23/2/13
Are the Egyptian and American Gen alike? Since the very beginning of the Egyptian civilization, Egypt has been undergoing several changes. Those changes did not only take place in the developmental process of the country but also in how Egyptians handled their lives. However, the latest Egyptian generations are the most highly criticized ones because of the huge differences of attitudes between Baby Boomers and them. But are they like the American GenMe that author Jean M. Twenge described in her book "GenMe: An Army Of One"? Looking upon the different parenting styles, schools, education systems, and the 25th of January revolution, that had a great impact on the Egyptian society, American GenMe is so unlikely to be put in comparison with Egyptian GenY. In Egypt, Parents act as barriers for their children not to pursue their goals. They always force them to study for a certain major just because they want them to carry a certain title (Hashish). Egyptian parents undermine their children's ambitions as if they don't deserve to follow them. Such reason contradicts what Twenge says about the American GenMe who believe that everyone should follow his/her dream and that one must do what makes him/her happy and do what is best for him/her (Army of One 8). Moreover, Egyptian GenY may choose to study a certain major rather than the one they prefer because the idea of unemployment is hunting them. They are not always free to choose because they are uncertain of what could happen. Unlike them, American GenMe take anything for granted, they put themselves on the top of the list and it does not matter what could happen (Army of One 9). Parents in Egypt get caught up with their career and neglect their children, meanwhile American GenMe parents encourage their children's self esteem even by sitting beside them when they are coloring ( Army of One 13) . There is a diversity of education systems in Egypt but you can rarely find the mission statements of schools strongly emphasizing on the importance of increasing the student's self esteem as stated in many elementary schools in America (Army of One 16). Such aim can appear in 7 out of 29 private schools which are keen on boosting the student's abilities (ElMeshad). On the other hand, around 92% of students attend public schools (ElMeshad), where the greatest percentage of students are hit by teachers if they did not exactly do what they are asked to. American GenMe were the exact opposite, Twenge stated that since they are born in a world already celebrating the self (Army Of One 8); They believed that everyone should have high self esteem (An Army of One 13). Moreover, Teachers did not correct with a red pen so students won't feel bad about themselves. On the other hand, Public school programs in Egypt do not emphasize on the importance of self esteem; there are no scholarships or rewards for high achievers which definitely diminishes the idea of self value (Marroushi). Instead, to American GenMe, school programs are the basis and shaper for their personalities (An Army of one 14). Another failure in the educational system in Egypt is that many students put all their self worth in their grades. Twenge describes the American GenMe as teenagers who do not care about their grades, all they care about is feeling good about themselves for no reason as they were taught so in schools ( Army Of One 34). In Egypt, students have to maintain a high GPA in order to be able to join a university after the 12 years of education in schools. A student who does not get high grades is psychologically devastated because he is threatened not to be enrolled in a certain college (Mahmoud). They can even take it to a higher level and commit suicide if they did not achieve because in front of their parents they are failures. How would such stress make them feel good about themselves? Simply, the Egyptian educational system does not prepare students to face the real world; after having a hard time to join a university, they graduate feeling lost and standing in the middle of nowhere. In governmental universities, students have no right to question, object, think, argue or dialogue; therefore, they are usually stuck with their passive personality for the rest of their lives (AbouElGhar). Unfortunately, since they do not have the needed social and academic skills, they are not able to join the job market and practice their professions (AbouElGhar). Dissimilar to Egyptian GenY, Twenge describes that the American GenMe are prepared to the real world through the flattering of their schools where self esteem came before learning (An Army Of One 31). How could we compare a child who is brought up in a society that appreciated the idea of self worth and always worked on it to a child who is always criticized even if he is doing his best. Governmental education in Egypt took it to a very far level than what Twenge mentions about education in American. For the Egyptian GenMe to feel good about themselves, when they introduce themselves they had to mention their professions before their titles (Loveluck). Accordingly, this means that they were not taught that everyone must have high self esteem and that who they are is more important than what they do ( An Army Of One). Contrasting Twenge description about American GenMe, Egyptian GenY are like Baby Boomers; they need introspection and to develop who they are and who they want to be. Egyptian GenY performance influences them unlike the others who believe they should always feel good about themselves no matter their performance or what they do ( An Army of One 17) as they are always satisfied with themselves (Army of One 11). Finally, the Egyptian revolution proves much about how there is a great difference between Egyptian GenY and American GenMe. American GenMe as Twenge states think that the world is only about them and that they must put themselves and priorities first, and to be unapologetic about who they are and about their self focus (Army of One 8). However, The upper class of Egyptian GenY, cared about the poor who were suffering although their lives won't be really threatened if they did not participate. They went down and joined to support the revolution and ask for the others' rights. For them this is the real way of developing self esteem and self control and even if they failed, that does not break their self control as long as they have done what they should do. Egyptian GenY are not self centered like American GenMe; Twenge describes them that they have very high self esteem that they preserve for harder tasks and because they lack self control, they easily give up when they fail ( An Army of One 31). Finally, after analyzing the different parenting styles, educational institutions and programs and the 25th of January revolution of the Egyptian GenY, I came to conclusion that Egyptian GenY are totally different than the American GenMe because they are not raised on the idea of self loving and self value. Both generations are opposite extremes because both won't lead to fruitful members. As Twenge says, we should not place all our self worth in performance only (Army of One 30) because if we failed once; we will feel that our world will go blank. On the other hand, we should not always feel good about ourselves without any accomplishments because it might lead to Narcissism ( Army of One 25). A tree is known for its fruit.

Works Cited
Abou Hashish, Yasmeen. Problems in the educational problems. Web. <http://prezi.com/sjcnfwn_uwco/educational-problems-in-egypt/>.
ElMeshad, Sara. Egypt’s school system: Taking a look at schools, their curricula, and accreditation. 2012. Web. <http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/egypt-s-school-system-taking-look-schools-their- curricula-and-accreditation>.
Loveluck, Louisa . Education in Egypt. Chatham House, 2012. Web. <http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/MiddleEast/0112egyptedu_ summary.pdf>.
Mahmoud, Mohamed. Low exam scores force Egyptian students to give up dream of enrolling at top colleges. 2010. Web. <http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/main/2010/07/19/feature-01>.
Marroushi, Nadine. Egypt Independant: News. 2012. Web. <http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/report-egypts-public-schools-need-urgent-movement>
Twenge, Jean. An Army Of One. 2006. Print.