OK, it's our turn to turn the tables....I would really like to know what WE think?

Question

about the state of youth today. (yes, I know, for eternity, elders have thought the same thing)...I see HS grads who cannot add, subtract, mulitply or divide WITH a calculator ! So many of these same graduates cannot read, certainly cannot write, spelling is beyond them. NOW...here is the question....when the future of the US is left in the hands of about 1-5% of those same HS graduates (the ones who actually learned something instead of being cool and chasing boys), obviously, our pool of "leaders" will be greatly reduced...(do we really want another GW BUSH as President...sorry about the politics). I would love to hear your thoughts on this scourge of ignorance our schools and .... parents... are churning out. I could go on and on, but I will let you fill in the blanks..I do not think I am painting an abnormally dire forecast...I see this everyday, cannot hire 95% of job applicants because they can't even divide by 10!

Answer 1

Well I really have to hand it to you today. Two questions and both about our youth. I was lucky to have three kids that are doing OK. Ones a lawyer, one of those one percent, One is a dental tech, and the other is a dispatcher for a trucking firm and handles over 300 dispatches a day.

I really have to agree with you that the below 30 generation is in bad shape. Maybe 5% of them can read, write, and do math. NONE of the rest seem to even care. And they are so disenchanted with life that they have the highest suicide rate of any under 30 generation in the last 100 years. The applicantions I have gotten for jobs I have to reject based just upon the applications. Misspelled words, etc. It is sad.

And who is to blame. Pointing fingers is not going to help at all. We are all simply going to have to bit the bullet and tell the educational system that graduating under educated students isn't going to cut it.

And the educational system is going to have to demand back from the parents that they take an active roll in the education process too.

And we are going to have to start paying teachers a decient wage too. $45K per year just doesn't cut it. Anyone making more is in an administration position and doesn't sit in a classroom teaching.

There are so many more things but you know as well as I do that if we were to be a vocal as is needed it would look like the 60's war protests. And even then I am not certain it would do any good.

Answer 2

The school system s.u.c.k.s. always has and always well. The teachers are stupid from day one.
I went to school in New York [ born and raised there ]. When my parents moved to Calif [ I was 16 going into my Sophomore yr of HS ], I started High School and went there thinking I would get the same classes I got in New York [WRONG].
I was told " We don't teach that here, you will get that in College". Excuse me, I already had, German, Italian, Spanish and just some of Latin. And they did not teach it here in High School " Well what the h.e.l.l. do you teach" I already had Chemistry, and Geometry.
I had to take 2 years of Home Economics because I had too many credits. But was required to go at least 2 years in Calif. schools before I could Graduate.
Do you see what is wrong here. They teach nothing but the basics. And 3/4 of the students can't read or write.
My Children and my grandchildren Had home study and turned out 100% better then if they had gone to regular school
Example: My husband went to Subway the other night, here in Surprise,Arizona. He ordered 2 sandwiches gave the girl $15.00 and she should have given him back $2.00. He took the change and came home. Now I had give him $18.00 so he should have returned $5.00 to me. Instead I got the 5. back plus the change of $10.00 [ and they say I can't add well because of my age 70 ]. This girl [ according to my husband was about 19 ] Hello - how many others got luck that night....

Answer 3

For a wealthy country we have a very, very poor public school system. This wasn't always the case. When we were young the schools focused on the basics. When you're taught the basics, you can apply them continually throughout your life, no matter how far you take your education. The schools are seriously overcrowded and understaffed. It is an impossible learning environment.

At home the kids are left more and more to their own devices because it takes so many hours to generate enough of a pay check to support a family anymore, that's about all the adults have time for.

What are the answers? Well, we could really focus on education. Not just talk about it, but come together and realize that we're going to have to start paying our teachers more and we're going to have to reduce class size. And get back to the basics.

Answer 4

Well here are my thoughts. I am 64, but had four children late in life. In fact, my youngest is 23, the oldest 39. They all went through college and turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself. The 23 year old had a difficult time telling time and writing; why you say? Simple: digital clocks and watches and computers. He can print beautifully but never learned how to write properly. He went to private school just like the others, and I have to say, the school system back east is superior to the west coast, (I speak from experience). In fact, my sister, 14 years younger has two kids the same age as my two grandchildren and has had to home school them because of the poor educational system in California. I produced an attorney, a buyer for Macy's, an archaeologist and an investment banker. They are all productive, educated adults.

I do understand where you are coming from. When I go to a local deli and the clerk has a difficult time making change, or the bank clerk makes a mistake, I simply shutter with disappointment. Our schools are lacking and it goes for the entire U.S..

Answer 5

I agree that it's a sad state of affairs. I do meet some teenagers that give me a ray of hope for the future, those that are concerned with what kind of future they are looking forward to and what they can do to make it better. There are an awful lot of them that choose to volunteer their time to care for fellow humanity rather than go to a school dance. Ultimately, it's the parents that have the say on how their kids are turning out, they need to start when they are babies and be diligent with their most important job and not drop the ball through their teenage years. Then, hopefully, they can turn out a model citizen that cares about fellow human beings and their environment, politics included. God save us from another GW Bush, EGADS! Good thoughtful question.

