Boomers & Gen Xers With Actual Work Ethic Learned 10 Old-Fashioned Skills Before They Finished Elementary School
Roman Samborskyi | Shutterstock With changing educational norms and social structures, Gen Z and Gen X differ greatly. From personal values to practical skills, they've adopted very different lifestyles because of the world they grew up in.
Boomers and Gen Xers with actual work ethic even learned old-fashioned skills before they finished elementary school, skills that young people never had the chance to adopt. And while some are left in the past for the best, others are sorely missed.
Boomers and Gen Xers with a strong work ethic learned old-fashioned skills before they finished elementary school
1. Penmanship and cursive
Hananeko_Studio | Shutterstock
With changes to their curricula in the classroom, many Gen Zers never even learned how to write in cursive. With personal computers and technology in their schools, some never even had to write notes or do their homework by hand. While it was convenient in many ways, it also sabotaged foundational skills that would otherwise feed their work ethic.
For Gen Xers and boomers, these skills, including enhanced memory and cognitive stimulation, were a natural part of their youth. They might have disliked penmanship courses and writing in cursive, but they're better off intellectually and emotionally because they were forced to learn them.
2. Sitting quietly without a distraction
There are all kinds of benefits to boredom for kids that young people today are largely missing out on because of overstimulation and constant entertainment from their phones. However, Gen Xers and boomers, who both spent tons of time alone and didn't have access to this mindless entertainment, learned how to sit with their own company early on.
Whether it was listening to a long lecture at school or filling their time when coming home to an empty house after school, they fed a strong sense of ownership and self-reliance by leaning into boredom instead of running from it.
3. Respecting authority at all costs
In an era where teachers could discipline students and act as third parents in school, boomers and Gen Xers learned to respect authority in a much different way. Without their parents coming in to hold teachers accountable or overstepping to advocate for their kids, these older generations learned to communicate with and respect elders quickly.
Even though it's somewhat controversial today, this respect for authority taught them all kinds of important skills, including a strong work ethic. They had to regulate their own emotions and take ownership of their responsibilities because they had no other option.
4. Textbook research
Many Gen Xers and boomers spent their childhoods reading encyclopedias for fun, because they were the only print books their parents had lying around, and doing analog research in physical textbooks at school. Even though they learned to adapt to technology and computers later in life, they still have the resilience and work ethic needed to return to text and physical books when they need to.
Even reading physical books in their free time contributes to longevity and general well-being better than online alternatives. So, while it took a lot more time and effort to learn growing up, they're better off today because of it.
5. Writing and addressing letters
PeopleImages | Shutterstock
Young people often need to Google letter-writing etiquette when tax season comes around, or they're forced to write a letter that can't be sent via email. Of course, the mocking of their skills can be controversial, but compared to Gen Xers and boomers, who have this skill by nature from practicing as a kid, young people are far less versed in handwritten letters and notes.
Luckily, the resurgence of handwritten letters is helping Gen Z experience the joy of getting a letter in the mail or handwriting a note to someone they love.
6. Using a compass
As the center of all explorer and adventurer games that Gen Xers and boomers spent their outdoor, unstructured time playing, was a compass. Usually stolen from their parents, learning how to read a compass was part of their childhood experience, even if it wasn't necessarily working the way they expected.
While most didn't use a compass to actually get around or navigate in their daily lives, it was something they usually had access to. Compared to Gen Zers and other young people who rely solely on their phones for directional information, it's one of the old-fashioned skills that were way before their time.
7. Using and reading a map
Many people believe that reading a physical map is somewhat of a lost art, largely because people have more convenient digital alternatives they can use on a daily basis. Young people aren't practicing reading printed directions or a paper map because they don't need to.
However, that also means they're becoming more dependent on their phones. Even in classrooms, very few teachers still use physical maps and globes while teaching.
Yes, baby boomers and Gen Xers have adapted mostly to digital technology and GPS systems, but they still learned the old-school technique of reading maps before they entered middle school. They still have that skill and the resilience it takes to go analog in their back pockets if they were to need it.
8. Taking notes on paper
According to a Life study, handwriting, despite being less convenient, is still more beneficial for learning and memory, especially for kids in educational contexts. They learn and digest information better when they're writing it down.
However, this note-taking is a skill that people don't realize takes a lot of practice. Whether it's listening to a long lecture without any kind of visual context to follow or taking notes in a busy meeting at work as an adult, you have to know what to write down when you can't keep track of it all.
Gen Xers and boomers, without digital alternatives and computers to take notes in school, learned how to take notes on paper from a very young age. As adults, they're not more efficient and engaged because of it, even if they occasionally switch to digital alternatives.
9. Cooking for themselves
Chokniti Studio | Shutterstock
Kids learn how to cook by doing it themselves, not necessarily just by watching their parents. At impressionable ages, it's kids who were expected to cook meals and pack lunches for themselves who are at an advantage later on.
Gen Xers, coined the "latchkey generation" for a reason, spent tons of time alone. Even as kids, baby boomers as well had no choice but to cook for themselves and their siblings, because their parents weren't around to do it for them.
Yes, coming home to an empty house or hearing stories of home-cooked meals from other kids' families wasn't fun, but they're more self-reliant today because they did.
10. Doing their homework alone
Many older generations with a strong sense of ownership were forced to manage their obligations alone. Whether it was homework from school or household chores, they were asked once, then they were reprimanded. Compared to young people today, whose parents play almost too strong a role in their responsibilities, they're very independent.
Sometimes, having an involved parent at school is healthy, but when overprotective parents curate their kids' schedules down to the minute and shape their routines, that sabotages self-reliance. They never learn to show up or complete tasks on their own, but instead wait for someone else to take care of them.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
