41):
degree at that time.
People were having a reallyhard time.
In many cases they were doingvirtual school and no one know,
no one's head was really in thegame, and so teachers relaxed
standards across the board thenand it hasn't.
Things have not sort of goneback or caught up to where they
need to, and the problem withall of this is that students are
(08:06):
less prepared for college thanthey have ever been.
There have been numerousstudies that have demonstrated
this.
I observed this myself in myexperience as a college
professor.
Students often go into collegewith an inflated sense of their
academic prowess because theyare not used to getting a B.
(08:28):
They're not used to being toldthat anything is less than
perfect.
It can create a problem forthem.
A lot of mental health issuescome along and they feel
inadequate and they feel likethey don't belong.
They're not used to being toldno, and they're not used to
(08:51):
being told that there is areafor growth and they don't know
what to do with that.
And that's a huge trend incolleges now and it's deeply
concerning.
The bottom line is, no matterhow old students were at the
time of the pandemic, theymissed a crucial developmental
stage.
Whether they're younger andlearning basic communication
(09:13):
skills, or older and learningmore advanced study skills,
whatever it is, they're all, byand large, a little more stunted
than they would have been hadthere not been a pandemic.
And so I've read sort ofguesses, estimates of when
things can be expected to goback.
I'm not sure they'll ever goback because the world's changed
(09:36):
dramatically, but there havebeen estimates that it will take
at least 10 years minimum, andI don't think it's going to go
back.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
And when you say go back, what do you mean?
Go back to the academicstandards that we had prior to
the pandemic.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I mean go back to the standards, the skills, the
communication skills, all of thethings that make students
college ready and real worldready.
Yeah, well, that I mean that's.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
that is a really tough pill to swallow, so to
speak, obviously for all of Imean, there's obviously so many
millions of kids then who aregoing to be impacted by this.
So here's my question how doesthis affect the workplace?
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Six out of nine employers have already fired
college grads who graduated inMay 2004.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
That sounds huge to me.
Is that large compared to?
Speaker 1 (10:40):
like an average.
It's unprecedented.
Yes.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
And that is not related to the economy.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
The narrative is that the generation of recent
college grads is not preparedfor the workforce, Just as
they're not prepared for college.
They go through college andthey're emerging largely
underprepared for the workforce.
They have not developed theprofessionalism that employers
(11:09):
expect.
They have a real insistence onsort of their boundaries and
boundaries are very important,of course, to well-being.
But when you're first startingout you should be thinking about
learning as much as you canlearn and contributing as much
as you can and building yournetwork and building
(11:33):
relationships and sort ofthrowing yourself in.
The narrative, for thisgeneration has not been aligned
with that by and large, and ofcourse I have to say there are
exceptions everywhere.
Right, I'm saying, but I it's areal trend and it's what
employers are noticing To yourpoint.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
this is affecting many different areas of our like
economy, our ecosystem ofhospitals I'm sure the police
force, like I'm sure it'severywhere.
Hospitals, I'm sure the policeforce, like I'm sure it's
everywhere.
So you've talked also about themental health load and the
impact there and you have thisapproach of thinking about.
(12:18):
You know, helping students withnurturing, but tough.
Can you talk a little bit aboutwhat that approach?
Speaker 1 (12:26):
is little bit about what that approach is.
I think it is fundamentallyinsulting to students and to
employees and to people ingeneral to not expect a lot of
them.
As a professor, I was sort ofknown as being demanding but
very committed to my students'success.
My students all knew this.
I fundamentally respected theirintellect and I knew they could
(12:50):
do better and I pushed them todo better, and I think it's very
important that students beempowered to do better.
So I take mental health veryseriously.
I think so many students I mean.
It's without question this hasbeen established in study after
study the mental healthlandscape on college campuses is
(13:13):
terrible.
There's so much anxiety anddepression and so much of that,
I believe, is skills driven.
They don't have thecompetencies and the skills that
they need to know they can relyon themselves to do hard things
and to get through hard timesand to be resourceful and
(13:34):
resilient.
And so that's really why I'm sopassionate about my work,
because I want to help empowerstudents with the skills they
need for success and they feelbetter and more confident as a
result.
