US high school students are dumb as a rock

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Yes, nobody seems to care. I have discussions with young folks and it's as though they were taught next to nothing in school. Almost a total blank stare when I try and talk to them about real history or bring up our nations founding. They do however seem to know all about how the Native Americans were exploited, the Japanese-Americans interred during WW2, and Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement.


I think that hits the nail on the head. I don't think they are dumb, it's that the schools don't teach what they used to. I know kids who never heard of Mark Twain but know every little detail about Rosa Parks.

John

 

[Turk]

Originally Posted By: John_K
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Yes, nobody seems to care. I have discussions with young folks and it's as though they were taught next to nothing in school. Almost a total blank stare when I try and talk to them about real history or bring up our nations founding. They do however seem to know all about how the Native Americans were exploited, the Japanese-Americans interred during WW2, and Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement.


I think that hits the nail on the head. I don't think they are dumb, it's that the schools don't teach what they used to. I know kids who never heard of Mark Twain but know every little detail about Rosa Parks.

John


Then you have to look at who's teaching the kids and what's their affinity/stance on what they teach the kids.

As an example, Teach kids to have feelings for deer, etc. and make them look like they're human and the kids will treat them that way. Teach & raise them that they're meat for our consumption and to hunt, they'll hunt & eat them.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
This is intentional. Smart people are terrible consumers.

+1 Or maybe would go against the status quo...

 

[typ901]

Knowledge or lack of is not the problem here, it is the lack of caring to learn and improve one's self and others around them. Same was said about my group 'Gen-X'! Attitude is 90% of life...something like that.

I had a friend in H.S. who could not change a tire (literally), but got a 34 on his ACT without studying, stayed up late the night before drinking.

 

[Rand]

I didnt know (for sure)a couple .. I consider myself fairly smart.
but most of those are DUH questions.

How many justices are there on the Supreme Court? 7?(guess)

What is the supreme law of the land? If its not the constitution... I'm fail.

note I didnt use google etc

edit: just saw the post above..
I used to date a girl. she had a masters degree.. bother her parents had doctorate's and taught college..

none of them could put air in a tire, add oil or change a windshield wiper blade. Her brother was working on his masters..didnt even know FWD or RWD...

 

[rg200amp]

It's just our society. Today we are not expected to know much about the country or world history.

Everyone is to busy living in the now. No wonder we don't really know what was going on 1000's of years ago. We can barely get people to tell us what happen 50 years ago.

I personally find some history EXTREMELY interesting and dare I say, entertaining.

I can read about the Cold War for hours on end.

You can't make that kind of stuff up!

 

[cchase]

I feel like I have to discount the linked article. It's so poorly written I have to wonder if the author is not a recent product of our school system.

Quote:
Our children are spoiled and lazy, our schools do not challenge them and students in Europe and in Asia routinely outperform our students very badly on standardized tests.


Huh?

Frankly I blame the focus on organized sports and parents who can't be bothered raising their children as fully 75% of the problem today.

And the Super Bowl is a prime example of the wastefulness and misguided priorities in this country.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: rg200amp


I personally find some history EXTREMELY interesting and dare I say, entertaining.

I can read about the Cold War for hours on end.

You can't make that kind of stuff up!



I'm the same way. I love reading history now. I hated it in college and high school. Without knowing the past, you won't have any frame of reference for what the future will be like or why the world works the way it does.

 

[dparm]

After browsing that website, I must say it is rather one-sided...

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
My generation is no worse than the previous. Not that that's saying much. Most people in general are stupid. My aunt who has a master degree couldn't figure out how to use the vacuum at the car wash..... didn't understand the concept of put sucky thing to carpet and move around in a motion thus picking up dirt. Its trully very sad.

Lol...funny post.

 

[rjacket]

The free market will correct all of this. All the money is going to China and India because of the skill level and lower wages. China and India will become rich and buy more and more of the US assets. The US will turn into a tourist nation visited by the Chinese and Indians. Manufacturing will return to the US because China and India will become too expensive. The skill level will return to the US and the cycle will start again, in reverse.

 

[Astro14]

Wait - Drew99...are you really saying that high school students are dumb as rocks after defending the high school student who gave her friend the prescription inhaler?

so...are they dumb? or smart enough to dispense prescription drugs to each other?

just wondering....

Personally, my high schooler (and his older sister, now in college) is very smart...but hey, it's my son...so...

 

[sciphi]

There are lots of people in my generation who I cannot hold conversations with since the English language that I use is not the one they use.

The system is so focused on identifying failure that there is nothing to reward for success. There are tons of remedial programs available, yet gifted/talented programs are being cut. There's no incentive for a smart kid to try hard, so they don't. Then, by the time it comes to high school they are used to not working so they don't apply themselves.

 

[Nick R]

I'm not surprised by this at all. I remember in high school, the number of kids that read out loud out of books so slowly, and couldn't pronounce half the words. It's disgusting. I'm awful at math, but not for lack of trying. However, I read quickly and accurately, maybe because I've been reading high level books since 2nd grade, most kids I know don't read at ALL, because "It's uncool" or "I could be watching TV". etcetera.

I am fairly proficient at history, I knew the answers to all the questions they asked. It's true. Kids are lazy, they don't care, and while some of the teachers do, many don't.

They just aren't motivated to do any better. Maybe if they had something to strive for, it would be better. I've been saying for years, if NASA got the funding it deserved, and we had colonies on the moon, and were working on mars, etc, there would be many, many more kids taking an interest in science and math, because they'd have something to try to achieve.

Instead we pour millions into an education system that is fundamentally broken- partially because of the schools, but more because of the kids, and the parents, who just flat out don't give a [censored].

 

[3311]

I would love to see a graph of students proficiency in math, science, etc. for 3 decades before and after the formation of the Department of Education.

 

[Kestas]

Take the linked report with a grain of salt. Some other countries (Asian) only report how well students from their elite schools are doing. Not fair. I imagine many of these countries have their fair share of dumb as a rock kids.

Thankfully, most of the kids I run into aren't Jaywalk dumb.

 

[Turk]

...and some US schools falsify student records to rank better than other schools.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: tpitcher
...and some US schools falsify student records to rank better than other schools.

Were you thinking of Claremont College perhaps?

 

[Turk]

I give my Step-kids $10 for each "A" they get for incentive for achieving. Nothing for "B's". One (16 YO) is a 3.8 GPA and the other (13 YO) is a 4.0 GPA.

The 13 YO just got 9 "A's", so she gets $90. Four quarters, it's real money, but worth it so they understand the working world will award them for excellence when they grow up.

 

[mechtech2]

We see the results of this ignorance and misinformation at elections.