Do Young Americans Have a Clue?

[Crabtownboy]

I was talking with a young Russia Ph.D. theology student here in Prague this morning and he made a very interesting comment. He said:

"I believe that older Americans and older Russians do not understand each other. I do believe that older Americans and younger Russians understand each other. However when i meet young Americans I feel we are from two different planets. The do not seem to have a clue about our world."

Just curious what y'all think of this observstion.

 

[Salty]

When I first read your post, I thought of the Jay Leno show. He often does "Jaywalking" Jay will go out on the street and ask simple questions such as what ocean does California border. Don't be surprises if the answer give is the Atlantic. In one sense this segment is very funny, until you realize that these folks do not know simple facts. (ask them about pop culture...) The problem is worse when a person states they are a college history major.
I would say there are many reasons. Some will say that schools are not doing their job. The State requires many activities that are not academic. That could be part of the problem, however it goes much deeper than that. Many children are "latchkey kids". Another words, both of his parents work, and there is not one home to help the student. When a child comes home alone do you think they will do homework or watch cable TV that has 500 channels?
Our country is obsessed in high school sports. Some athlete-students will play 3 sports per school year. I wonder where they have time to study. Here in New York, they now have State playoffs. That requires an additional three games, and often the teams must travel several hours for these playoff games.
The Federal govt has required the "No Child Left Behind Act". Many times school teachers has to spend extra time with under-achievers, that the overachievers are not able to excel the way they could. Our society is getting to the point that we do not want to make children feel bad about themselves if they do not measure up. In fact, some schools do not allow a teacher to use a red pen, which traditionally meant a failing mark.
Discipline, or should I say a lack of; is a major problem. It is against the law for a school to give corporal punishment (spanking). And many states consider it child abuse. Its getting to the point that if your look at your child the wrong way...
I can tell you one thing that is not the problem - MONEY! Many will say that the schools need more money. I don't think so. Look at many Catholic and Christian schools. They are able to give their kids a better education, at less cost. But then they do not have all the expensive programs that public schools have.
There is more I could write but this is a start.

Salty

 

[Aaron]

I was talking with a young Russia Ph.D. theology student here in Prague this morning and he made a very interesting comment. He said:

"I believe that older Americans and older Russians do not understand each other. I do believe that older Americans and younger Russians understand each other. However when i meet young Americans I feel we are from two different planets. The do not seem to have a clue about our world."

Just curious what y'all think of this observation.

An apt observation. I agree with Salty, too. I would add only that ending the peacetime draft has contributed greatly to ignorance and sloth of American youth.

 

[Justlittleoldme]

They do not seem to have a clue about our world."
Just curious what y'all think of this observstion.

This could be said of many American adults I have met also. But then in all fairness, many people around the world only know what is fed to them through the media (US included), so unless you do a lot of traveling, do any of us REALLY have a clue about the rest of the world? We may think we do, but do we really?

 

[pinoybaptist]

This could be said of many American adults I have met also. But then in all fairness, many people around the world only know what is fed to them through the media (US included), so unless you do a lot of traveling, do any of us REALLY have a clue about the rest of the world? We may think we do, but do we really?

I hear there's a good book out there titled "Christ and the Media" by Malcolm Muggeridge.
Anyone read it yet ?

 

[Crabtownboy]

This could be said of many American adults I have met also. But then in all fairness, many people around the world only know what is fed to them through the media (US included), so unless you do a lot of traveling, do any of us REALLY have a clue about the rest of the world? We may think we do, but do we really?

With the Internet all of us can read online newspapers from around the world and at least gain insights on what others are reporting and their take on events. It is interesting to read such papers, even when they are far out in la-la land. Check the Yemen Times for instance.:type:

 

[North Carolina Tentmaker]

I will agree with the premise of this thread. Younger people today seem to be incredibly ignorant of the world and of their own history.

Government schools are not going to solve the problem. They only want to educate to the level of producing worker drones for our welfare state. Heaven forbid that young people actually learn to think and reason for themselves. If they did they might question the propaganda being fed to them under the label of ‘news.’

And I don’t think that the lack of discipline in schools has anything to do with corporal punishment. Our local school system still uses paddling, but their discipline is still bad. The biggest problem comes to liability. The school systems will not support the teachers and the teachers are at risk of being sued if they do anything to help the kids. If they actually discipline or fail a kid then the parents are going to sue the school and the school is going to turn on the teacher and fire them to settle the lawsuit.

I don’t believe the draft would solve the problem either. While ending the draft may have contributed to general ignorance I believe it has given us a vastly superior military.

The only solution is personal accountability. I can’t help all the kids but I can educate mine and help a few others.

 

[pinoybaptist]

With the Internet all of us can read online newspapers from around the world and at least gain insights on what others are reporting and their take on events. It is interesting to read such papers, even when they are far out in la-la land. Check the Yemen Times for instance.:type:

The problem is that young folks are more interested in what's happening and what's new in the gaming world and such, rather than what's going on in the real world.

