Are you raising a generation of nincompoops?

[pbwalker]

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39387465/ ... parenting/

NEW YORK — Second-graders who can't tie shoes or zip jackets. Four-year-olds in Pull-Ups diapers. Five-year-olds in strollers. Teens and preteens befuddled by can openers and ice-cube trays. College kids who've never done laundry, taken a bus alone or addressed an envelope.

Are we raising a generation of nincompoops?

[OldCannon]

Adults that don't know how to send a text message, understand the difference between Facebook and MySpace, voted for a president that promised "free health care", and think that cursive writing should still be mandatory in school. Heck, I used to have grandparents that refused to learn zip codes because "the old way still works".

Are our kids being raised by a generation of nincompoops? Film at 11!

Seriously, each generation leaves behind something, and each generation gains something. Yes, we can find examples of bad parenting, and some examples of where you wished there had been more bleach in the gene pool.

[psijac]

Adults that don't know how to send a text message, understand the difference between Facebook and MySpace, voted for a president that promised "free health care", and think that cursive writing should still be mandatory in school. Heck, I used to have grandparents that refused to learn zip codes because "the old way still works".

Are our kids being raised by a generation of nincompoops? Film at 11!

Seriously, each generation leaves behind something, and each generation gains something. Yes, we can find examples of bad parenting, and some examples of where you wished there had been more bleach in the gene pool.

100% The can open wasn't even invented until 50 years after the can. Soliders would beat open can with the but of their rifles. If you screw it up bad enough you can get metal slivers in your tuna. The starfish fresh packs are superior to cans. There is nothing sacred about ice cube trays.

And I for one hate tying shoe laces they always come undone. I have never tripped over my own laces even when carrying things up stairs but people will always stop and inform me of my lace status. Fear of society change has done mo harm than the actual change ever has.

[Hoi Polloi]

For all the talk of how great education was "back when," I'd sure like a nickel for every example I can find of those over 50 who can't tell the difference between there, their and they're; who consistently spell the word won't as want; who couldn't find Uruguay on a map in under 3 minutes if their lives depended on it; or who ask what you "feel" when they really want to know what you "think." Every generation has its strengths and weaknesses.

The next will probably be healthy to an extreme but will be so focused on tolerance (confusing it with respect and that with reverence) that they will be be able to very precisely say what they want to say but will have absolutely no concept of what they mean.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

The can opener comments reminded me of an ironic
story. Some 10 or 20 years ago, a Russian female ice skater
came to this country and got a fat contract for appearing in
Ice Capades or something. Was it Oksana Baiul?

Anyway she bought a $350K house in Connecticut, but had no
furniture and hadn't even bought small appliances. She needed
to open a can of soup and resorted to trying to pop a screwdriver
in the top and pry it open.

She owned an expensive home, but didn't know enough to buy
a can opener. Sheesh!

IIRC, she later got into legal trouble for DWI and wrecking her
Mercedes Benz.

SIA

[lonewolf]

For all the talk of how great education was "back when," I'd sure like a nickel for every example I can find of those over 50 who can't tell the difference between there, their and they're; who consistently spell the word won't as want; who couldn't find Uruguay on a map in under 3 minutes if their lives depended on it; or who ask what you "feel" when they really want to know what you "think." Every generation has its strengths and weaknesses.

The next will probably be healthy to an extreme but will be so focused on tolerance (confusing it with respect and that with reverence) that they will be be able to very precisely say what they want to say but will have absolutely no concept of what they mean.

I don't know about healthy to the extreme, as I see fewer and fewer kids out playing in the neighborhoods like we did in the "old days." The Mom network let us know when to come home. Mom hollered our names from our front door and it was relayed all through the neighborhood by anyone who heard her....or if we weren't home when the streetlights came on we were in deep doo-doo (slight grace period on that one.) We used to have bicycle races around the block and play baseball in the street, and war in all the yards. If we were thirsty, we just drank from someone's tap on the side of their house. We all survived.

As far as tolerance is concerned, I find quite a number of the younger generation these days to be much more intolerant and disrespectful than I would have ever thought of behaving. For example, I am a smoker, nasty and disgusting as it is, I still smoke. I spent two semesters last year at a major university here and could almost predict each person that would walk by and give a fake "cough" and disgusted look. I was sitting in an outdoor common area frequented by several other smokers, away from the main path and not near any entrances. Tolerant? Them? Not hardly.

Maybe I'm just having a bad day......or maybe it was the "young lady" that looked at me, passed me, cut me off to make a turn, and shot me the finger....while on her phone.......

Yeah, I think I'm just having a bad day. Please understand that I am not sniping at you, as your post (and all your others) is very insightful and well thought out. Long day at work.....time to hit the hay......

I don't even smoke in my own house, out of consideration for the wife and any guests.

Sleep well, all!!!

