Applying Humanism in Learning in the Generation Z Era

A generation refers to all people who were born and live at about the same time, or can be understood as a group of people whose age span is similar, not much different from that of their peers. It is written that there are four generations since the Second World War: first, the Baby Boom, born between 1946 and 1964; second, Generation X, born between 1965 and 1976; third, Generation Y, born between 1977 and 1997; and fourth, Generation Z, born from 1998 to the present.
In the era of Generation Z there are many traits and characteristics that are very different from previous generations. The most prominent difference today is technological sophistication: Gen Z is currently very focused on advanced technology. With today's technology, everything can be made practical by people. For example, with group assignments, they rarely get together to discuss the group task; they prefer to work in groups online via their phones. However, technology does not always bring benefits; it can cause a lack of socialisation, a lack of tolerance, or a lack of interaction with others. Generation Z will become the most stressed generation, linked to a character that has no boundaries with other people, which makes people unstable in receiving information and prone to changeable moods. In the context of learning, Generation Z can be linked to existing learning approaches, such as humanism learning.
Humanism learning is learning in which we learn what is good for humanity and which enables people to recognise themselves. Humanism also emphasises human dignity and values, as part of a school of critical thinking that upholds human beings; humanism emphasises human worth, role and responsibility. Humanism is always associated with a philosophical view that places humans in a certain position and makes them the measure of all things. Humanism has been indoctrinated into all people, even into every corner of the earth. From that, we are indoctrinated to have a humanist attitude.
Given the connection between humanism and Generation Z, the lesson that can be drawn is that they need more mutual respect and mutual understanding, because Generation Z tends to be a pampered generation, one that, if not respected even a little, can suffer from what is called mental health problems.
Research results show that Generation Z faces three main problems related to learning, namely a lack of concentration, a lack of engagement and a lack of socialisation. To overcome these three problems, reflective, creative and collaborative learning is needed. Reflective learning is learning that puts forward a process of learning to think based on self-reflection, past experience and hopes for the future. Creative learning is learning that requires teachers to be able to motivate their students to bring out their creativity during learning. And collaborative learning is learning that puts forward an attitude of cooperation or mutual assistance in learning so that learners find the purpose of what they are learning.
The gap between Generation Z and previous generations can be bridged with learning characteristics and strategies through the ACT strategy, in which “A” stands for assessing and appreciating learner characteristics, “C” for committing to relationships and collaboration, and “T” for teaching with interactive learning techniques. Because of the many characteristics of Generation Z, teachers are required to use learning methods appropriate to the times, especially in internalising humanist values.
This humanism learning also explains that it is about humanising human beings, so that, looking at the social interactions of Generation Z today, they are expected to be more respectful and more careful in speaking, because we may not intend to offend someone, yet that person is offended by our conversation, which can make them hold a grudge against us and may lead them to do inhumane things. The purpose of humanising human beings is to make us people who can take better care of our surroundings and not damage them; because of technology, education too has become one of the places for teaching how to manage our surroundings well and properly. Besides humanising human beings, as material for lessons in the classroom, humanism in Generation Z focuses more on developing potential or increasing creativity from within ourselves, and those who do not want to understand their own potential will be left behind in this learning process.
In this learning process, in our daily lives today, we have many needs. This is especially so for today's Generation Z, with its so-called "circle culture". A circle means a group of friends, but in slang. A circle can include the need to be accepted (Social Needs) and the need to be valued (Self Esteem Needs), because as can be seen today, if we do not have a circle, we seem to be disregarded or not valued. Therefore, if we have a circle in this era, then at least within that circle we can be appreciated or valued. Besides the need to be valued, in Generation Z the physiological needs, which should be simple basic needs, now involve more and more basic necessities, for example the phone. Today the phone is already counted among people's basic needs, because nowadays many people say it is better not to eat than not to own a phone. The need for safety is also needed by Generation Z, because nowadays there are rampant victims of violence, victims of bullying, and, what is happening a lot at present, victims of mental health problems that lead people to end their lives. Besides that, there is also the need to develop the potential within ourselves, a need directed at ourselves to get to know ourselves more deeply.
Because of these needs, humanism learning has several stages of learning. First is technical learning, learning by interacting with nature or the environment. This learning can make us forget our small problems for a while, because we can interact with things that make us calm, for example a natural setting at the beach or anywhere else. Second is practical learning, which is no longer the same as before. Nowadays we can learn practically. What is meant by practical here is, for example, that whereas people used to carry many books to school, now carrying a single book is enough, or, to an even greater extent, carrying only a phone is enough because the files are already in the phone and no longer need to be carried, and only need to be opened through the phone.
Therefore, humanism learning is very beneficial for Generation Z to study in this era, because in this era there are already many shortcomings, such as a lack of mutual respect and mutual tolerance. This is because Generation Z is more focused on technological sophistication, so these things are taken lightly in this era. Humanism learning teaches us to always humanise human beings so that a sense of humanity is built among one another.