In July 2022, after a whirlwind summer of job applications, I was excited to accept an unexpected position at a state university as an adjunct professor in the English department. I was thrilled to teach at the college level but more than a little apprehensive about this age group. My knowledge of Gen Z was mostly limited to the way this generation was becoming the scapegoat for all manner of societal ills. But other than fashion choices that eerily reflected those of my own teen years and slang that required frequent visits to Urban Dictionary, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
To my utter surprise and delight, I loved teaching Gen Z. I loved how bright and funny they were. I loved their careful, formally worded emails. I loved laughing over funny pop culture references. And despite my misgivings, I found myself connecting with these kids in a way I simply didn’t expect. Obviously, some of my apprehension stemmed from the generation gap. Despite being only 15 years older than my students, the separation feels much wider because of the way technology and society have “progressed” rapidly over the last few decades.
I also was nervous about teaching in an entirely secular setting for the first time. How could I be a Christian witness to students in an environment that didn’t lend itself to sharing the “Romans Road” on the first day of class?
Over the last four semesters, I have taught several hundred students, almost all Gen Z, and based on my course evaluations, emails, and end-of-semester reflections, I can say confidently while some of them may still be a little iffy on MLA formatting, we have made lasting connections in my classes. That is not a brag — humble or otherwise — on my end. I genuinely didn’t know how this would go when I started. But I have learned a few things along the way, and these principles have served me well in the last two years as I endeavored to connect with my students.
While these principles apply to any age group, gender, or classroom setting, Gen Z is unique in a number of ways, so I bring that perspective to this article.
Be Curious
It is truly important to meet Gen Z where they are and find out what’s going on in their world. This doesn’t mean condoning or embracing what they find entertaining, but having a baseline knowledge of what they’re reading, watching, and hearing can open many conversational doors.
We also must be curious about their stories. I start the semester by giving each student an index card and asking them to write down something they want me to know about them. I am always shocked, both by their notes and by what these students have already endured at such young ages. But I must ask to learn. During a 2021 commencement speech, author Kelly Corrigan said, “Forget what you heard about the cat. Curiosity is brave and humble and always pays.”
If we’re not curious, we miss out on so much and often fill in those “blanks” with assumptions that may be incorrect.
Be Compassionate
It’s no secret Gen Z is the first of its kind. These young people have never truly known a world without smartphones, social media, and the Internet in its modern iterations (not the screeching dial-up of my childhood). In his new book The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt methodically lays out the movement from a play-based childhood to a phone-based childhood and the way this has directly coincided with a steep rise in mental illness among adolescents, especially girls.
Depression and anxiety are at an all-time high, and the hyperconnectivity of the online world stands in stark contrast to the isolation and withdrawal young people are experiencing in real-life relationships. (All this, of course, was exacerbated by the pandemic.)
This should elicit deep compassion and empathy from us “grownups” who remember what (at least in theory) felt like a much simpler time. We didn’t have access to all the world’s information — good, bad, and often very ugly — in our pockets at every moment. We didn’t have the ability to document our most tender, formative years for friends and strangers to observe and comment. And we weren’t comparing ourselves to increasingly filtered and curated “feeds” of everyone else’s lives.
When we add the impact social media has in areas such as gender identity, faith deconstruction, political unrest, and the very concept of truth, it is unequivocally more difficult to navigate young adulthood today. Our hearts should go out to Gen Z (and Gen Alpha to come), and we should welcome their questions with as much compassion as we can muster, even when those questions are difficult or may seem disrespectful.
Be Christlike
Older generations are currently not excelling in maintaining our Christian testimonies, especially in online spaces. It’s no secret vitriol and division in our country right now, especially in politics, have reached a fever pitch. Oh, and it’s an election year!
Many cultural shifts are happening, and older adults will likely find themselves on the other side of the aisle from Gen Z on many issues. With compassion and curiosity, we must strive to be like Jesus in our communication. It’s cliché at this point, but the well-known saying is familiar for a reason: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Anger (righteous or otherwise), legalism, and condescension will never win this generation to Christ.
Author Jennifer Greenberg notes, to be Christlike “doesn’t mean we’re perfect, but that in some small way, we remind others of Jesus.”
While I speak openly in my classroom about the importance of my faith and mention things like church and prayer, I’m not explicitly sharing the gospel, so my primary means of witnessing must be found in the way I carry myself and interact with my students, showing them the love of Christ through emails and lectures and grace when they need it most.
Society would have us believe Gen Z is a generation in crisis. It’s true they face challenges young people never faced before. The generation gap sometimes feels wider than ever. But I am more hopeful than fearful about the future of these young people. If we rise to the occasion of this cultural moment and continue to minister to them with curiosity, compassion, and Christlikeness, we can watch them harness their many gifts for the Kingdom of God and do a mighty work for Him.
About the Writer: Ashley Baines McNeese is an English professor and avid reader. She moved to Houston with her husband in 2015 and has since acquired two little girls, an M.A. in writing, and an excessive number of books. After growing up on both the West and East Coasts, no one is more surprised than she is that Texas became her home, but the impeccable Mexican food stole her heart.
