American Kiddies Are Getting Dumber

Check out my thoughts about American schools:
http://freshperspectives.typepad.com/fresh_perspectives/2007/08/getting-us-scho.html

I think part of the problem is caused by technology. What I mean is, today’s kids are growing up in a world where everything is available immediately. If it is not they just lose patience and do not bother to look further.

As you correctly said, just Google for information. This lack of patience makes kids today intolerant to spending proper time and energy to read, practise and learn new skills and subjects.

I think this is a very limited perspective. I have three children, and they are all different. My youngest (nine) is my brightest, and the other two (24 and 22) never did well in school. Just the other day my nine year old came to me and asked if she could go to Dartmouth College to study Hebrew – I was taken back. Maybe it’s the Catholic School she attends or maybe it’s just her. My point, we think that every child in America should go to college and become a Doctor, but that isn’t going to work. Children don’t fall too far from the tree of their parents, if you didn’t do well in school, you shouldn’t think your kids are going to.

I disagree. Plenty of students have done well in school, despite how well the parent did. It all depends on motivation. And maybe that’s what’s missing: motivation, passion, ambition. Maybe more kids should spend time in 3rd world countries and realize how much of an opportunity they have in this country, maybe they’ll be more passionate about education.

It also has to do with the school system. My mom teaches a gifted 4th grade science class in Texas, and she says that whenever she goes beyond the curriculum (meaning she’s already taught the stuff in the lesson plan and wants to teach kids topics outside it), her supervisor always says something like “Don’t waste your time on that, because that won’t be included in standardized tests.”

I think every few years studies come out showing how dumb kids are and how society is collapsing. When I was in high school, it was the “grunge period” and we were all slackers that would never do anything, couldn’t read, write…generation X, etc.

I know everything’s turned out for the best in my life, and it’s looking like society is churning along just fine (aside from the politicians). Ignore the propaganda. It’s a waste of time.

I think media has something to contribute to the situation. While watching TV can be fun, it also takes away from studying. I have a cousin who always sleeps late and wakes up late in the process. She claims she was up all night studying. The problem is, she had been watching hours and hours of TV before she even picked up a book. Plus, a lot of teenagers today have a different idea of success.

[...] comments regarding a truly depressing article on the dumbing down of American kids, Glen over at Life Dev said, “Personally, I think a major problem with our entire society is that it doesn’t allow [...]

Our schools are ranked 24th among developed countries (and we sent our BEST students to compete). Our schools are the laughingstock of the globe. Our graduation rates average 25-50% in larger cities. And of that one-in-two graduation rate, many of those graduates cannot read adequately or perform basic math functions. Graduation rates of 70% are considered ACCEPTABLE across the country, and those figures are inflated!

It’s time for a complete reform of our public educational system. Education deficits are now becoming a matter of national security. The situation is desperate!

To view a video about the problems and the solution, go to:
http://www.teachertube.com and search for Set Our Teachers FREE! Says it all!

Brennan
http://setourteachersfree.com

Very true and not true at all. There are studies (I do not have them in front of me…but if asked I can find the reference that shows many highly skilled and intelligent science and math majors are being produced. I think the problem is not in the top or the bottom levels. I believe the problem is that the “normals” are disappearing. “A” and “F” students are being produced…what is disappearing is the “B” student. Those students are the ones that go through high school because it is necessary, and then graduate and find what they are good at and who they are mean to do. The “A’s” know where they are going…it is the “F” students that really should concern us, relative to why they are not passing, not necessarily why they are not “A” students.

I want to make it clear that I am not saying that we are not producing “A” students. The problem is the level of academics required to obtain an “A” and that it is inadequate.

There is abundant evidence that our top students are not being sufficiently prepared to compete in a global environment. I have numerous articles and studies I could refer to, but I will simply include a link to two. Both of these articles, and the numerous studies done, show that we are shortchanging our very best students.

Two things that are even more sad, are:

1) That we delude ourselves that some schools are actually GOOD. (Thus the proponents of vouchers say to move a few children around.)

2) Even worse than the fact that we are giving our best students inadequate preparation for life – we are also LOSING 28% to 50% to 75% (depending on the area) of our students as drop-outs.

It is time for a COMPLETE REFORM of our education programs in USA public schools.

It can be done! Read “Set Our Teachers FREE! A Plan to Save Public Education” by Don Kingsland, or learn about The Kingsland Plan which is spelled out in the book.

Don’t take my word for what I have claimed. Please read the two articles mentioned here. And remember, these are just two of the hundreds.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/05/AR2007100501670.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/10/07/DI2007100700552.html

Yes! It’s true! USA schools were ranked 24th around the globe, when we sent our best and brightest. The only countries that ranked lower were Cypress and South Africa. This year, the USA is not even competing! Hmmmm!

Check out our blog: http:setourteachersfree.com

or our website:
http://www.thekingslandplan.com

This issue is CRITICAL to the future of our country.

Brennan

There is so much wrong, yet so much right with our education system. Regardless of the ratio of good to bad, I do completely agree that there is a serious need for reform.

I have to respond again. America has a long history of anti-education, while the elite receive the best education and run the country. Education leads to the devil. Our education system has issues, but so do all. We are not a homogeneous society here. Values range from culture and community across our nation. If you take our best schools and compare them with other nations, our students perform the best in the world. So stop seeing the system as a whole, it just isn’t. Education is a community based system, so if there are problems, look to the community.

