Category: Boomer Learning

The Day Without my Phone by Sheri LeClair Banitt

As we get used to going back into the office for work, some habits must be relearned. I go to the office twice a week. The one-way commute is 45 minutes and the extra time cuts into my free thinking and productivity.

Once I am in the office, I enjoy being there. It’s all the prep that comes before the commute that steals my energy and focus. Do I have clean, office appropriate clothes? Do I have coffee? Should I pack a lunch? Did I put the dogs out? Is the door locked? Did I remember my laptop? Do I have gas in the car? Is there road construction? What time is my first meeting? And there are many more questions as the commute continues.

On Thursday, I pulled into the parking ramp and realized I had forgotten my phone at home. First meeting in less than an hour – no way I can go home and get it. Well, shoot! I have not been without my phone for years. So now what? I lead a large team, so it’s possible someone could be trying to contact me. My parents or husband may try to reach me. I am always there, for everyone, via my phone. OOF, this could be rough.

I was able to let my work team know I was missing my phone via interoffice chat. My daughter works at my same place, so I chatted her and she let my husband know about the missing phone. So there. I was ready for a day without my phone.

Guess what happened? Nothing. I worked all day, as usual. I didn’t check my phone multiple times that day. I didn’t know who posted what on the socials. Neither did I think about who posted what on the socials. It was a non-issue. Without the visual of the phone in front of me, I didn’t miss it.

I was steadfast in my Boomer roots. My thoughts were uninterrupted. They were my own. They were not compared to anyone else’s thoughts or activities. The images I viewed were live, in color, real life things and people. It was like I never had a whole world in my hands with a camera, computer and shopping assistant. It was fine. I was fine. I liked it.

And then I went home and got my phone. And that was the end of the old-timey experiment.

HR Regulations Have Improved the Work Application Process by Sheri LeClair Banitt

I work for a financial services company, supervising a customer operations team. I hire for entry level, customer service positions and frequently get first time job seekers who are straight out of college, and displaced older workers, looking for a fresh start.

I have two specialists on my team who interview with me. We have a standard set of questions designed to help us find people who will be able to do the work in our area. Our job is to find qualified, capable individuals and then give them the tools they need to succeed.

Looking through the box of ‘Old Papers From the Office’ that my grandfather had saved gave me a new perspective on why we do what we do today. He is no longer living, but I knew my grandpa to be a fair, honest, caring person. His job was important to him and I recall that he was a lifelong learner and continued to find new practices that helped the workers he represented. Watch to see how far we have advanced in privacy practices since his day.

My White Privilege by Sheri LeClair Banitt

I am reluctant to talk about the ways I experienced 2020. There were so many bad things happening. Covid 19 brought so many changes and challenges. We had a contentious election with a President who brought out the worst in everyone.

And then George Floyd was murdered in broad daylight, on the street, with a crowd watching. This rocked my world. I usually don’t talk about it because I am white and I have not suffered the injustice of racism. I don’t want to trivialize the plight of the oppressed with complaints of my feelings. But if I am going to make a difference, I need to speak.

Digital Storytelling Workshop – Take 2 with Dr. Stacey Patton and Class. By Sheri LeClair Banitt

Last spring I started themillennialboomer blog with no knowledge of how to do it. Shortly thereafter, my daughter told me about an opportunity to take a free class about Digital Storytelling with Dr. Stacey Patton through a link on Dr. Patton’s social media. I responded to the link and was fortunate to get signed up for the class. Learning to be a Digital Media Bawse was fun and empowering! I learned how to use many different digital tools and quickly realized that I need to learn more.

I love to write about whatever is happening in my world. A big part of my world is navigating the workplace as one of the seniors who are not yet ready to retire. I need to work until age 67 if I want my full social security–and I believe it will still be available. I work primarily with millennials and the differences between us add a richness to the work culture in addition to some challenges. See what Ellen DeGeneres has to say about the differences between Baby Boomers and Millennials.