 

[Sopranette]

To be fair, though, other countries are only getting the image of the U.S. by way of their own media (Television, movies, etc.,), so it's not really an accurate picture. Don't you think Jay Leno edits his "Jaywalking" bit to get the most laughs? My father commented the other day that my children, his grandkids, are learning two or three years ahead of what he learned when he was their age, plus they can already use a computer. Also, we have invented a lot of tools that can do the work for us, so some skills are being lost.

love,

Sopranette

 

[pinoybaptist]

<snip>..Also, we have invented a lot of tools that can do the work for us, so some skills are being lost.

love,

Sopranette

agree.
oftentimes, when I worked as a pest control salesman back home, i would have to find out the floor area of a house in square meters, then convert it to square feet.
I always remember to check my gear and make sure my "brains" are in there.
you know, the old calculator.

 

[StefanM]

Government schools are not going to solve the problem. They only want to educate to the level of producing worker drones for our welfare state. Heaven forbid that young people actually learn to think and reason for themselves. If they did they might question the propaganda being fed to them under the label of ‘news.’

That's not true. Schools intend to produce educated citizens capable of critical thinking. Unfortunately, the students who simply do not care are passed on. That's not a fault of the intent but of the execution. I'm not that far removed from high school, and I can definitely recall that I sat in classes under dedicated teachers who taught us to think for ourselves, regardless of the conclusion we reached. They taught us how to "back up" what we said and believed and how to test information we heard. This was at a public urban high school.

However, I also sat in classes (the non-honors courses) that didn't do a whole lot of anything. The students didn't care, so the teachers couldn't really do anything with them. I have no idea how we can solve this problem. You can't force people to care.

 

[North Carolina Tentmaker]

That's not true. Schools intend to produce educated citizens capable of critical thinking. Unfortunately, the students who simply do not care are passed on. That's not a fault of the intent but of the execution. I'm not that far removed from high school, and I can definitely recall that I sat in classes under dedicated teachers who taught us to think for ourselves, regardless of the conclusion we reached. They taught us how to "back up" what we said and believed and how to test information we heard. This was at a public urban high school.

However, I also sat in classes (the non-honors courses) that didn't do a whole lot of anything. The students didn't care, so the teachers couldn't really do anything with them. I have no idea how we can solve this problem. You can't force people to care.

It sounds like you had some great teachers Stefan and I certainly recognize that there are many of them out there. Several I count as my personal friends. However, imho, they have become the exception and not the rule and I believe the entire system is flawed. There is no incentive for teachers to care and be dedicated to their students and those that started out caring have burned themselves out. Christian teachers with a real calling from God are of course the exception, but they grow weary over time and most do not get the support they need. Passing on students who don’t care is not as big a problem as passing on teachers who don’t care.

No you can’t force people to care, but you can recognize and reward them when they do. You can support them when they take chances and make exceptions. You can give them control over their curriculum and course content. You can throw out zero tolerance and replace it with common sense. And the ones who don’t care and don’t produce results you can discipline and punish and ultimately run off.

 

[StefanM]

I don't have a problem with those suggestions.

I would add another: We should strongly revise the standards for teacher licensure. BSE degrees tend to be very heavy on the educational coursework and lighter on the content than their BA/BS counterparts. For elementary school, the educational courses are completely needed. For older students, though, I believe that it would be preferable to lower the required number of courses for the education departments and to increase the number of courses in the content area.

I also believe that non-traditional programs of licensure should be more accessible.

Additionally, I think that teachers should be required to have at least a 3.25 GPA to teach, and I'd like to see a 3.5 in the content area, also. Exceptions could be made for areas of teacher shortage, but subjects with a current glut of instructors could benefit by having more qualified instructors. I know that graduates with MAs in history had difficulty finding any jobs in high schools because 1) They'd have to go through non-traditional programs (schools didn't want the hassle) and 2) They couldn't coach anything. I'm sorry, but I'm not willing to say that a person who barely graduated with a BSE and who coaches basketball should be in the classroom over someone with an MA.

 

[exscentric]

I have little good to say about the public schools, nor the humanism and socialism that the ones around here teach, but I don't know that the problem of not knowing about the world is related to schools.

America proper is so self obsorbed how could they ever know anything about their neighbors much less the Russians.

I was a latch key kid in the 50's before it was popular and I turned out fairly well. I was also in the service when there was a draft - still turned out pretty well - point none - just doubt either have a lot to do with the question of Americans not knowing about the world.

As to having a superb military now because of a volunteer only service - again have my doubts, most of the superness is technology, not lcommitment of those serving. Many of those serving today are in it because they wanted the money and education and many of the "volunteers" are crying in their milk because they didn't sign up for fighting.

American kids have been taught/allowed to be concerned mostly about themselves and this has led to a lack of interest in anything else.

Now if there is a point, maybe it is this - I'm 68 and personally I don't know much about the world either - Maybe it wasn't the schools even back when they were good, and maybe it wasn't the draft when it was around.

