VANITY - Am I the only employer experiencing this idiocy?

[hardworking]

This is unashamedly a VANITY post but it is intended to be a SERIOUS one. I have finally reached the point of complete bafflement in wondering what , if anything, is being taught to our young people in school! Here are some of my RECENT experiences as an employer. Am I the only one experiencing this level of idiocy in our country? 1. Two days ago I said the word 'penicillon' in a conversation. A young employee interrupted me and asked, "What is that?" I didnt' know what she was asking until she repeated, "What is that peni...you just said". 2. I recently told an employee that we needed to 'dilute' a substance before using it. They didn't know what 'dilute' meant. 3. I recently said that a substance would go into 'suspension' and the employee looked at me with a blank stare. 4. None of our young staff can calculate a percentage WITH A CALCULATOR, let alone without one!

Can someone please tell me WHAT these kids are doing during the hours they are in school? It appears that they are not learning even the most basic skills.

[VxH]

[Some of these rags-to-riches stories are products of parental abuse as well.]

 

I don't doubt it.  I would think, however, that it often breeds a different kind of "success".

 

I couple of years ago I served on a jury with a physics professor from a local university.   During one of our lunch-break conversations, he described the widespread cheating he witnessed among university students.  He was clearly aggravated and disappointed by it.

 

Unfortunately they get by with it and move on like schools of "networking" Piranha into a workplace which, all to often, rewards cheaters and liars.

[CarrotAndStick]

I wouldn't be surprised. Lol!

This is more rampant in India. It's funny I'm saying this, because when I did this in school, I did notice I remember the stuff I fudged from others' answer-scripts more vividly than the ones I studied myself. Lol!

[VxH]

[I did notice I remember the stuff I fudged from others’ answer-scripts more vividly than the ones I studied myself. Lol!]

That’s because danger causes the release of hormones that hasten the formation of memories.

 

[VxH]

>>into a workplace which,

should be

>>into a workplace that,

[CarrotAndStick]

Interesting! That explains it!

[VxH]

>>Interesting! That explains it!

Yes ehem, however, lest they get any ideas about abusing this knowledge, those students lurking here in the FR peanut gallery should keep in mind that memory is no substitute for Honor.

Now, Mr. Carrot,for cheating you must whack yourself with TheStick(tm), and then promise the class that you will not let them down by ever cheating again.

[grey_whiskers]

"The tyranny of the appetite always feeds the appetite of tyranny."

Can I steal that line?

Like, please?

Cheers!

[VxH]

>>Can I steal that line?

Insofar as one can steal a self-evident truth, yes.

Just remember that we found it here on FR.

[CarrotAndStick]

That was so long ago, I'm pretty sure I've been forgiven! And it was also a practice test. None of my official records have anything to do with it. And that goes to the rest of the class who might have gotten the idea that cheating is okay, especially when it is for something that is going to affect others. * THWACK * There, I did it. :^)

[VxH]

>>* THWACK * There, I did it. :^)

Very good Mr. Carrot. Thank you.

Now, you will note that Pain, like danger, also causes the release of memory enhancing hormones.

It’s a pity that parents and teachers today are often unable to take advantage of this physiological mechanism.

When applied appropriately, with the right intention, it can be very effective.

[Smokin' Joe]

Strangely enough we have yet to have a GED applicants have a problem with the skills test. Go figure.

It is not so strange when you consider that a number of kids drop out because they are bored stiff and tired of wasting their time in a public school system which is completely unresponsive to the brighter students in class. Course material is dumbed down to the lowest common denominator to maintain 'self-esteem'.

The motivated drop-outs will go on and get their GED, gaining their academic credentials while working for a paycheck, and if the local laws do not preclude doing so, will have them before they would have graduated.

[FortWorthPatriot]

I left the Marines in 1993. Fourteen years ago.

[Loud Mime]

I gave the cashier at a local McDonald's a $2 bill. He looked at it and asked me if it was real.

BTW, there's a good test linked from here to give your liberal friends.

[Sloth]

I was one of 21 National Merit Scholars in my state and had the highest SAT score in the history of my high school. I subsequently earned a B.S. degree in chemical engineering. When I graduated in 1998 — when the Clinton News Network was touting the “best economy in 50 years” — it took me over 18 months to find a decent (i.e., >$10/hour) job.

Consequently, I have no sympathy whatsoever for employers that hire uneducated people.

[ishabibble]

Actually, your experience is not all that uncommon. I worked for many years as a temp. I am an administrative secretary with the education and training of the old school business world. In addition to basic skills, I was educated in office procedure, business etiquette, and ethics. There were no computer classes in my section of the business school, but I did learn two kinds of shorthand, which proved to be a very big bonus later on, as many of my temporary bosses loved to dictate letters. It was a big cachet for them to call the “gal” in to take a letter. I could always get a better assignment than my younger counterparts because of the old fashioned education I had received when I was their age.

