Posted on 07/07/2008 4:07:49 AM PDT by Kaslin
There are new studies and new polls that strongly suggest that we are breeding increasingly stupid kids here in America. Like our tasteless tomatoes, they merely look good and healthy.
But of course there is more than one way to test intelligence. So, while only 43% of our 17-year-olds know that the Civil War took place between 1850 and 1900, as opposed to, say, 1750-1800 or after 1950, they are very good at text-messaging. They also probably know the names of Britney Spears’ kids, which is more than Ms. Spears does at any given moment, but they have no idea why December 7, 1941, was a day of infamy. They also don’t know what “infamy” means.
What makes the situation even more pathetic is that these kids, for the most part, have a terrifically high opinion of themselves. To be fair, nothing much has ever been asked of them, let alone demanded, and yet they are constantly being told how special they are. Hardly any of them are expected to do chores, and as teachers have been ordered by craven school boards to pass along any student who’s breathing, D’s are frowned upon and F’s are verboten. As a result, 18-year-olds, who can barely count up to 18 without taking off their shoes, automatically get their high school diplomas.
Part of the problem is that far too many parents don’t place any particular emphasis on education. They worry plenty if their kids aren’t popular, but hardly at all if they can’t write a coherent sentence or identify Tom Sawyer’s best friend or name the inventor of the electric light bulb.
The fact is, you can’t fault the kids when it’s the parents who decide whether or not to contribute to the college alumni fund on no other basis than whether or not their alma mater fields winning football and basketball teams.
On top of that, you can hardly blame the youngsters for preferring to spend all their time exchanging confidences with their classmates than with the likes of Shakespeare, Dickens, Tolstoy and Dumas, when they see their adult role models vegetating most weeknights in the company of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest.
This is not to say or even suggest that there are no brilliant young people out there who will grow up, in spite of everything, to design beautiful bridges, compose and perform gorgeous music, reach distant planets and, if we’re lucky, even cure the diseases the space explorers will inevitably bring back with them.
However, the greatest danger of this backsliding into the abyss of ignorance, this 21st century version of the Dark Ages, where emotions and self-satisfaction constantly trump logic and intelligence, is that Democrats may never again lose a presidential election.
I discovered recently that my almost six year old son can read upside down. I was reading the children’s version of National Geographic and he was following my reading - upside down. It floored me. He hasn’t been to first grade yet just Kindergarten.
It’s a world where form triumphs over substance, and the package is more important than the contents.
Ping?
I for one have first hand knowledge of this happening. Attempt to hold a student accountable, you get in some trouble. Part of the problem stems from NCLB, which dictates a high graduation rate.
Can’t graduate unless you pass the class.
While this may be seen as an *excuse* it is in actuality a fact. A teacher cannot get in trouble for passing a student.
It is a shameful side of education to be sure, but there is only so much I can do with a student when they get to me in high school. I cannot unteach 10 years of bad habits any more than you can unring a bell.
So does that mean the eagle is really sharp or just sharp by comparison. I think you meant that in a complimentary way but the analogy is frightening. Eagles always soar whether surrounded by turkeys or not.
Yep!
Well, they do make good military volunteers.
Don’t send him to public school, that’ll take the intelligence right out of him.
The opposite is in Japan and China and Korea where the education system is tough — kids can fail and there is a stigma attached to it
however, do note that while these kids may be eagles in the US, what if they were compared to the smart kids from Eastern Europe, from Japan, from India, from China? Post grad schools — especially Engineering — are dominated by smart Asians
Evidently, this is a hopeless corrupt educational plan that is doomed to fail.
Why are teachers cooperating with this? With the most powerful union in the nation, surely as a group they could change this.
There is nothing more dangerous than a confident idiot.
True, but you get the point... :)
They have beautiful new buildings. They have conflict resolution specialists. They have an enviro pond complete with a poison hemlock infestation. They put out a spendy and totally uninformative little newspaper. They get special supplemental taxes from the neighborhood. And yes, they're demanding more money. Those solid rock skirts on the buildings in earthquake country are simply a must. It's a matter of community pride you know.
He has the makings of an excellent Attorney! That's a prerequisite to being a successful lawyer. :O)
At 3 years old, our daughter could read, could name all 50 states and identify them by shape alone, and could name most of the dinosaurs by their scientific names, among other amazing things (for her age at the time).
Now, at 17, after 11 years of "government" schools", she's as smart or smarter than most of her peers, but no where near as learned as we thought she'd be.
She is a good kid, well rounded (not fat, I'm talking about her studies, sports, social activities, etc.), and she has formed many good habits, attributes, and interests, to serve her well through life, I think, but I don't think she'll be engaging in "rocket science" for her life's work.
She is caring, likable, has a good sense of humor, and generally, for her age - has more than a "lick" of common sense.
In other words, I think that, especially after another year of high school, and then college, she'll be alright, and do well for herself, and her future husband and family.
I do wish, however, given her early learning skills and knowledge base (with our prompting, and support, i.e., all of the books and learning games we bought for her and helped her with), we'd have thought to use our money more wisely, and had her in the best private school we could afford from DAY ONE.
I'd like to think we couldn't afford it, but in actuality, looking back (that good 20/20 vision), we could have, and should have.
Though I was in the military at the time, and not making good money, my favorite uncle (like a second dad) died and left us $120,000. We received the money right before I got out of the service and settled down in Georgia.
After taxes, paying off bills, putting some in an emergency fund and Roth IRA, putting dollars in a college savings account for our daughter, buying a new vehicle (the biggest mistake - I never buy brand new vehicles anymore), and using money for a down payment on our first house, there was little left for anything else. Amazing how fast money can go away.
Anyway, the bottom line is, looking back, I wish we had sacrificed much of what we did, to get our daughter in a good private school until she graduated high school. Like most parents, we saved for college, when we should have emphasized the best education we could afford when our daughter was in her formative years, when children are motivated to learn, and seem to soak up GOOD teaching and information like a sponge.
Instead, we did like most, and let our daughter go to good (but not outstanding) public schools, where she, over time, lost the edge she had displayed early on.
To you raybbr, and all other thinking parents out there, sacrifice NOW to get your kids in the best private schools you can, and keep them there for the duration. You, and they, will be glad you did.
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