I've learned much of the world through the internet but feel very uninformed - it may be shrinking but it is still quite a large place :thumbs:

 

[righteousdude2]

They Have No Clue Because They Are...

I was talking with a young Russia Ph.D. theology student here in Prague this morning and he made a very interesting comment. He said:

"I believe that older Americans and older Russians do not understand each other. I do believe that older Americans and younger Russians understand each other. However when i meet young Americans I feel we are from two different planets. The do not seem to have a clue about our world."

Just curious what y'all think of this observstion.

The young folks have no clue to what is happening around them because they are immature and self-serving. Much like we were when we were their age. The problem is [IMHO], they're caught up in this Obamania craze because they are tired of the "the life as usual" that has been going on in the country for the past 20 years. I'm very afraid that their desire to vote into office a change in direction, will result in something that only "impeachment" can fix.

They mean well [the young folks], but, they are not able to discern the difference between truth and fantasy. Unfortunately, Obama is spreading pure fantasy, and the young folks are buying into it like the newest fad. They don't care if he can deliver on his "message of change" and when he fails to live up to the hype, they will be disillusioned with the political system, and probably move as far from the voting process as possible. It may take them years to trust another politician, but, it will be a lesson for their-life-time, and serve to make for a better society and better America once they get past the frustration of being let down by another "pretty faced, snake-oil-tonic selling, politician" wanting to be in the most high office of this nation, and willing to say anything to get there! Of course, this is simply my opinion, and I'm sure it will meet up with many opposing opinions, especially if those opinions are infatuated with Obamania.

Shalom,

Pastor Paul :type:

 

[4His_glory]

This could be said of many American adults I have met also. But then in all fairness, many people around the world only know what is fed to them through the media (US included), so unless you do a lot of traveling, do any of us REALLY have a clue about the rest of the world? We may think we do, but do we really?

Excellent observation friend. Many people here have an idea of what the US and people in the US are like. They have a view that is heavily influenced by anti-US media. However I find that most people in the US have no idea what other nations are really like. I have seen arrogance on from both sides.

There are so many misconceptions that are quickly corrected if one travels and though well informed mind can be achieved through study, some things are not understood until one actually experiences them personally.

Let me tell, you life in the US is a "Disney Land" compared other parts of the world and people in the US don´t realize how good they really have it.

On the other hand, life down here in Argentina is much better than what most people in the US expect. When they think of SA they think of spicy food, grass huts, sub-tropical jungles, and Spanish speaking indians. In Argentina they don´t eat real spicy food, they live in relatively nice houses, are not indian and speak Spanish with a unique accent.

 

[exscentric]

I bought a mini computer awhile back and have been reading on a forum that is a collection of folks that have the same computer. It is a help forum as well as a shoot the breeze place for EEE users. Just a bunch of normal people.

Someone asked where everyone was living. The people were from all over the world - Africa, South America, Europe, US and all points between. I had no idea it wasn't a bunch of Americans. (One was from Argentina!)

I think most Americans would be shocked to find out others in the world are just as modern and up to date as we are.

We supported a couple in South Africa a number of years ago and they sent us a picture postcard of the city/freeways!!!!!!!! NO NOT IN Afica :laugh: I couldn't believe that country was that modern.

 

[corndogggy]

Did you guys totally look over the part that said this Russian was going for their PhD? That means a doctorate. That means they are highly educated. You're comparing normal folks to somebody who is making a career out of learning. I can guarantee you that if you took a PhD student from America and made them talk to a normal kid from Russia, America, or most anywhere else, about current events, it wouldn't work very well either. If it makes you feel better to continue to bash our youth, go right ahead though, I'll try to stay off your lawn.

 

[exscentric]

Don't know that anyone is "BASHING" anyone - discussing reality. As to Ph.D. not being able to talk to a kid ???? are you aware that many Ph.D.s are fathers and talk to youth all the time?

 

[corndogggy]

As to Ph.D. not being able to talk to a kid ???? are you aware that many Ph.D.s are fathers and talk to youth all the time?

They talk to youths from other countries all the time?

First of all, most people are ALWAYS going to have bad opinion of the most recent up-and-coming generation since they are bucking the norm and act so different. It's always been like that. Every generation looks at the newer ones and think they have no discipline, respect, they're not knowledgeable about anything, etc.

Here at work we are having to make some financial products for the younger generation and we pulled up some old articles from back in the early 40's which was complaining about the young generation in this same manner. Keep in mind that this was the generation that we now call "the greatest generation". The difference between generations will always be striking and confusing. Nothing changes, the attitudes stay the same.

Now, with that in mind, are you _really_ all that shocked that somebody can look at a group of people who are not only from a younger generation, but also from the opposite side of the world in a country who was an enemy state not long ago at all, and also with nowhere near the same amount of education... then say that they seem like they're from a different planet? Well no kidding! Of course they're going to be! That shouldn't be surprising at all!