Yeah, instead you had to get up off your ass and do some leg work. So you had to determine whether it was worth your time and the professor's time to do so, instead of a quick and easy "how do I do this work even though I've put in no effort to figure it out for myself".
Seemingly there is significant more hand holding of students and they all expect an A because simply showing up in high school meant they'd get an A. The entitlement is different now as well.
It's amazing how far my school in particular has fallen in reality while in perception (god awful rankings) have them higher than ever. It's the typical perception is more important than reality. However, this is good for students, because this is exactly my experience in the "real world" as well.
I wouldn't trade my 90s undergrad for the crap kids are getting today. And I thought it was bad then. Hindsight makes me sad for the meager amount of actual learning going on today.
I can obviously only speak for my students in terms of willingness to do legwork, but I don't find this to be the case at all. And just because they ask me something in an email that they could figure out themselves, I don't necessarily have to give them the answer.
The opposite is usually the case. I prefer to use their hastily sent digital questions as teaching opportunities -- opportunities I wouldn't have had if not for the ease with which they can engage with me. For example, I often respond to questions that need to be researched elsewhere by reminding students they have Google, as well as world class libraries.
Like any profession, different professors approach their work in different ways. How a professor chooses to engages with his or her students isn't the fault of students. I don't see much value in metaphorically shaking my fist and lamenting "What's the matter with kids these days? They're overly entitled! How dare they expect success!"
I, like most professors, am in control of the education I provide. That's my favorite part about being a professor. (It's definitely not the salary...)
Luckily, at my uni this is not the case - obviously visible when on average, 70% fail the first time. In almost every class. (Math usually worse, functional programming usually better).
And even though professors and their assistants answer emails, you have to write a real email - which is something that makes you think more about it than just being able to send a FB message.
Seemingly there is significant more hand holding of students and they all expect an A because simply showing up in high school meant they'd get an A. The entitlement is different now as well.
It's amazing how far my school in particular has fallen in reality while in perception (god awful rankings) have them higher than ever. It's the typical perception is more important than reality. However, this is good for students, because this is exactly my experience in the "real world" as well.
I wouldn't trade my 90s undergrad for the crap kids are getting today. And I thought it was bad then. Hindsight makes me sad for the meager amount of actual learning going on today.