So if I want to attract an audience to hear about my life and my experiences, I need some skills in addition to writing. And that is where this class comes in. I am confident that in ‘Take 2’, I will revisit what I learned last session and gain a greater understanding of how to appeal to the digital world. My goal for this second course is to create a better vlog presence. I did a couple vlog entries with the first class, but they were a bit awkward and amatuer. I can do better.

Like a Bawse!

Vlogging – it aint easy by Sheri LeClair Banitt

I love my new recording equipment and tried my hand again at a vlogging entry. I am one who learns by doing. And since I haven’t done this much, you can see that I am a beginner. That’s never stopped me before. I have a long history of learning about tech by trying it to see what happens. I need to learn to edit my work, but for now, just talking for the camera is an accomplishment I am proud of. More later.

We Learned to Make a Timeline by Sheri LeClair Banitt

In my Digital Media class with Dr. Stacey Patton, we learned to make a timeline. This was not easy. We had to use several digital sources to come up with a three-moment timeline. I had to fiddle with it for over an hour and start over three times, but I did it! Our next project will be a 10-moment time line of our own life using pictures, videos and sound clips of our own history. I am afraid and excited to get started on that one.

Here’s my practice timeline featuring Carol Burnett.

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1IVuVH7bMPLki8Rn6eLIUk8Nx2pHD0uCAbfEREllbQTQ&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650

Make Room for Growth by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Pull the weeds, fertilize the flowers.

I am part of a new community that is giving me space to grow. I am learning what it means to have white privilege in America and how life is more difficult without it. I am growing my empathy and understanding for people whose experience is different from mine.

Many boomers are faced with the reality that we can no longe ignore the racism in our society. Some double down on long held prejudices and harmful ideology. Some insist they are not racist while upholding systems in place that limit the potential of our neighbors of color. Some, like me will be thankful for the space to learn and grow.

I thought it was good that I never considered race when meeting or interacting with people. But it was only good for me, because being ignorant about race and color is accepting the systemic racism that is part of our American culture. In the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, and the media coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement, I am becoming more aware of the racism surrounding me and more sensitive to how that affects people of color.

I am fortunate to be taking a class learning about digital media offered by Dr. Stacey Patton. My daugher who follows Dr. Patton on twitter shared a link with me where I signed up for the class. 300 students were enrolled and we began a Zoom journey together to learn how to manage a blog on Word Press. It was timely for me because just weeks before I started a blog on Word Press. I didn’t have any experience and didn’t know how to proceed. I could only add ‘New post’. Now I have learned to embed videos and sound tracks. Next week I will be creating a timeline of my own life.

While I appreciate learning about the technology that will help me with my blog, I feel that the greater value is in the community and fellowship of the other creatives in class. It is a new experience for me to be in the minority where I am one of a handful of white students amid a majority of people of color. I am immersed in a class of people who are the same as me and different from me. We are the same because we share a common interest. We are different because we experience racism in different ways.

The assignments we are given are creative and meant to teach us about technology. The topics are personal and we choose them ourselves. This is where I feel uncomfortable, privileged and frivolous. My life experiences feel normal to me; entertaining and fun. When I look at many of the other submissions, I see something more. I see people being vulnerable about themselves, their lives and experiences. I see pain and anger and activism and advocacy. I see real people dealing with real trauma that is happening in the same spaces where I live but that I don’t experience. And maybe that is why I scratch the surface in my writing, so I don’t have to deal with the hard problem of racism.

I want my classmates to know that while I do not experience the same difficulties, I have experienced some difficulties in my life, and that creates a bridge of empathy. I want to share with you the things that make us the same so we can laugh and enjoy each other. I want to learn about the things that make us different so I can understand what you need and how I can help you get that.

My heart is full of love, even when my actions have fallen short. My mind is full of ideas, even when I have not said them out loud. I am starting where I am, with what I have, doing what I can. I am a Digital Media Bawse in progress. Bear with me, I’m growing.