Posted on 07/24/2019 3:20:20 PM PDT by TigerClaws
A reader who is also a college professor in a STEM field e-mails to say:
My students are unable to analyze, follow and understand written text. To be more specific, they are unable to decipher compound sentences, understand relationship between subordinate and main clauses. They can’t grasp the logical relationship between sentences, let alone paragraphs, which are totally opaque to them.
When I started to teach (only 2 years ago), I prepared material written in normal, rational, technical prose — for adults, or as I understood they would be. Immediately, it became apparent that there was zero comprehension. Well, thought I, let’s make it a bit simpler. So I reduced the paragraphs to bullet point lists.
Still nothing? Hmm.
I started to write step by step, basically cut-and-paste instructions, highlighted the important points, wrote in notes and cross references (like NOTE: you did this in step #2 please refer to #2). Abject failure.
So, especially in the exams, I started to write in answers in the follow up questions, like so: “If you correctly answered #1 as ABC what is the cause of …?”. Basically I give them the answers in followup questions, plus cut and paste documents. My exams are open book, open notes, Internet access.
95% of them fail.
This is what I attribute this phenomenon to: I don’t think that they are able to concentrate for more that a few seconds. Hence compound sentences become an enigma. Their brains are ’trained’ to hold information for the minimum time possible and to move on the next soundbite or tweet. They are unable to hold a thought in their minds long enough to abstract it, analyze it, and form required relationships. As a result they lack the fundamental building blocks for inductive and deductive reasoning. They want to be spoon-fed without ever having to resort to a single abstract thought. They have been ‘educated’ by quick turnaround, expensive and largely incorrect multiple choice question textbooks.
Imagine how this would (and soon will) affect the medical profession. “When you treat appendicitis you will remove a) spleen, b) heart, c) appendix, d) none of the above. “Well, done!” Here is your first patient … (or, in Dr. Zoidberg’s context: Scalpel!, Blood bucket! Priest!).
Their problem is that they are unable to formulate questions. It’s difficult to come up with answers if you don’t know what to ask. So I tell them that my ambition is to teach them how to ask questions. They love my classes but I am told repeatedly: “This was the best class we have had but by far the most difficult.”
Good grief. We have totally destroyed this generation.
Bwaahaaaahaaa!!
lol...yes they do......and they will all be awarded A's so as not to crush the precious little snowflakes egos for life....
Sounds like perfect Democrat voters else someone’s cannon fodder ...
What a schmuck!
Yes but the sure can recite the proper stances on LGBT issues and abortion. They know America is the worst nation on Earth. They know that diversity is better than national safety, the lives of our citizens, or women being free from rape squads. They know that climate change is real, and we’re all gonna die because of the last generation.
I wonder who we have to blame for all this? The internet?
LMAO
How about our K-12th grade education system, our turncoat media, and the liars on the Left?
These kids have been taught only to the education level the Left wants them at, about the fifth grade when it comes to literacy.
Go whine to someone else professor.
I’m not sure $150K would be enough if I had to talk to people all day long.
Get me to talking about subjects I am interested in and know about.
My interests are varied and arcane to some.
Basically the same fundamental lack of independent thinking ability demonstrated by the average red-dot Indian technologist.
We acquired the internet when I was ten, and English was always something I excelled in. Actually, I’m good with language in general. I picked up Spanish easily growing up, and find no issues learning Latin-based languages, including biomedical terminology, which is simply Latin.
I also have internet-based hobbies which heavily involve writing, and one in particular I began when I was about thirteen. Text-typing, turn-based RPG’s, not dissimilar from D&D without dice, which basically amounts to story-writing with multiple authors assuming the roles of, usually multiple, characters. It’s really very fun. Unfortunately, the platforms we used to accomplish this such as AIM, ICQ, and other instant messaging applications no longer exist. I’m currently using an altered version of ICQ (”IcyQue”, or ICQ (WIM) ) through Pidgin, but will probably wind up paying the fee to use IRC so that Pidgin has full function. Our current IcyQue doesn’t allow for text alteration before sending.
Yep. I attribute many of the issues had nowadays to social media as well. Everyone thinks and responds in one-sentence blurbs without any grammar or punctuation, then cannot understand why they can’t hack it in jobs which require the ability to effectively communicate.
I do a lot of writing and reading online, and no longer use social media. I prefer not using it, honestly. Though I think that’s mostly because I don’t really give a sh!t what everyone else is doing.
So I wonder about this article. I spent 30 years in tech, designed integrated circuits. In my high school class of 700 there was maybe one or two other people who could have done the same thing. These days all you hear about is STEM, STEM, but for most people it’s not ever going to happen.
The other part is that we are no longer only accepting the cream of the crop. We now accept everyone, and try to turn every 95 IQ mouth breather into a surgeon or an engineer. Those kids were around in the 50s, too, but they weren't going to college.
Require Latin.
They produce brain dead morons who vote Democrat when they bother to vote at all.
Bfl
That... almost looks like humor. Are you going soft??
Except Rod Dreher is a never Trumper. He also bills himself as a devout Catholic, yet he adored Obama. That’s not a devout Catholic in my book. I’m pretty positive he voted for Hillary too, based on his track record. So I ignore him as much as possible, lol.
He also says he's not a never Trumper, though he's clearly not a Trump fan.
The guy is what he is. Life is too short to beat up on him - or even to finish reading some of his very long and convoluted articles.
Well, that’s different. I don’t mind an interesting conversation either, but having to talk to anyone who came by, all day, every day, would be torment.
Ping.
I recalled an incident from my junior year, when a couple of friends hunted me down to relate that they’d encountered my dad in the hall, between classes. They thought they’d get in a dig, and told him that their new English classes were a lot tougher than his had been. He looked at them, and said “Tough shit, gentlemen.” They seemed to think that I needed to know this.
I see more of it here on FR all the time. Besides spelling and structure, people won't capitalize correctly and punctuation is deteriorating.
Sad to see.
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