And that's like, uniformly, thefeedback I get from students.
(13:55):
For a lot of my parent talks.
I really try to focus theparents on things they can do to
prepare their children forsuccess once they're in college,
because everyone's so worriedabout getting their kids in and
very little thought is given towhat happens to these kids once
they're there, and that's whenthe floundering occurs.
(14:16):
There are things parents can dofrom the time their kids are in
really any age but I tend tofocus on high school and college
and beyond any age, but I tendto focus on high school and
college and beyond to helpempower their children to be
successful and to develop theirown agency and skills.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
If you had to give a top piece of advice to parents
who have kids that are kind ofin that phase.
What would be the number onething you would tell them?
Speaker 1 (14:47):
So the first is to teach them how to, to allow them
and teach them how toself-advocate, and what I mean
by this is not asking forspecial favors.
This drives teachers everywherecrazy and professors really
crazy in college when studentscome and ask for special
(15:08):
treatment and do-overs and Idon't mean that email to the
teacher and asking for specifichelp and asking specific
(15:28):
questions, sort of helping themlearn and scaffolding those
communications and sort ofpushing more and more on them as
they are able.
Once you've taught them theskills I think is really
invaluable.
So that's number one.
Number two, from a purelyskills perspective, I do think
(15:51):
parents should take a littlemore active involvement, at
least in the beginning, teachingtheir kids proper time
management and organization.
Because let me tell you, one ofthe biggest problems college
students face when they arriveat college is they have suddenly
all this unstructured quote,unquote free time.
(16:12):
They could have like six hoursone day with no class.
So you know, it's importantthat they organize their time
properly and structure theirschedules, and far too many
don't they sort of like wastethe day on TikTok or hanging out
and doing nothing, and thenthey're up all night and not
(16:34):
studying the right way and it'sa bit of a disaster.
So I think, at least in thebeginning, until the students
develop good study and timemanagement habits, for parents
to help them write out aschedule, help them organize
their time.
There are certain ways toorganize your time that will
(16:56):
lead to the most efficient, bestresults.
So teaching them those skillswhen they're in the sort of
structured setting of highschool so that they can hit the
ground running when they get tocollege.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, I mean that is really great advice because, if
I think about even the skillsthat you need in a job as an
adult, it's self-advocacy and ina smart way.
Do you have any tips forparents, or well, parents who
(17:33):
are trying to help their kids,but for students, about how to
manage distractions?
Very much so.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Yes, the first biggest thing is the do not
disturb feature on the phone.
Oh yes, so this is huge.
The phones are truly.
I mean, they just derail everyeffort people make to be
productive.
And you know, mature adultsincluded, we're all addicted in
(18:01):
different ways.
But for students it's reallytough because you know they're
not able to focus in theirstudying.
Studying takes so much longerthan it needs to and they don't
get as much out of it.
And the research is very clearthat the best, most efficient,
(18:26):
effective way to study is to dofocused, scheduled spurts
punctuated by brief breaks.
So I always tell students whenI'm giving talks to them you
want to set your timer on yourphone and do like 45 minutes of
focused, uninterrupted work,deep work, deep thinking,
(18:50):
followed by a 10 minute breakwhere you can check your phone
and then go back and you know.
An added advantage of this isstudents are practicing, not
thinking about or looking attheir phones for a period of
time, and it's veryuncomfortable for them at first,
(19:11):
but they learn that the worldkeeps spinning and they learn
that they actually haven'tmissed out on anything.
It all comes down to disciplineand habits and creating the
habits you want.
We can all create whateverhabits we want.
One of my favorite books isAtomic Habits.
Have you read that book?
Everyone's read that book.
It's the best ever.
(19:32):
I highly recommend it toeveryone.
It's so compelling becausereally you can undo habits and
you can create habits, and it'sso empowering to realize this
and to realize that, even thoughit might be hard, if you do the
things, you can do it, and it'sempowering.
(19:52):
I talk so much with studentsabout how to create, what habits
to create and how to do it, andthat you know.
I mentioned discipline becauseI think motivation in general is
totally overblown.
