The Harms of the 'Millennial' Label in an Era of Us vs. Them

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: N/A

Room: Plaza A

Floor: Lobby Level

In this session, the presenters, all from the “millennial” generation, will explore the ways in which clinical and externship teachers use (and misuse) the term “millennial” to explain common student behaviors. We will discuss the ways in which generational stereotypes can create distance between student and teacher and undermine effective supervision, as well as approaches to supervising students that do not categorize them. In a highly polarized time characterized by identity-based attacks, educators must confront our own assumptions about students based on their generation. All too often, educators attribute behaviors, preferences, and common student misunderstandings to the student’s generation. In doing so, we risk inflicting identity-based assumptions on our students, all while trying to teach students how to resist and combat those same types of assumptions in legal practice. This session will encourage the clinical community to practice what we preach by combating generation-based assumptions, withholding judgment, employing empathy, and meeting our students where they are.