I am from Generation X, and my formative schooling years were in the 1980s and 1990s. School was a different beast back then. Teachers were still allowed to spank children in their classes. Sadly, I was witness to this on several occasions. I even saw a teacher slap a student across the face once. Those images still leave a lasting scar.

Children who had learning disabilities or autism were separated and put into what was known as “special education” classes. If you were in “special ed,” you were basically a bully target. I know this because my younger brother Robbie was in these classes and endured many years of teasing and bullying. 

And the term “Mean Girls,” I think, originated from Gen X, because there seemed to be a lot of them when I was going to school. While I was never bullied to the extent my brother was, I was a victim of the “Mean Girls” in junior high (now called middle school), who sadly were often my closest friends who put me down, belittled me, and cast me aside if someone new or cooler was around.

In the past, schools lacked three critical components of a healthy learning environment: 1) corporal punishment was still allowed, 2) students with special needs were often excluded from mainstream classrooms, and 3) bullying was frequently overlooked rather than addressed.

Thankfully, times have changed. Today’s schools are more inclusive, compassionate, and committed to student well-being—offering a far better experience for our children than what many of us knew growing up.

I have been able to witness this first-hand as my daughter is now 11 years old and on the autism spectrum. From day one, she has been treated with nothing but respect, kindness, and acceptance for who she is. And not just from teachers, but from other children as well.

This generation of children we have growing up makes me immensely proud. Because school is now a place where diversity, equity, and inclusion are alive and well, I am seeing children who are kinder, more empathetic. High in emotional intelligence. Accepting of differences. No bullying or “Mean Girls.”

So when I hear people saying negative things about today’s generation, I naturally get a little defensive. People complain that children spend too much time on their screens and that they are behind academically. They say children today are spoiled, have it too easy. I have lost count of how many times I have heard someone in my parents or grandparents’ generation say things like, “Back in my day, we had to walk five miles to school,” or “When school was cancelled during the week, you had to go on Saturday to make up time.”

While I acknowledge that all of the above may be true (and yes, my own daughter does spend way too much time on her phone), it is not what we should be focusing on. I believe that children’s mental health and emotional well-being is what is most important.

And when children are treated well at school, accepted for who they are, and do not have to go to school every day sick to their stomach because they worry about being bullied, they will thrive.

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