We're all human and ourmotivation waxes and wanes.
With the wind 100% Right, it'snot reliable.
(20:14):
Mm-hmm.
With the wind 100% Right, it'snot reliable.
And so motivation should havevery little to do with how we
live our lives.
It's really about disciplineand about having a clear sense
of what you want to accomplishand a plan to do it.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
And going back to what we said earlier I know we
mentioned this idea of personalagency just how gratifying and
important it is to show yourselfthat you can do hard things,
that you can do something thatyou didn't think you could do
(20:47):
there is it's unbelievable howthose things stay with us.
So I think about, like collegeage kids, how incredibly
gratifying it is to pushyourself to try something, to do
something that you don't thinkyou can do, and accomplish it.
Start with something small thatyou don't think you can do and
(21:10):
try it.
That's right, and you know it'sunbelievably gratifying to see
you know the the payoff of doingthose things.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I mean, that is one thing that really leads to
authentic confidence, and that'swhy I always urge people to
just do do the things.
Yeah, don't over complicate it,just do it.
And there are ways to setyourself up for success, so you
will do it.
And there are ways to setyourself up for success, so you
will do it, yeah.
So it's about sort of creatingthe right systems.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Well, and I think it's I also find that there are
people who don't feel good aboutnecessarily trying things
because they're afraid offailure.
You can't fear the failurebecause if you don't even try,
you've failed that thing right,because you haven't tried.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Right.
This comes down to the wholegrowth mindset versus fixed
mindset approach.
Growth mindset means you lookat failure as a learning
opportunity and you're notafraid of it.
You learn more from failurethan you learn from success.
Like failure is okay, you justdon't want to waste it by not
learning from it.
(22:20):
So people with a growth mindset, who have far lower rates of
depression and anxiety becausethey're not afraid to fail,
understand the value of failureand of making mistakes and of
being human and just look atthat as part of their journey.
I mean, no one likes to fail.
People who accept failure aspart of their journey are much
(22:45):
better off and they will reachmore success.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Well, and going back to what we were talking about
earlier too, for what parentscan do for their kids, I think
instilling in your kids thisnotion that it's okay to fail,
you gave it a shot.
If it doesn't work out, itdoesn't work out the best case
you win, worst case, you learnsomething from it.
Well, exactly To your point,like, actually think about it
(23:11):
and learn something from it.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Right.
And that's another danger ofsolving all your kids' problems
for them, because you're sort oftelling them it's not okay to
fail and that you're not willingto risk their failure because
it's worse to fail than to havethem try on their own.
Oh, my God, that is such greatinsight.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Well, jennifer, thank you so much.
If people want to follow you, Imean you have so much great
advice, you have so such greatinsight.
Well, jennifer, thank you somuch.
If people want to follow you Imean you have so much great
advice, you have so much greatinsight what is the best way for
them to find you and follow you?
Speaker 1 (23:41):
They can look at my website, which is jgtalksorg.
I'm pretty active on Instagramas well.
I give a lot of tips and advicethere and the Instagram handle
is at jgtalksorg.
And then I have a course aswell, an online course that is
(24:04):
available through my website.
It is really intended for anyrecent college grads who are
starting college.
It's a Welcome to collegebootcamp and I break down all of
the best tips for studying timemanagement and college how to
connect and get to know yourprofessors and develop your
(24:24):
network and overcome testanxiety and all the things that
I've watched in my career sortof derail students.
So I have it all in that courseas well, which they can get.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Jennifer, thank you so much for spending time with
us today.
No-transcript.
For a lot of my parent talks.
I really try to focus theparents on things they can do to
prepare their children forsuccess once they're in college,
because everyone's so worriedabout getting their kids in and
very little thought is given towhat happens to these kids once
they're there, and that's whenthe floundering occurs.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Welcome back to the show.
Hope you're all having awonderful holiday season.
It is definitely one of thosetimes of year that I know we are
all wanting to enjoy some timeoff with friends and family.
We did our she Speaks surveyand that was the number one
thing that people told us theywanted this holiday season was
(00:52):
to be able to spend some timeconnecting with friends and
families.
