We Don't Have a Crisis of Resilience Among College Students - We Have a Blessing of a Generation That Trusts Grownups

There has been much hand-wringing that today's college students are not resilient, can't solve their own problems, and rely too much on faculty and staff.

The great virtue of the Millennials are their better relation with their parents than either the Xers or the Boomers did at the same age.  They resemble the G.I. generation in this trust, as William Howe and Neil Strauss have argued.

Every generation has the vices of its virtues.  The virtue of trusting parents also produces the vice of turning to parents and other grown-ups for guidance before they try to solve problems themselves.  As Mrs. G and I told our children, when there is a serious problem, "Get Dumbledore."

But note, though:  the children don't give up on solving the problem.  They get advice on how to solve their problems, and then do it.