Anyone who has been through the public school system in America, especially those recently, can attest to this. Not only that, but take a look at our culture, and it isn't a surprise to hear how mindnumbingly dumb American kids are when it comes to history.
Fewer than 25% of high school seniors know that we fought against China in the Korean War. 35% of 4th graders don't even know the purpose of the Declaration of Independence. Well under one in five 7th and 8th graders score "proficient" when it comes to history.
Not only history, but we lag far behind the rest of the world in math and science as well.
Why is this? Non productive rampant gang related activity play a major role in the inner city, urban test scores. Kanye West, Puff Daddy, and Eminem's psycho babble about raping women and "busting a cap in niggaz asses" are directly related to the dumbing down of the ghetto youth. And this ghetto subculture is quickly seeping into white American suburbia, which brings me to my next group of idiot students. The suburban middle class. While the urban kids are out robbing smoke shops, hanging at the tattoo parlors and being completely unproductive, the suburban, white, middle class kids are being just as unproductive. Sitting on Facebook and Youtube all day, playing Call of Duty Black Ops on their Xbox mommy and daddy bought for them, or watching MTV. Their lack of productivity is by no means illegal like their inner city counterparts, but it is non productive nonetheless. Then you have the white trash kids in Appalachia who can't afford nice TVs, video game systems, and sometimes internet. Sadly, they are simply born into poverty and stupidity. You can see this first hand in Donald Sutherland's PBS documentary "Country Boys". All I can say is, thank god for the Asian kids. They bump our scores up significantly! They are simply smarter, and know where their priorities are.
All joking aside, just look at our culture and it isn't hard to accept that we are just....plain....stupid people. We worship sports teams and players. Kids put sports achievement as a priority over academic achievement in America. In China and Korea, this isn't so. We spend hours upon hours of our days on social networking sites doing absolutely nothing but regurgitating useless information and further distancing ourselves from the real world. Just look at some of the idiotic babblings from American youths on Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Stupid teen movies like Transformers and Avatar with shallow messages and a whole lot of sexuality and special affects to keep them occupied and entertained. Cable channels like MTV and VH1 and stupid reality TV shows like this and this. Hip, cool, attractive politicians like this. Our culture is dominated and driven by entertainment and tells youths they can do what they want.
But the downward spiral of society is just the tip of the iceberg. Public education is also to blame. Specifically, the unproductive and fraudulent teachers unions. Public schools have failed their students. Instead of ranting for 30 minutes I'll let John Stossel explain it to you.
While you painted kids with a rather broad brush, by and large, I have to agree with most you say.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with the sentiment, and many points.
ReplyDeleteBUT
Our kids aren't stupid. We have failed them. Teachers Unions, Crappy teachers allowed to stay, Norming, not allowing them to fail. Activley allowing and making sports be more important than grades.Teaching to tests, shortening class time, growing class size, not forcing them to know english. Busing. The breakdown of discipline in schools. The poor legal decisions on what can be taught and what cant. The I'm ok, you're Ok mentality.
These are what has failed and these are what are stupid.
We have stupid crappy uninvolved uncaring parents.
We DO have a culture dominated by entertainment.
We DO use the TV as a babysitter.
But the worst of all; a Dept of Education that actively (and barely secretly) wants kids to fail and wants them to be good Democratic voters.
It's these tests, too. The STAR testing in CA has teachers ignoring subjects not on the test. Sad for our kids and our culture.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention the special interest groups (progressives) that have manipulated the text books over the years. Fox News had a special about this back in 2009. They target the children who are easily brainwashed into believing what they (the progressives) want them to believe. I also think parents must take a more active role in their children's education now that we know how bad it is getting.
ReplyDeleteYou can watch the FNC special at this link (sorry to send you to my blog, but all of the videos are there at the bottom of the post).
http://tclblogger.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-special-interest-groups-are.html
Unfortunately, I have to agree with most your sentiments here.
ReplyDeleteThey are taught to be stupid by
ReplyDelete1. Inattentive Parents
2. Popular Media
3. Socialist Teachers
Only the exceptional ones could possibly survive the onslaught. At 52 years of age, I have finally recovered. Hopefully I will live long enough to offer the lessons I have learned to those who "have ears to hear."
http://zenpatriot.blogspot.com
Hack, this is the #1 problem in America and has been for longer than most would believe. Here are some items for ya.
ReplyDelete- I walk into the lunch room at work one day around lunchtime, and as is fairly common there, employees kids are in there. It's 12:30 pm and BET is on, and there's a music video on with the lyrics "Read a book, read a book, read a Mo.. Fu... Book.
12:30 pm...
- The vast majority of other times I go in there, and it's nothing but sports. Sports being played, sports being talked about by the shows that talk about sports all day and night long.
How can people sit around these days and have the slightest interest in (usually some A**) making millions a year that they vote to give tax money to them in the form of supporting their infrastructure ! of a Private Business !
- No child left behind has resulted in most classrooms teaching to the dumbest sob in the room, which leaves kids with some intelligence bored to tears and LEFT BEHIND! This comes from many teachers past and present that I know personally.
It's over Hack. the commies have won. If this country doesn't vote for ultra conservatism in 2012, then that seals the deal.
Kook has a good point: It's the adults' fault.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, My kids hang around other kids who have responsible and adult parents. If one of the kids is going to a sleepover, I call the host parent to be sure its all on the up and up and that adults will be there.
I invariably get a "thank you for calling."
It ain't hard, parents.