Answer 6

1) My adopted son is 9 yrs. old, in gifted & talented classes, polite, great personality, & great looking. He also spends hrs. playing games in front of a tv, holding a gameboy, or on the pc. He loves soccer but if he had to be chosen to be on a team-he wouldn't make it. He hears what he wants to hear. As a nature lover, I have tried taking him on short hikes to give him some outdoor skills-lost cause so far.
2) I work with several,below the age of 25, youngsters and they have no idea how team work works. The opposite sex is main thought along with party party party. They live way beyond their means and don't give an employer the proper amount of work time due.
3) Youngsters are rude, think they know it all, and just don't care. I know that could sound like any generation but it seems worse now. The taught at home kids aren't much better.
4) With global warming etc. waiting out there to happen, I am more concerned about the type of folks that will survive to keep the human race going, if any do.
5) I totally agree with you along with a lot more.
6) As far as JWB is concerned: You don't want to hear what I have to say about that turd.

Answer 7

Lets start by putting the blame where it belongs and that is squarely on out shoulders. We have let the Courts take the foundation of respect, responsibility, and accountability out of our schools by way of one Madeline O'Hare. We have not taken the responsibility of training our children to be respectful or responsible. We have left that up to the school, since we are so busy earning money we do not attend school functions to see what they are not teaching. The foundations for math, English, literature, history have been removed and special interest material put in their place. Ex: creation is taught as evolution not as God creation, Adam and Eve have been subjugated to Adam and Steve, one must be politically correct and not offend any person for any reason thus there is no discipline in school. Well anyway I will get off my soap box and just say we need to stand up and take back our schools and allow the teachers to teach. If a student cannot read, write, or do basic math they should not be promoted or given a diploma. Parents should be required to attend Parent/Teacher conferences either in person or by phone if necessary to evaluate the level of competency of the program and the instructors.

Answer 8

FEELINGS equate to emotions.
Emotions are the result of chemicals in our bodies stimulating the central nervous system. The input signals that stimulate feelings aren't reliable and the reactions aren't predictable in all cases.
THOUGHT, knowledge, logic, etc. are another subject. The process is based on input data that is deliberately analized.
The results are far superior.
Wisdom is the result of experience gained over years and coupled with an active and productive lifestyle.
Today's lifestyle is based on sitting in front of a computer, going to movies, and living in fantasy land.
The young, with their raging hormones and little experience have little chance of being able to override feelings and applying logic to any sitution. The voting age must be returned to 21 or older!
Teachers in today's schools are often the hippie draft-dodgers who took education courses in college because they were the easiest corses and they were virtually guaranteed a draft deferment if they didn't flunk out.
They are teaching our children of today!
I don't think I'll get started on George Bush. This forum isn't long enough.
One thing is for sure: I'm conservative and HE doesen't represent me!
I define a conservative as one who conserves. I conserve the environment, resources, the Constitution, energy...etc.
I don't waste. Wise use of resources results in a better economy, more jobs and a better lifestyle without destroying all that is good.
I don't PRESERVE. That just lets things stagnate. I use resources wisely (I hope). If something deserves preservation, put it in a museum.

Answer 9

I'd like to start my answer by saying that I am from the educationally defective crowd. I am one of the hoards of people in the US who have graduated and held a diploma they could not even read. Today I can and do read most every day but I'd still be lost without a spell checker on my browser and I'm 47 years old today.

I don't hold the schools responsible for my lack of an education. I did my best to avoid detection of my inability to learn to read via the "word recognition" system that the schools used back then. I still have memory issues from an early head trauma.

A set of "Pocket Classics" comic books and a dictionary opened the world of reading to me in my own living room at age 24. I looked up word by word and learned the sounds the words made when they weren't spelled the way they sounded. The books I'd chosen made me really want to learn. They were comic books that were classic books that I'd always wanted to read and couldn't. Black Beauty, Tom Sawyer, Red Badge Of Courage. there where loads of them and I was a sponge.

As always thank you Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street for the "heads up" about phonetics and the fact that words are spelled right AND phonetically in dictionaries.

This being said. we aren't likely to have to have to worry about it. the way Bush is running things the world may not last long enough for them TO take the lead.

Answer 10

Easy. With technology in the mix and making life just a little bit easier. We have cell phones to hold all our phone numbers, schedules, etc. When we used to have planners to keep track of all that, or attempt to keep track of numbers in our minds. I remember as a child I was able to memorize everyone's number, but now I have my cell phone to do that. Half the time I can't recall my own cell phone number, probably because I don't find myself calling myself that often.

We have computers to keep track of everything too, from personal to business. They calculate, spell check and maintain our daily lives.

So really, those of us that can't help the fact that (though we've been educated) technology has kept us from seeming so. We have become so dependent on technology that we've forgotten how to depend on ourselves.

Then there are those HS grads that still can't subtract, add, multiply or divide for the life of them. When it comes to the future, they probably won't have to worry about the future being in there hands. Those are the people I see working in fast food.