PASS IT ON: It's not just a school yard game!



He doesn't look like the next world leader...
but he turns out to be a Genius



I read an article the other day that basically outlined the frustrations of "the old timers" with "the next generation" or "young bloods" coming up in the fire service. It talked about how todays generation of firefighters are not as hard working or even knowledgeable about hard labor. We are a generation of finding the easier things in life. It works basically around this premis, each generation gets SMARTER THAN THE LAST. It is based on the FLYNN EFFECT. The run down comes from a series of IQ tests recorded and tracked from the 1930's all the way until today. These test scores show that each generation gets smarter than the last. The author of the article paired this with my generations work ethic. We have become more about problem solving and delegation than getting our hands dirty and knocking out the work.

This I have conflict with. It is undeniable that my generation has higher test scores and thinks more about making a job easier and less strenuous. We have taken the motto work smarter and not harder to a whole new level. I have swept the dirt under the rug as much as the next guy to keep from having to do it right. It's a horrible habit. Its that very habit that I cant stand to see in others. I get absolutely red with rage when I see something as simple as someone not cleaning out the paint brushes or throwing away that paper towel that missed the can. It is also these same things that I have been guilty of. The "old timers" always seem to come behind you and ring your neck about how the bathrooms aren't clean enough and explain to you how the work isn't nearly as hard as when they were starting out. This is true. Without a doubt it is true.

"Back in the day" is a time almost forgotten. It was a day when a man studied reading, writing and arithmetic. When stalls had to be cleaned and the chickens fed before school. A time when 10 year old boys were expected to carry his weight x2. Is there still a way that a work ethic can be instilled in this generation of "young bloods?" I say yes, if you have the right "old timers." The drive needs to simply be passed on. YES, there are inevitably the few that CANNOT AND WILL NOT BE WORTH A DARN! That is the 1%. Don't let the 1% define your shift, house, or class! Seek out those old timers that are willing to get off the computer and show you how to throw a ladder by yourself better. Get involved with the guys in charge of building props and learn how to swing a hammer and use a framing square.

County guys passing it on to the next generation.

If things are not passed on from generation to generation we are doomed to fail. We as a nation are behind in education in nearly every academic subject in relation to the worlds' population. This is not something I am proud of. MY generation is already getting pinned as lazy. A generation that doesn't even cut their own grass. If we cant get a work ethic like the generations before us to go along with our educations we're not going to be worth 2 cents to our children and grandchildren. What good is that MBA if all your gonna do is sit at your mom and dads house eating their pizza watching their TV?  You are worthless and making the case of your grandparents that say YOU ARE WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY!

The FLYNN EFFECT shows that each generation learns from the last. What are you teaching the next generation? What standards are you holding them too? Are they higher than the ones you were held too? Do you push your guys to do that extra rep? Do your guys drive to knock off one more second off their tower time? Do you accept their challenge to do so? These are questions that we all have to try to answer honestly. If generation X is teaching generation Y that it is not acceptable to quit when you start to sweat and get tired then that will be the benchmark for acceptability. If generation Y gets upset with generation X because they cannot grasp a new idea or acceptable norm due to it being "not how we were taught to do it" then Y is failing X!

To be better we have to push them as hard as they need to push us! While at the North Carolina Breathing Equipment School I saw this sign above a door way.

It lead to the HARDEST DRILL I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE! Simple, 1200 square foot ranch style house. Make a search. How hard could it be! IT SUCKED! It would not have been accomplished with a group who accepted defeat as soon as it got hard. It would not be accomplished by those that just want to muscle through everything. To finish, you have to teach an old dog new tricks and assure the kids to keep pushing....you're almost there!

I hope this quote inspires you to be better as much as it did me! Thanks again.



When the neighborhood is GONE, your neighbors aren't looking for a scientist. They aren't looking for a mule. They are looking for someone that can ASSESS THE PROBLEM and WORK OUT the solution.