So today we have our very finalepisode of 2024, and it's a
really fun episode of 2024.
And it's a really fun episodeIf you have a child that may be
going off to college soon or youhave anyone in your life who is
going off to college or incollege now recently graduated.
(01:16):
This is a really interestingepisode we have on Jennifer
Gershberg.
She is a former professor, aspeaker, a course creator.
She has such in-depthunderstanding of what college
students are going through andreally what the impact was and
has been of COVID and not justCOVID but also the way that kids
(01:42):
have been raised in the last 15, 20 years.
She's got some really terrificinsights on how that is
impacting kids when they get tocollege and what are some of the
pitfalls kids are experiencingwhen they're in school, how
COVID also has impacted that.
This is a really interestingconversation.
(02:03):
Impacted that this is a reallyinteresting conversation, and
Jennifer talks a lot about howshe's observed a notable decline
in student competencies,meaning their abilities to
succeed in the classroomenvironment, as well as mental
health, following the pandemic.
So you're going to hear somereally interesting insights from
Jennifer on that.
(02:24):
We talk about what are some tipsthat parents need to be keeping
in mind for how to think aboutraising their kids so that they
are resilient and they are ableto succeed in that next step,
when they get to the point ofgoing to college.
We talk about what are the topskills that parents need to make
(02:46):
sure their kids have, and thenwe also talk about what are some
of the things that we areobserving with this generation
of kids who are finishingcollege and going out into the
workforce.
One of the stats that Jennifershared with me, which I was just
blown away, was that six out ofnine employers have already
(03:08):
fired college grads thatgraduated from May of 2024.
So we're now in December of 24,and these are kids who
graduated in May, got jobs, andsix out of nine employers say
that they have already firedkids that graduated in May of
2024.
(03:28):
Now, obviously, there's someeconomic elements with that, but
there's also things related tothem being prepared, these kids
being prepared for the workforce.
So this is a very interestingconversation.
I think you'll get a lot out ofthis chat, hopefully.
If you do get some greatinsights, please feel free to
(03:49):
share it with anybody who youknow has a kid going to college
or getting ready to go tocollege or kids in college,
because that's what Jenniferspends her time doing really
helping to advise students andtheir parents.
With that, I'm going to let youhear my terrific conversation
with Jennifer.
We're going to jump right intoit.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Jennifer, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm thrilled to be here.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Well, I am looking forward to talking with you, as
we were just chatting before westarted.
I have a sophomore now incollege and I also have a senior
in high school who's about togo off to college next year and
I am knee deep in the collegeexperience and I have to say I
(04:37):
feel like it's quite differentthan when I applied to college
all those years ago and I feellike it's more.
Just the nature of it is somuch more stressful because it's
so competitive to get intoschools these days.
So I'm just curious if youcould talk a little bit of just
like what that experience isAbsolutely so.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
as you said, the landscape has really changed
from when you and I both applied.
I think it's due to a number offactors that have made the
admissions game so much morecompetitive.
First of all, it's much easierfor people to apply to schools,
so people are, on average,applying to many, many more
schools than you and I did.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Is that because of the Common App.
Is that what they call that?
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Yes, it's the Common App.
It's just really easy.
You click another button andyou know.
Not all schools have separatesupplemental essays, so it's not
that much more work to apply tomore schools.
Just the schools are gettingbombarded by so many more
applications, so the admissionsrates necessarily have to become
(05:48):
lower.
And there is still this testoptional landscape.
Now Some schools are bringingback the required standardized
tests, but many schools arestill test optional.
And you know the standardizedtesting can be used as a
differentiator because gradeinflation in high schools is so
(06:11):
very rampant nowadays.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
This is something also for those listening who
don't have kids yet, maybe readyto go to college, or maybe your
kids are already out of college.
But I've been seeing that kidswill be saying, oh, I have a 4.8
GPA and I'm like, wait a second, isn't it out of 4.0?
Speaker 1 (06:32):
That's part of it.
When they have over a 4.0, it'sbecause they have a weighted
GPA.
So you get more credit forgrades in AP and honors classes.
