Posted on 01/10/2013 4:33:13 AM PST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
A new analysis of the American Freshman Survey, which has accumulated data for the past 47 years from 9 million young adults, reveals that college students are more likely than ever to call themselves gifted and driven to succeed, even though their test scores and time spent studying are decreasing.
Psychologist Jean Twenge, the lead author of the analysis, is also the author of a study showing that the tendency toward narcissism in students is up 30 percent in the last thirty-odd years. This data is not unexpected. I have been writing a great deal over the past few years about the toxic psychological impact of media and technology on children, adolescents and young adults, particularly as it regards turning them into faux celebrities—the equivalent of lead actors in their own fictionalized life stories.
On Facebook, young people can fool themselves into thinking they have hundreds or thousands of “friends.” They can delete unflattering comments. They can block anyone who disagrees with them or pokes holes in their inflated self-esteem. They can choose to show the world only flattering, sexy or funny photographs of themselves (dozens of albums full, by the way), “speak” in pithy short posts and publicly connect to movie stars and professional athletes and musicians they “like.”
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Math skills frustrate me to no end. We had to memorize the times tables and to this day I can do every day math in my head faster than my kids can text someone (percentages, tips on bills, taxes on purchases etc...). We try hard to force my kids to memorize those tables and explain that will make everything easier. They always resisted saying their teachers told them they don’t have to memorize them since they can look them up and use calculators. Our solution was our last two minions fled public school and are now in a Christian private school. Already can see the difference.
Cite where I said that. Until then I will state that you are remarkably void of honesty.
That was the subject of my reply.
But don't believe me. Look up the performance of homeschoolers for yourself. I'm not going to do your homework for you.
Never denied that home schoolers on the whole are above public schoolers on the whole. You've completely misstated my point, I believe it's intentional and that means you're dishonest.
It's a rare person on this forum who home schools to say that their child is "average" or below average. Among home schooled kids some have to be below.
Electronic pocket-sized feel good machines. Oh! I’m sorry! I meant their smartphones!
Hi St.,
If they are living in their basement playing video games they are NOT conservative...sorry,
Lurking’
Funny you should say that... there were a couple of occasions when they did say “it is close enough”. Drove me nuts, but they were told that spelling and using words correctly is what WE do going forward.
Imagine a world where everyone’s use and spelling of words was different... we’re already getting close to that insanity daily with continual libtard perversion of the language (where wasteful spending is referred to as “investment”, supporters of small government are called “extremists”, etc.). Sad that so many have decided to join the libtard “race to the bottom” rather than fight it.
then you are the “victim” of a logical fallacy.
the reason that almost any parent of a homeschooled child thinks their children are above average is because they look at the public school children and see very below average kids.
as I said in my original post if you are just considering the group of only homeschooled children - you are right, however if you are considering the entire group of school aged children then homeschooled children ARE above the average of that group.
Lurking’
We are very blessed to live in a small American city where our children are receiving an excellent and yet reasonably priced Catholic education (thanks to a community that goes to church on Sunday and fills the collection baskets so that even kids without the means can to the catholic schools if they want.) The catholic high school here is consistently in the nations top 50 catholic schools.
I feel that some of the blame for this narcissism in our youth results from parents and teachers who refuse to allow children to experience failure. Fear of failure snuffs out potential. In an effort to make sure “the little dears never feel bad about themselves” they are never allowed to fail. If you look at history the greatest amongst us are those who failed over and over again until they got it right.
A personal example. Our oldest daughter loves the theatre and had the lead in a couple of middle school plays. Fast forward to high school in a new school in a new town with a really outstanding drama department. She auditioned freshman year for a one act play. Didn’t get a part. She auditioned again for the musical. Again... didn’t get a part. Instead of sulking she worked technical crew with the spotlights. A hot and thankless job...but the director took notice of her work ethic... Fast forward to this her sophomore year. Got a small part in the children’s play Pinocchio. She gave it her all and got noticed. Auditioned for the one act play again this year... got a part and is going to the state one act festival. Would never have happened if she quit after not getting a part in the musical.
Motto in our house is 1. Never give up and 2. no guts no glory.
Ironically in our country amongst many of our youth the fear of failure is exactly what is causing them to fail.
Home schooled students largely are above "average" because the "average" in public schools is so low that even students who aren't particularly gifted, when provided with one on one attention and teaching, do better than their peers in public school. Anti-homeschooling politicians and union activists regularly accuse home schoolers of inflating the grades of their students, but when the home schooled students take standard achievement tests they still, as a group, outperform the public school students.
Take a look at public school performance, you'll see that it isn't hard to beat the "average".
Right, and some schools have just done away with some advanced classes because not enough minorities were qualified to take them, to make things “fair”.
“... to make things “fair”.
That is what it is all about.. image of fairness. This starts out in kindergarten when they sort the classes into groups: based on ethnicity and sex. Later, they sort by groups for the high math and reading. Both classes (average level and higher level) have to LOOK the same. Honors and AP classes are after that step. The school doesn’t care if the student struggles or gets a low grade either. It is all about numbers/color/gender.
One of my pet peeves at the workplace is people finishing your sentence for you or answering a question before you finish it. I always say, “ that is NOT what I was going to say so please let me finish”.
..and a deep sense of entitlement.
I call them the Gimme Generation.
This was the "counter-culture movement" of the 1960s. It was nothing more than American decadence erupting into the open.
These were the spoiled, deluded, narcissistic brats of the men who walked into machine-gun fire on the beaches of Normandy and the women and men who carved the greatest nation the world has ever know out of the American wilderness.
These deluded narcissists are now in control of the United States.
"History is a staircase on which men in hobnail boots ascending pass men in velvet slippers descending.""Those who do not remember the past condemn themselves to relive it."
“It’s a rare person on this forum who home schools to say that their child is “average” or below average. Among home schooled kids some have to be below.”
Funny how you assert others are lying when you go out of your way to distort what they say. We are comparing homeschooled children with children in general. Ergo - most of them will be above average.
You keep saying "average" as if there's a number that can be assigned to a person ... like the sale price on a house ... such that an arithmetic mean can be calculated producing clear "above average," "average," and "below average" people.
People aren't like that. Even a simple IQ measurement is not a great deal of use in comparing one "whole" person to another, since IQ measurements for the same person can change over his lifetime. Standardized test scores are a pretty good snapshot of certain academic skills at one point in time, but they neither measure all knowledge and skills nor do they define the person even in the measured subjects: Not happy with your math score? Study harder and do better the next time.
Test scores don't measure everything about a person even as a student. A student who finds tests easy may not have the study skills and diligence of a person without the "good at tests" gene, and the one who has to try harder may be more successful at college and at life.
In summary, I'm not sure what your argument is supposed to be, although it's clearly generating some heat, if not light. "My child is average" is a statement without real meaning, just as "My child is above (or below) average" is a statement without factual content. Any of these declarations simply conveys an emotion or an opinion, an opinion which in that form would not stand much scrutiny.
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