This year’s freshmen are the first of Generation Alpha to attend high school. Their generation is often characterized as having short attention spans, always being on their phones and being loud and rambunctious; blurting out random slang words like “rizz” or “ragebait”. However, these stereotypes were built up by pop culture and social media. 

Kevin Kilgour, an English teacher at Ida B. Wells High School and a member of Gen Y, also known as Millennials, said, “[Generations] are often more defined by popular media or culture than they are by reality, so things about generations that most people know tend to be more running jokes than the truth.”

These freshmen from Gen Alpha, despite popular conceptions — which have similarly plagued many generations — have a unique experience that no other generation has had to go through.

Most of the freshmen at IBW were in third or fourth grade while they were trapped inside during the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning they were forced to learn online during a critical time of development. At such a young age, having dedicated time to socialize with other students in person, during recess or lunch, is important. Instead, it was only possible through a screen. 

There are several things you learn in third and fourth grade that you miss out on in person, like reading maps, comparing fractions, proper punctuation, basic story arcs, and basic multiplication and division. These are just the start of what they were forced to learn online through a Chromebook.

In middle school, they were some of the youngest people to gain the ability to use Artificial Intelligence as writing aids or often more. It could be a tutor for them in school or to do the work for them. As Gen Alpha walks into high school, they will have a heightened awareness and aptitude for AI that no other generation has had.

The new generation of students are the first at IBW to have the high school norm of locking away their phones for the day, along with the militant regulations implemented by Portland Public Schools regarding the use of personal electronic devices.

Another thing that they now think of as a norm for high school is the fear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement may come to the school demanding entry. Especially with the heightened concentration of ICE in Portland after President Trump’s repeated efforts to send the national guard to Portland, which caused many protests that have been televised across the U.S., this has led to PPS needing to remind its students of their rights if ICE were to intrude on their school.

Although generations may just be a vague determinant, there’s definitely something to be said about this freshman year that’s different than any other preceding it. Gen Alpha’s unique experience with COVID-19, their increased knowledge of AI before starting high school and their new image of what normal high school life is like are all shaping them into a new group of people with unique interpretations of what high school really is like.