Critical Thinking Lesson Guide | Why Gen X is the Real Loser Generation (The Economist)

Target Audience: High School / Undergraduate Students

Time Allotment: 90 minutes (can be adapted for shorter/longer sessions)

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Identify the main argument and supporting evidence in a non-fiction text.
• Analyze the author's purpose and potential biases.
• Evaluate the strength and relevance of data presented.
• Recognize and discuss logical fallacies or rhetorical devices within the text.
• Formulate their own reasoned conclusions based on the evidence.
• Engage in respectful and evidence-based discussion.
  

Optional: Handout with key terms (Main Argument, Evidence, Bias, Logical Fallacy, Rhetoric).

Lesson Procedure:

Part 1: Introduction & Initial Reading (15 minutes)

1. Hook (5 minutes):

Don’t Cry for Millennials or Gen Z.
Save Your Pity for Those in Their 50s.

• Begin by asking students: "We often hear about the struggles of Millennials or Gen Z – student debt, housing crises, mental health. And Baby Boomers are sometimes portrayed in a certain light. But what about Generation X? Are they the ones we should really be feeling sorry for?"
• Introduce the lesson's provocative title: "Why Gen X is the Real Loser Generation." And then the further challenge: "Don’t Cry for Millennials or Gen Z. Save Your Pity for Those in Their 50s."
• Briefly discuss initial reactions to these claims. Do they sound plausible? Outrageous? Why
  
  Introduce the Article & Initial Read (10 minutes):
  
• Distribute the article or display it. Explain that this article makes a specific argument to support these bold claims about Generation X.
• Task: Instruct students to read the article once through, silently, to get a general understanding. Encourage them to highlight or underline anything that stands out to them.

Part 2: Deconstructing the Argument & Evidence (35 minutes)

1. Identify the Main Argument (10 minutes):

• Think-Pair-Share: Ask students to individually identify the main argument (the central claim the author is trying to prove) of the article. Then have them pair up and compare their answers.
• Class Discussion: Bring the class together. Guide them to articulate the main argument, which is essentially: "Despite being overlooked, Generation X faces unique and significant hardships, both due to their life stage and specific historical circumstances, making them the true 'losers' among generations." Write this on the board.
  
  Mapping the Evidence (20 minutes):
  
• Divide the board into three columns: "Suffering due to Age (U-bend)", "Suffering due to Cohort/Circumstances", and "Counterarguments/Nuances."
• In small groups (3-4 students), have them re-read the article, specifically looking for evidence that supports the main argument. For each piece of evidence, they should categorize it into one of the first two columns.
• Examples of evidence to guide them:
• U-bend: Ipsos poll (31% unhappy), Blanchflower's findings on unhappiness around age 50, chronic health issues, caring for children AND parents (spending data).
• Cohort/Circumstances: Slow income growth (Corinth & Larrimore paper - 16% improvement), "reluctant corporate drones" stereotype, weak labor markets post-2007/09 crisis (earnings growth data for UK, Italy, Canada), poor wealth accumulation (stock market performance 2000s), decline in home-ownership (St Louis Fed data), lower wealth at age 31 compared to millennials/Gen Z, broken pension systems (Social Security depletion).
• As a class, pool their findings, writing them on the board under the appropriate columns.
  
  Identifying Counterarguments/Nuances (5 minutes):
• Prompt students: "Does the article present any information that lessens the suffering of Gen X, or provides an alternative explanation for their situation that isn't entirely negative?"
• Guide them to:
• "Gen Xers do earn more after inflation than earlier generations."
• "Aversion to home-ownership is in some cases a choice."
• The implication that the "U-bend" is temporary ("Gen Xers will in time escape the U-bend").
• The acknowledgement that "baby-boomers went through it; before long millennials will, too" regarding the U-bend.
• Add these to the "Counterarguments/Nuances" column.

Part 3: Critical Analysis & Discussion (30 minutes)

1. Author's Purpose and Bias (10 minutes):

• Discussion: "What do you think the author's primary goal is with this article? Is it purely informative, or is there an element of persuasion, perhaps to convince you that Gen X is the 'loser generation'?"
• "Considering the original title 'The Forgotten Generation' and our new provocative title, what kind of bias might the author be bringing? How does this bias influence the way the information is presented and the conclusions drawn?"
• Discuss the impact of using specific anecdotes (San Francisco, The Matrix/Fight Club references) versus purely statistical data. Are these effective in supporting the 'loser generation' claim?

1. Evaluating Evidence and Data (10 minutes):

• Group Activity/Discussion: Focus on specific pieces of evidence.
  
• "Are the statistics presented always clear? Do they always provide enough context to definitively label Gen X as 'losers'?" (e.g., "31% of Gen Xers say they are 'not very happy'" – happy compared to whom? Is unhappiness necessarily a sign of being a "loser"?)

• "Are there any causal claims made that might be correlations instead?" (e.g., are the films "The Matrix" and "Fight Club" causes of Gen X's career choices, or reflections of a prevailing mindset that contributes to them being 'losers'?)

1. Logical Fallacies & Rhetoric (10 minutes):
   
   Introduce or review a few relevant logical fallacies or rhetorical devices:

• Hasty Generalization: Does the article ever generalize about an entire generation based on limited examples, supporting the "loser" label?

Part 4: Conclusion & Reflection (10 minutes)

Synthesizing Conclusions (5 minutes):

• "Based on our critical analysis, how strong is the author's argument that Gen X 'really do suffer' and are the 'losers' among generations? What are the strongest points? What are the weakest?"
• "Do you now agree with the lesson's title: 'Why Gen X is the Real Loser Generation,' or do you have a more nuanced perspective?"
• Encourage students to articulate a reasoned conclusion, acknowledging both the article's strengths and limitations.
  
  Open Discussion / Takeaway (5 minutes):
  
• "What broader lessons can we take from this article about how we view and discuss different generations, especially when strong claims like 'loser generation' are made? How might critically analyzing such articles help us understand societal trends better?"
• "How does this article, and our discussion, change your perception of Generation X, and perhaps even Millennials or Gen Z?"

Assessment (Optional):

• Short Response: Ask students to write a paragraph summarizing the main argument of the article and then identifying one piece of evidence they found particularly strong or weak in supporting the "loser generation" claim, explaining why.
  
• Discussion Participation: Evaluate students' engagement in group and class discussions, specifically their ability to support their claims with evidence from the text and engage with the provocative nature of the topic.

Extension Activities (Optional):

• Research: Have students research and present additional data about Generation X from other sources to compare with the article's claims and challenge or support the "loser generation" narrative.
• Counter-Argument Essay: Assign a short essay arguing against the article's premise, or presenting a more balanced view of Gen X's situation, specifically refuting the "loser generation" label.
• Generational Interview: Students could interview a Gen Xer they know (parent, teacher, etc.) about their experiences and compare them to the article's claims, specifically asking if they feel like a "loser generation."