That's how you get above a 4.0.
But the rate of studentsgetting all as is much higher
now than it was in our day andhonestly, it's not uncommon at
(06:57):
all.
It creates a challenge, I think, for colleges to sort of have a
basis for comparison amongstudents when so many applicants
have perfect grades, and it'snot that this generation is so
much more gifted than ourgeneration.
(07:19):
So when you couple that withthe test optional feature, it
really becomes more of acrapshoot of who gets in and who
doesn't.
So in part I blame the pandemicbecause there was this complete
relaxation of standards, Ithink appropriately to some
(07:41):
degree at that time.
People were having a reallyhard time.
In many cases they were doingvirtual school and no one know,
no one's head was really in thegame, and so teachers relaxed
standards across the board thenand it hasn't.
Things have not sort of goneback or caught up to where they
need to, and the problem withall of this is that students are
(08:06):
less prepared for college thanthey have ever been.
There have been numerousstudies that have demonstrated
this.
I observed this myself in myexperience as a college
professor.
Students often go into collegewith an inflated sense of their
academic prowess because theyare not used to getting a B.
(08:28):
They're not used to being toldthat anything is less than
perfect.
It can create a problem forthem.
A lot of mental health issuescome along and they feel
inadequate and they feel likethey don't belong.
They're not used to being toldno, and they're not used to
(08:51):
being told that there is areafor growth and they don't know
what to do with that.
And that's a huge trend incolleges now and it's deeply
concerning.
The bottom line is, no matterhow old students were at the
time of the pandemic, theymissed a crucial developmental
stage.
Whether they're younger andlearning basic communication
(09:13):
skills, or older and learningmore advanced study skills,
whatever it is, they're all, byand large, a little more stunted
than they would have been hadthere not been a pandemic.
And so I've read sort ofguesses, estimates of when
things can be expected to goback.
I'm not sure they'll ever goback because the world's changed
(09:36):
dramatically, but there havebeen estimates that it will take
at least 10 years minimum, andI don't think it's going to go
back.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
And when you say go back, what do you mean?
Go back to the academicstandards that we had prior to
the pandemic.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I mean go back to the standards, the skills, the
communication skills, all of thethings that make students
college ready and real worldready.
Yeah, well, that I mean that's.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
that is a really tough pill to swallow, so to
speak, obviously for all of Imean, there's obviously so many
millions of kids then who aregoing to be impacted by this.
So here's my question how doesthis affect the workplace?
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Six out of nine employers have already fired
college grads who graduated inMay 2004.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
That sounds huge to me.
Is that large compared to?
Speaker 1 (10:40):
like an average.
It's unprecedented.
Yes.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
And that is not related to the economy.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
The narrative is that the generation of recent
college grads is not preparedfor the workforce, Just as
they're not prepared for college.
They go through college andthey're emerging largely
underprepared for the workforce.
They have not developed theprofessionalism that employers
(11:09):
expect.
They have a real insistence onsort of their boundaries and
boundaries are very important,of course, to well-being.
But when you're first startingout you should be thinking about
learning as much as you canlearn and contributing as much
as you can and building yournetwork and building
(11:33):
relationships and sort ofthrowing yourself in.
The narrative, for thisgeneration has not been aligned
with that by and large, and ofcourse I have to say there are
exceptions everywhere.
Right, I'm saying, but I it's areal trend and it's what
employers are noticing To yourpoint.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
this is affecting many different areas of our like
economy, our ecosystem ofhospitals I'm sure the police
force, like I'm sure it'severywhere.
Hospitals, I'm sure the policeforce, like I'm sure it's
everywhere.
So you've talked also about themental health load and the
impact there and you have thisapproach of thinking about.
(12:18):
You know, helping students withnurturing, but tough.
Can you talk a little bit aboutwhat that approach?
Speaker 1 (12:26):
is little bit about what that approach is.
I think it is fundamentallyinsulting to students and to
employees and to people ingeneral to not expect a lot of
them.
As a professor, I was sort ofknown as being demanding but
very committed to my students'success.
My students all knew this.