I do agree, most gifted children come from parents that are not gifted; however, it’s unfair for you as a parent who did not like attending school to expect your child not be the same. Learners that are gifted are a small part of the system, and to be really honest the majority of gifted children today aren’t even gifted. I am a teacher, and I see many parents push and push until their child is placed in the program. One of my peers teaches a gifted class, and only one of the students out of thirty are truly gifted. To be gifted, a student must be exceptionally bright and be creative in music or art (but not both). If they are very bright, but lack creativity, they are not gifted. Parents can’t get past that point, not every child is going to Harvard. It’s that creative component that makes the child gifted.

Back to the point, if you want the schools to change then take an active role in the community. We cannot change the system, because education is not one system. You have to attack it at the local level, which is where control comes from in the first place. If you don’t like that we teach to the test, which is connected to our funding, talk to the politicians that you voted into office. I think it’s unfair to blame the education system for the problems with education. Education begins at home, with a focus from the parents and the neighbourhood you live in.

I pay every month for my child to attend a private school. My daughter is in 4th grade, and students are already discussing which private high schools they want to attend. She realizes that her grades have to be exceptional and her tests scores must be at the 90 Percentile for her to go to the best high school. So, she studies hard, even this morning she was reading before school. You cannot expect this in a public school, because it is public. You want an exceptional eduction, where students learn to fight for an education, then try private school. Public schools cannot discriminate, which is what happens when we create an elite that run the nation. This has been the rule for over 200 years now, and I doubt it’s going to change anytime soon. So, join the club and do anything you can to have your children educated in the best system, even if it means moving into an apartment the size of a matchbox.

I just have to mention that No Child Left Behind is NOT community-based. The problem starts at the top.

And the only way we will eliminate an elitist educational system is to demand change.

Teachers have been taking the blame for school failures for too long. But, to say that national change will only occur community-by-community is not only unrealistic, it is a sure-fire recipe for disaster.

If I live in an exclusive area (which I have) and attend an expensive private school (which I did) that MAY allow me to be well-educated (or have access to better drugs) but it does NOT stop the uneducated, violent and angry drop-out from across the city or country from entering my safe little haven and violating my “serene existence”.

One way or another, we will pay if we do not improve education nationally. Either we will be forced to build more jails, more security systems and higher walls, or we will forfeit our actual lives.

The time is coming when the ‘have nots’ will range farther and farther afield to scavenge or take by force from the ‘haves’.

I’m old enough to have seen the spread of crime from major urban areas into bedroom communities, then into tiny rural areas. There are no more ‘safe enclaves’, and we can blame the growth of ignorance.

Maybe American kiddies are getting dumber, but… Maybe the evaluation system is not relevant any more!?

The kids don’t know where is Greece on the map, but they are able to find any information about it online, including an exact location + satellite view.

Who is the dumb kid now? :)

Okay, first off, the problem isn’t technology. If anything technology is going to help in the long run. The problem is PARENTS. Dumb parents raise dumb kids. If the parents don’t pay attention or discipline their children and structure them properly then of COURSE their kids are going to be stupid. You have to have structure in a family and you can find evidence of this all throughout history.

About technology, it is a tool for learning. I use it for personal studies and other things that can fuel the learning process. Anytime someone asks me how I know something, I tell them I looked it up. It’s as simple as using the technology correctly! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure these things out, as we may not have any left in the future. If you watch the movie Idiocracy, there is alot of truth in those situations. All of these white trash families with an adaptability rating of nil are going NOWHERE and they have the most kids. It’s going to be a very stupid future ahead and with the shape the US is in, in opposition to other world powers, we’re screwed on a grand scale.

Firstly, school programs don’t enforce learning enough. Parents complain and nothing gets done because the students don’t want to learn and nobody is making them. I see this all the time in Highschool and it makes me sick that someone who has a basic understanding of anything is considered to be a genius.

We’re on a very steep slope downward and I am sure that you all have come up with the same conclusions I have, but I had to put in my 2 cents as a student in the current public school system. I am telling you now, teachers don’t care. Students don’t care, politicians barely care, and nothing is getting done.

Brennan, I agree Parents have the majority to do with this, but kids also have the other portion of responsibility. I am not sure what definition you are using for dumb . Neither of my parents finished High School, and yet every one of us kids has gone to College and only my eldest brother does not have a degree (he is about a semester shy, but is a Video Production Manager at a television station…so he’s doin’ fine). The rest of us have Masters in our respective field. I believe it is the passion for success (however one would define that term) that our parents had, that was passed onto us. It is not all about “have” and “have nots”, history has shown that you cannot indefinitely keep people down, those that desire knowledge are undeterred.

I also like what William had to say. I also believe that the way we define “literacy” or “literate” definitely needs to be evaluated. What are the actual “core fundamentals” of knowledge that are needed now?

I agree with this too. Yet it’s not just children that are the problem, most adults are also getting dumber every year.

You can chalk it up to age if you want, but that really isn’t the case until you reach 75 or 80.

Technology is great, but it stops us from using our brains. I noticed that someone misspelled practice. That is horrible, but we have got so used to using Microsoft Word that we cannot spell anymore. Tech is a double-edged sword.

[...] comments regarding a truly depressing article on the dumbing down of American kids, Glen over at Life Dev said, “Personally, I think a major problem with our entire society is that it doesn’t allow [...]