The Beloit College Mindset list is created annually to remind instructors to be aware of “hardening of the references” – a syndrome where a professor might make reference to a cultural event about which a student would not understand.
We have all experienced this and not just in college. In the work place, in social settings, and even at home. Recently I was in a meeting and referred to something as sounding like a Michael Bolton song and the twenty-something colleague next to me said, “Who?” Those of us over forty moaned.
The Mindset list carries a powerful message of diversity, acceptance, and inclusion towards others. The list is also fun to read through and then realize just how old we really are. This is a similar reference to the Urban Dictionary but in a time capsule perspective.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Data Harmony, a unit of Access Innovations, the world leader in indexing and making content findable.
