CBS News with Text by Carolyn Mackler
Preface by Dan Rather
Simon & Schuster
eBook, $9.95

The world knows these high school seniors as the first graduating class of the millennium. They also have a special place in my heart. I just finished teaching them before they made their way out into the world. Therefore, I approached this new eBook eager to check my perceptions of them against CBS' findings.

CBS News conceived the "Class of 2000" project as a way to see the world through the eyes of America's students. Over four years, they conducted scientific polls of more than 2,300 students and interviewed 200 students. On Thursday, June 22 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, "48 Hours" will broadcast a special edition detailing the results of this investigation. The Class of 2000 e-book reviewed here will be released the same day.

So what do you get for $9.95? Nineteen chapters totaling 35,000 words that present an in-depth look at adolescence today. You will discover many surprising and important facts. For example, young adults are more optimistic about the future than earlier generations. Author Carolyn Mackler argues, "It is this very optimism that will be this generation's saving grace." Morals are alive and well, although behavior does not always match up. For example, 41% of non-virgins said that students their age should not be having sex. You will find that students today have had to grow up very quickly. Many take on adult responsibilities before they can vote. Their trust in the government is unique, too.

The Class of 2000 affirmed for me something that I have believed ever since I began teaching. Teenagers are not as bad as they seem. While their dress and music might be different, they are typical of every generation. They believe wholeheartedly in the American Dream, and they desire a better life for themselves. As Dan Rather says in his preface, "We adults too often accept the rough, unfamiliar surfaces we see in youth...for the deeper picture."

I had one concern about this study. While the results are often divided by race and sex, they are not divided by the types of courses the students took. In my American Government classes, where we debate many of the issues at stake in these polls, I see significant disparities between the opinions of Regular, Honors, and Advanced Placement students. Obviously, I am just one teacher, but I think everyone would be interested to see the results broken down "by level."

I finished The Class of 2000 as excited as when I began. I look forward to watching "48 Hours" on Thursday evening to see how Dan Rather analyzes its mountain of statistics. I found reading the eBook version easy, despite my fears to the contrary. Being able to increase or decrease the size of the font helped. I imagine that future volumes in this series will further exploit the medium by providing links for further information, resources, lesson plans, and more.

The students from the Class of 2000 predicted that technological advances would be their major contribution to society. It is fitting that this simultaneous eBook publication and television broadcast tells the beginning of their story.

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