Mark Bauerlein, renowned professor and former director of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts, postulated that Millennials are the dumbest generation, and offered much evidence to support his claim.  Well, we might be devolving even further — introducing Gen Z.

One reason Gen Zers may be overtaking Millennials is that many of them lack interbrain synchrony.  In essence, that’s a fancy way of saying that they are socially disconnected.  Research in collective neuroscience is providing convincing evidence that when people converse or share experiences, their brain waves synchronize.

This is observable in classroom situations where students’ and teachers’ brainwave patterns can synchronize.  A prerequisite, of course, is that students have to be paying attention to be on the same wavelength as the teacher.  And this is likely one reason that Gen Zers lack in said area – they are more focused on their social media apps than the instructor.

As Jeremy Adams (a National Teacher of the Year nominee) points out, today’s youth are “barren of the behavior, values and hopes from which human beings have traditionally found higher meaning … or even simple contentment.”  Part of their problem is that they’re “hyperconnected to technology but unattached from their families, churches or communities.”

More connected to technology than teacher, apparently, as the vast majority of students use their digital devices for non-class activities in class.

Not much brain synchrony going on there.  Not much learning, either, as grades keep dropping amongst this generation.  There’s simply not much chance for them to ride the same brainwaves as their teacher, and enhance their consciousnesses to boot, without as much as a gaze.

Ah, yes, the power of a gaze, an intrinsic element of social interaction.  Perhaps nothing can facilitate brain synchrony more than establishing eye contact during interactions.  The recognition that the person you’re looking at is not an inanimate object, but a sentient human being with amazing experiences to share.  Their eyes are not only a mirror to their soul, but the outermost part of their very mind.

Being tethered to their digital devices when their impressionable minds are capable of soaking up fascinating knowledge, Gen Zers miss the magic of a gaze.  Indeed, many businesses feel obliged to coach aspects of their basic social behavior since shifty-eyed Gen Zers are so socially primitive.  As this etiquette coach points out, “I've noticed that Gen Zers disproportionately avoid eye contact or look at the floor when talking.”

Such a shame—not only that Gen Zers represent a bottleneck in the evolution of human consciousness, but that businesses are compelled to hire etiquette coaches to remediate common courtesies.  No wonder so many workplace surveys coalesce around the same conclusion:  Gen Zers are the most difficult cohorts with whom to work.

One solution is obvious and effective: ban phone usage during class.  Not necessarily a school-wide ban, in case of emergencies, but at least in class. It’s very easy; in fact, many schools are already doing it by deploying special magnetized pouches to sequester phones.  The result?  Test scores are improving dramatically, especially among underperforming kids.

There’s much consternation that we’ve done raised the dumbest generation.  A generation more in sync with digital devices than humans.  That’s very unfortunate because brain-to-brain synchrony (colloquially known as “being on the same wavelength”) between teacher and student is particularly predictive of positive learning outcomes.  At a minimum, it requires listening and establishing eye-to-eye contact.

Younger generations are often derided by elders, but, as professor Bauerlein points out, sometimes it’s justified.  Gen Z, in particular, has been challenged by the COVID pandemic and social distancing.  Many underachieving kids probably evade authoritative parenting, but authoritative teaching to overcome their deficiencies requires banning phones in class.

Don’t follow a misguided TikTok influencer in class.  Put the phone down.  By embracing the joy of brain synchrony with teachers, grades will improve; life’s overall prospects will improve. Perhaps simple contentment will follow.

Let the Z in Gen Z stand for Zoned-in, not Zombies.

Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required.