There are many business people who are highly qualified to do their jobs, but don’t have even the most elementary grasp of Proper English. I always gave this a pass. If the people I worked for wanted to write a perfect letter instead of being a CEO, they probably would have gone to into the secretarial field themselves. In addition, they wouldn’t need to pay me for my time and expertise. I enjoyed my assignments for the most part, since I never felt tied down to an endless obligation and I could always simply walk out if it was a nightmare situation (more common than you know!). I had many wonderful assignments and worked with some of the nicest people, many of whom became close friends. The worst job I ever had, by far, was a three week temp for a retired USMC Colonel. I like to think that he was the reincarnation of Napoleon Bonaparte. I broke my own rule and stayed in the job to the completion date, even though I knew the score after the first meeting. Napoleon was a master of psychological torture and the job became nothing more than a test of wills. I won because I did not submit to his (in his own mind) incredible sexual aura, and because I was one step ahead in every aspect of the business end on the job. I was offered the position permanently at the completion and to my mind, that was the Gold Medal. If I hadn’t seen that job through, I would have never realized my own worth as a vital part of any business organization. Napoleon was good, but I was great! Perhaps you can look at your own experience as proof that you have the kind of skills that can make anyone look good. I don’t think your boss needs to be an English expert to be an FBI agent, but I do think he will always need a good support system. He probably remembers you very well, too.

My son is USMC and back home now after completing his third tour in Iraq. Mr. One Prep School Four Universities No Degree should have joined up right after high school, but his silly parents forced him into something he never wanted for himself, but he did have many fine party experiences and spring break festivities that have helped him in his career as a Marine! I cringe when I look at the spelling and grammatical errors in his letters and cards, but he is very good at what he does in the Corps and that is the best result.

[FortWorthPatriot]

"Perhaps you can look at your own experience as proof that you have the kind of skills that can make anyone look good."

That's a good point. Maybe I should look at it that way.

"I don’t think your boss needs to be an English expert to be an FBI agent, but I do think he will always need a good support system."

That's another good point that I've not ever considered.

"He probably remembers you very well, too."

I had forgotten to mention in my original post that he was always thanking me for correcting his work. After a few months of me reworking his drafts, he just began handing me bullet points instead and asked me to just write the waivers myself and he would sign off on them, which was kind of cool. I guess maybe I'm being too rough on him. He was a good guy.

[ishabibble]

I don’t think you were being rough on this guy, I think you were being honest. There are so many Higher Ups who couldn’t spell their way out of a paper bag, but that really isn’t their job, is it?!

Around the world, people use the Posi-Touch system. It’s the computer screen that you touch at ATMs or airline check-in stations. This idea was developed in the U.S. by a Greek immigrant dishwasher who rose to become a premier pastry chef then owner, then chain. Bottom line...he had so much trouble with his stupid wait staff that he invented this system out of desperation. He just wanted to get his orders right, but what he did was create a world-wide phenonmenom that transcends language by using technology. This man was one of my temp jobs. He was as simple and humble as a dishwasher, in spite of his incredible success, which he wisely divided amongst his four sons. This man didn’t read or write Proper English, but it really doesn’t matter, does it? He was a beautiful, humble, conservative man who saw the future and grabbed it, but opted to live in the past as a successful restaurateur. He still made his pies and cakes. His sons are set and his American Dream came true! This man has always been one of my heroes, someone who overcame everything and still remained that hopeful, hardworking guy who stepped off a boat into America.

I just wanted you to know that you were not too harsh in your assessment, and that FBI guy probably wouldn’t be there in that field if he didn’t possess the unique skill of finding people like you and me to make him all that he could be...o wait, that’s Army!!

[RKBA Democrat]

The problem I’m finding is the antithesis of your site handle. Finding people with a strong work ethic is difficult. I can and will train people if they have the drive to work and learn. Without that drive, well, there isn’t a heck of a lot to work with. I think this is the underlying and unspoken reason why employers are hiring immigrants, legal or otherwise. Employers need people who are willing to work. Too many of our native born aren’t exhibiting that character trait.

Ignorance is readily curable. Stupidity (willful ignorance) and laziness are not.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Or as Victor Borge might say, three easy. “Are you two, I’m two, three!”

[BluH2o]

Not long ago at our local grocery store (a large national chain) I asked a young lady working in the meat deli for three quarters of a pound of Black Forest ham. She looked at me with a blank look and I said, ‘You know .75 on the digital weight scale’ ... you would have thought I was speaking some remote foreign language ... she was totally flummoxed. I assume she was at least a HS graduate ... sad commentary on education in America today.