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RISchadenfreude - Your post seems a bit on the negative side. I haven't encountered the same thing with parents not talking to their kids about the future or students being snowflakes although I am sure there are some of them around. Both my kids graduated from Pilgrim. The counselors and teachers were hands on in helping them find direction. The senior project (which I despised during the year but now see the value in it) was devised to help them look at the world and the future in a different way. It helped give them some hands on tools to put to use when searching and going to college. Both my daughters are in RI colleges now. So are all but 2 of their friends. One went right to work and the other into the Navy.

This generation of young adults are looking at monumental student loan debt just to go to a regular run-of-the-mill school. An 18 month tech associates degree at New England Tech costs 43K! They are trying to make their way in this world but they are bogged down with ridiculous amounts of debt the likes you or I have ever seen. And yes, they come back to stay with parents because they have to start paying on those loans right away and can't afford rent and payments together.

But why would we not want them to dream? Why would we not want them to follow the path that they want? I would not call them snowflakes because it takes a great deal of courage to forge ahead knowing that to get to where you want to be you will be paying for it for decades. When kids go to school full time and work nearly 40 hours a week I would rather pat them on the back than call them names. They are working hard to get what they want. No shame in that.