I fundamentally respected theirintellect and I knew they could
(12:50):
do better and I pushed them todo better, and I think it's very
important that students beempowered to do better.
So I take mental health veryseriously.
I think so many students I mean.
It's without question this hasbeen established in study after
study the mental healthlandscape on college campuses is
(13:13):
terrible.
There's so much anxiety anddepression and so much of that,
I believe, is skills driven.
They don't have thecompetencies and the skills that
they need to know they can relyon themselves to do hard things
and to get through hard timesand to be resourceful and
(13:34):
resilient.
And so that's really why I'm sopassionate about my work,
because I want to help empowerstudents with the skills they
need for success and they feelbetter and more confident as a
result.
And that's like, uniformly, thefeedback I get from students.
(13:55):
For a lot of my parent talks.
I really try to focus theparents on things they can do to
prepare their children forsuccess once they're in college,
because everyone's so worriedabout getting their kids in and
very little thought is given towhat happens to these kids once
they're there, and that's whenthe floundering occurs.
(14:16):
There are things parents can dofrom the time their kids are in
really any age but I tend tofocus on high school and college
and beyond any age, but I tendto focus on high school and
college and beyond to helpempower their children to be
successful and to develop theirown agency and skills.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
If you had to give a top piece of advice to parents
who have kids that are kind ofin that phase.
What would be the number onething you would tell them?
Speaker 1 (14:47):
So the first is to teach them how to, to allow them
and teach them how toself-advocate, and what I mean
by this is not asking forspecial favors.
This drives teachers everywherecrazy and professors really
crazy in college when studentscome and ask for special
(15:08):
treatment and do-overs and Idon't mean that email to the
teacher and asking for specifichelp and asking specific
(15:28):
questions, sort of helping themlearn and scaffolding those
communications and sort ofpushing more and more on them as
they are able.
Once you've taught them theskills I think is really
invaluable.
So that's number one.
Number two, from a purelyskills perspective, I do think
(15:51):
parents should take a littlemore active involvement, at
least in the beginning, teachingtheir kids proper time
management and organization.
Because let me tell you, one ofthe biggest problems college
students face when they arriveat college is they have suddenly
all this unstructured quote,unquote free time.
(16:12):
They could have like six hoursone day with no class.
So you know, it's importantthat they organize their time
properly and structure theirschedules, and far too many
don't they sort of like wastethe day on TikTok or hanging out
and doing nothing, and thenthey're up all night and not
(16:34):
studying the right way and it'sa bit of a disaster.
So I think, at least in thebeginning, until the students
develop good study and timemanagement habits, for parents
to help them write out aschedule, help them organize
their time.
There are certain ways toorganize your time that will
(16:56):
lead to the most efficient, bestresults.
So teaching them those skillswhen they're in the sort of
structured setting of highschool so that they can hit the
ground running when they get tocollege.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, I mean that is really great advice because, if
I think about even the skillsthat you need in a job as an
adult, it's self-advocacy and ina smart way.
Do you have any tips forparents, or well, parents who
(17:33):
are trying to help their kids,but for students, about how to
manage distractions?
Very much so.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Yes, the first biggest thing is the do not
disturb feature on the phone.
Oh yes, so this is huge.
The phones are truly.
I mean, they just derail everyeffort people make to be
productive.
And you know, mature adultsincluded, we're all addicted in
(18:01):
different ways.
But for students it's reallytough because you know they're
not able to focus in theirstudying.
Studying takes so much longerthan it needs to and they don't
get as much out of it.
And the research is very clearthat the best, most efficient,
(18:26):
effective way to study is to dofocused, scheduled spurts
punctuated by brief breaks.
So I always tell students whenI'm giving talks to them you
want to set your timer on yourphone and do like 45 minutes of
focused, uninterrupted work,deep work, deep thinking,
(18:50):
followed by a 10 minute breakwhere you can check your phone
and then go back and you know.
An added advantage of this isstudents are practicing, not
thinking about or looking attheir phones for a period of
time, and it's veryuncomfortable for them at first,
(19:11):
but they learn that the worldkeeps spinning and they learn
that they actually haven'tmissed out on anything.
It all comes down to disciplineand habits and creating the
habits you want.