[Hoi Polloi]

I agree with you, Lonewolf. I believe many obese people would tell you they share your brushes with "tolerance" when they dare to go to a restaurant to eat, pick up anything but produce at the grocery store, or just go out and about in their daily lives. Indeed, almost every group of people can identify with your experience. While this generation focuses on tolerance, they have no idea what it means.

While I also lament the days of playing ball in the street which is still seen in most lower income neighborhoods, there are a lot of middle class and upper class children who are in gyms, who have personal trainers, are in private sports like karate or dance classes, are in extra-curricular activities at school like lacrosse and swim team and softball, and who do workout videos at home. There are also quite a few boys and girls among them who are anorexic, bulimic, who self-mutilate because they think they don't measure up, who are extremely sexualized as a symptom of their low self-esteem, etc. While they focus on health, they again have no idea what it means.

I think it is a defining characteristic of this generation that they have strong opinions on things they can speak eloquently about, drawing on huge reserves of knowledge never before available to a single culture or people, and yet they don't have a clue what they are saying. Lack of grounding in history, lack of critical thinking, lack of foresight or experience with anything other than themselves... they're like rube goldberg machines, going through these massively complex rituals, especially regarding work and education, to get to pointless and simplistic soundbytes of banality.

I'm sorry you had a rotten day. I hope it improves for you! The week's past half over!

[psijac]

For lone wolf and any fellow smokers out there

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[Abraham]

Hold it!

Rube Goldberg?

I had you pegged for someone well under 60, but now...

[quidni]

Hold it!

Rube Goldberg?

I had you pegged for someone well under 60, but now...

I'm still half-a-score years and a smidge from 60, and I knew who she was referencing.... (but I'm closer to 60 than to 35 )

[Abraham]

quidni,

As a kid, I used to blurt great hoots of laughter while looking at the extraordinary Rube Goldberg mechanical marvels printed in the Sunday paper.

[lonewolf]

I agree with you, Lonewolf. I believe many obese people would tell you they share your brushes with "tolerance" when they dare to go to a restaurant to eat, pick up anything but produce at the grocery store, or just go out and about in their daily lives. Indeed, almost every group of people can identify with your experience. While this generation focuses on tolerance, they have no idea what it means.

While I also lament the days of playing ball in the street which is still seen in most lower income neighborhoods, there are a lot of middle class and upper class children who are in gyms, who have personal trainers, are in private sports like karate or dance classes, are in extra-curricular activities at school like lacrosse and swim team and softball, and who do workout videos at home. There are also quite a few boys and girls among them who are anorexic, bulimic, who self-mutilate because they think they don't measure up, who are extremely sexualized as a symptom of their low self-esteem, etc. While they focus on health, they again have no idea what it means.

I think it is a defining characteristic of this generation that they have strong opinions on things they can speak eloquently about, drawing on huge reserves of knowledge never before available to a single culture or people, and yet they don't have a clue what they are saying. Lack of grounding in history, lack of critical thinking, lack of foresight or experience with anything other than themselves... they're like rube goldberg machines, going through these massively complex rituals, especially regarding work and education, to get to pointless and simplistic soundbytes of banality.

I'm sorry you had a rotten day. I hope it improves for you! The week's past half over!

I guess I'm just an old fuddy-duddy in a lot of ways. I'm a firm believer in the "Do unto others...." type of lifestyle. Critical thinking these days seems to be more about "what's in it for me?" rather than "what is most prudent/wise?" There is just so much more to life and living (separate things, really) than worrying about whether or not my clothes are in style, or if I have the latest and greatest technological gizmo at my fingertips. Its been a difficult road with my very own little nincompoops. At their mother's house they eat supper in the living room generally, and have their phones glued to their ears unless they are texting or playing on the game console. Occasionally the boys will go out and throw a ball around. At my house we have dinner at the table, there are no phones allowed, and we have conversations. Real discussions, asking questions and learning new things, different points of view.

As far as handwriting, my beloved is a teacher. My children are teenagers. I know for a fact from the papers I see and help grade, as well as the things my children have written that handwriting is a lost art. While that doesn't bother me so much, its just that so much of what I do see is totally illegible. If it can be read the grammar is atrocious, the vocabulary has no depth, and the structure is mind-bogglingly confusing. I won't even mention punctuation, since often its only included as an after thought, if at all......(I probably use too many commas.....)

One of the reasons I like this forum so much is that most everyone here puts a great deal of thought, wisdom and concern into what they write. The number of great conversations on here far outweighs the rare conflict. Great give and take across the board. Some wonderful humor as well....

I'm going to do my best to be at Elm Fork on Saturday so I can meet some of these people in person. I've met Joe817 and he's a really good guy. I'm looking forward to meeting more "good people."

[LaserTex]

Come on people. Worse beating I ever got at age 15 was telling my Dad that he was stupid for taking a different trek back home from school. I said that I would have taken the same route back so I could at least slide down the snowy mountain-side barefooted at least once a day. I thought it was funny. He didn't.

Doug