Mindset

The Beloit College Mindset List "provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college" each August for the last 12 years. This year's list is "an effort to identify the worldview of 18-year-olds in the fall of 2009" - and to help college professors and staff to avoid using cultural references these students might not understand!

For these new students, most of whom were born in 1991, it was most interesting for me (particularly as a librarian) to read that:

• They have never used a card catalog to find a book;
• Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream [my favorite!] has always been a flavor choice;
• They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.

Check the link above for the other 72 items on this year's list.