We can all create whateverhabits we want.
One of my favorite books isAtomic Habits.
Have you read that book?
Everyone's read that book.
It's the best ever.
(19:32):
I highly recommend it toeveryone.
It's so compelling becausereally you can undo habits and
you can create habits, and it'sso empowering to realize this
and to realize that, even thoughit might be hard, if you do the
things, you can do it, and it'sempowering.
(19:52):
I talk so much with studentsabout how to create, what habits
to create and how to do it, andthat you know.
I mentioned discipline becauseI think motivation in general is
totally overblown.
We're all human and ourmotivation waxes and wanes.
With the wind 100% Right, it'snot reliable.
(20:14):
Mm-hmm.
With the wind 100% Right, it'snot reliable.
And so motivation should havevery little to do with how we
live our lives.
It's really about disciplineand about having a clear sense
of what you want to accomplishand a plan to do it.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
And going back to what we said earlier I know we
mentioned this idea of personalagency just how gratifying and
important it is to show yourselfthat you can do hard things,
that you can do something thatyou didn't think you could do
(20:47):
there is it's unbelievable howthose things stay with us.
So I think about, like collegeage kids, how incredibly
gratifying it is to pushyourself to try something, to do
something that you don't thinkyou can do, and accomplish it.
Start with something small thatyou don't think you can do and
(21:10):
try it.
That's right, and you know it'sunbelievably gratifying to see
you know the the payoff of doingthose things.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I mean, that is one thing that really leads to
authentic confidence, and that'swhy I always urge people to
just do do the things.
Yeah, don't over complicate it,just do it.
And there are ways to setyourself up for success, so you
will do it.
And there are ways to setyourself up for success, so you
will do it, yeah.
So it's about sort of creatingthe right systems.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Well, and I think it's I also find that there are
people who don't feel good aboutnecessarily trying things
because they're afraid offailure.
You can't fear the failurebecause if you don't even try,
you've failed that thing right,because you haven't tried.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Right.
This comes down to the wholegrowth mindset versus fixed
mindset approach.
Growth mindset means you lookat failure as a learning
opportunity and you're notafraid of it.
You learn more from failurethan you learn from success.
Like failure is okay, you justdon't want to waste it by not
learning from it.
(22:20):
So people with a growth mindset, who have far lower rates of
depression and anxiety becausethey're not afraid to fail,
understand the value of failureand of making mistakes and of
being human and just look atthat as part of their journey.
I mean, no one likes to fail.
People who accept failure aspart of their journey are much
(22:45):
better off and they will reachmore success.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Well, and going back to what we were talking about
earlier too, for what parentscan do for their kids, I think
instilling in your kids thisnotion that it's okay to fail,
you gave it a shot.
If it doesn't work out, itdoesn't work out the best case
you win, worst case, you learnsomething from it.
Well, exactly To your point,like, actually think about it
(23:11):
and learn something from it.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Right.
And that's another danger ofsolving all your kids' problems
for them, because you're sort oftelling them it's not okay to
fail and that you're not willingto risk their failure because
it's worse to fail than to havethem try on their own.
Oh, my God, that is such greatinsight.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Well, jennifer, thank you so much.
If people want to follow you, Imean you have so much great
advice, you have so such greatinsight.
Well, jennifer, thank you somuch.
If people want to follow you Imean you have so much great
advice, you have so much greatinsight what is the best way for
them to find you and follow you?
Speaker 1 (23:41):
They can look at my website, which is jgtalksorg.
I'm pretty active on Instagramas well.
I give a lot of tips and advicethere and the Instagram handle
is at jgtalksorg.
And then I have a course aswell, an online course that is
(24:04):
available through my website.
It is really intended for anyrecent college grads who are
starting college.
It's a Welcome to collegebootcamp and I break down all of
the best tips for studying timemanagement and college how to
connect and get to know yourprofessors and develop your
(24:24):
network and overcome testanxiety and all the things that
I've watched in my career sortof derail students.
So I have it all in that courseas well, which they can get.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Jennifer, thank you so much for spending time with
us today.
No-transcript.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.