What are American children learning?

It could be that they are just a bunch of greedy bastards too. I would guess (though I have absolutely no facts to back this up), that it is a small percentage that actually believe in the apocalypse as opposed to those who claim to believe in it, in order to pilfer the coffers of our progeny.

Well, that's a given.
The question is, why are they willing to screw up their long term wealth for short term gains?

Which is what my post was trying to address.

As for the apocalyse, I think it is only the mid-level or below folks that believe in it, with a few possible exceptions. But I definitely think it is used by the others to justify short-term thinking.

To bring it back to the topic ...

I'm not sure how these kids came to arrive at this conclusion, but I was always taught that free speech was a good thing ... and why. Although I DID have a journalist for a father.

However, when the war just started I heard a lot of kids going "Yeeeaaahhhh lets nuke the mothafuckas!!!!111one"

Not because they understood WHY we were going to war, but because it seemed ... like it would be fun ... to be at war.

Most kids just really like being at the mall and listening to Simple Plan.

It's kind of sad, no?

Absolutely. I don't think this is a new thing. Human nature is all about self interest. It always has been. The problem is just magnified now compared to past decades because our cultural expectations have morphed. Everyone expects the easy ride to wealth and glory. The "land of opportunity" mindset used to denote a belief that if you worked hard and blazed trails you could achieve your dreams of prosperity. I don't think it means that to people so much anymore. Now "the land of opportunity" equates in people's minds with lotteries, sweepstakes, MLM, stardom, and other such nonsense. It's mirrored in our entire culture, from the way news and information are packaged, to the way food is packaged. It's all about "quick and easy." I'm a big fan of convenience but it's coming at the heavy price of changing our expectations. What happens when we start to expect freedom and liberty to work like a microwave dinner? We end up with a society that doesn't think more than one step ahead.



That's exactly it! Combine a populace that will always seek the path of least resistance with megacorps that care only about the bottom line and ruthless efficiency where ethics is an inconvenience, who must always create the perception of need where needs didn't previously exist, and you get Ameriduh The Stupidful.

We have to ask ourselves why this defeatist mentality exists. Why do we, the citizens, allow the states to create a system of education which is predestined to cripple our childrens critical thinking skills? Teaching critical thinking is not easy and the instruction begins at home. The teachers would be required to actually teach the thought processes involved in a subject instead of just teaching children to pass a standardized test, which means that a bachelors in general education will not cut it. This would also require that the parents play an active role in the education of their children. A role that goes beyond complaining that a book contains a curse word and should be taken out of the curricullum before reading it oneself, an active role beyond showing up to defend our children after they have been disciplined. We would be responsible for teaching our children, our teachers and the community the difference between questioning authority or a premise and displaying a lack of respect, the difference between free speech and insolence.

The student calling the teacher a bitch from the back of the room learned that behavior would bring about a desired effect, not being expected to achieve the goals of the class. The teachers have learned to treat all students equally so the student who questions the validity of a teachers premise will also be considered disrespectful and disruptive. This happens when the teachers are not armed with critical thinking skills and the parents have not taught the children proper methods of communicating needs. Both parents will come to the aid of their children and blame the school system for not handeling the situation appropriately which further cripples the teacher. It is a visious cycle perpetuated by our need to force equality through standardized methods of teaching. We cannot control the manner in which the parents raise their children, therefore, all children are not equally prepared for learning in a social environment.

It is the dryer lint who fall through the cracks as they are the average students. The small population of genius will be cultivated, the small population of "problem" children will be given special attention but the average student is left with oversized classes and unqualified teachers. Whether or not this is a conspiracy is irrelavent, it is simply the truth. What is conspiratorial is the fact that the US prides itself in banning such books as Animal Farm, Catcher in Rye and The Color Purple stating that they are protecting children from unsavory material. In an effort to appease everyone, we have allowed the teaching process to be dumbed down, trading intellectual freedom and critical thinking for protection from uncomfortable, difficult subjects. Our children are not stupid by nature but by nurture. We avoid critical thinking because it requires active thought and so our children will be forced to do the same. We teach children that speaking out makes you an extremist, that questioning authority makes you a traitor, that the act of willful disobedience is always wrong regardless of the reason bacause it is far more condusive to the creation of a controllable population.

Cursing, we say, is always bad. We do not give our children the ability to differentiate between the proper placement of an expletive and the random cursing in a classroom environment. We just say it is wrong because I said so. The same holds true with nudity, sex and insubordination. We teach them in a black and white method when the world is actually grey. What an easy mark for the governments to come. Those who are taught that only the criminal mind questions authority and only the good sit quietly waiting for orders. Those who are taught that 1984 is the equivalent of the unibombers manifesto and that Faulkner is the equivalent of gangster rap will never become tomorrows philosphers or critical thinkers. In a world truly concerned with cultivating tomorrows leaders, we would be teaching the ability to think without restraint, question without fear and communicate without oppression but doing all those with respect for those around you. This is not the case in the US. The reasons are many and the implications are grave. The solution, however, is not easy and would require that we take back the control from the government we handed our children over to at the age of 5.

"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."—Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas," The One Un-American Act," Nieman Reports, vol. 7, no. 1 (Jan. 1953): p. 20.

This is why I love the forums! Where else would I get a great line like Ameriduh the Stupidful! That's as good as Sheeple.

Thanks Chip.

Hehehe my pleasure Rose! I just made it up

Thanks to Isis who posted a link to Fred, I found something that he wrote which is very applicable to this thread: http://www.fredoneverything.net/FOE_Frame_Column.htm

It's a great article and it had me reminiscing about all the wonderful books I read, bugs that I caught and potions that I made with my chemistry set.

In remembering that, when I compare it with what I see today - instead of reading, they watch TV or play on the computer, instead of chasing bugs and examining the natural world that they live in, they hang out at the mall.

Commercialization, the media and television seem to have done a lot more damage to the education of our children than even the government.

The article...hehe
http://www.fredoneverything.net/Gilbert.shtml
Portrait Of A Literate American
Actual Photo, Doing Something With A Trowel In The Garden

Both those links lead to the same column, which was the one posted in the other thread.

Damn frames!

Rose your point is probably closest to the truth that I have heard. Where are those chemistry sets, gone due to the fact that we expect our children to make chemical weapons and meth instead of a volcano or potato battery. Where are the children outside collecting worms, snakes and bugs, gone because that is too dangerous. Rockets are weapons, club houses are predestined to be gang headquarters and anyhow if a kid has a club someone may be excluded, soccer and dodgeball are no longer allowed because someone has to lose. Hyper kids are given drugs instead of focused play time and a run around the gymnasium.

Like Chip said it is the easy way out, the path of least resistance and the one most likely to create a colony of ants incapable of intelligent thought.

haha...I was wondering what the heck was going on lol. So we read the same one in the end.
Maybe we should change the linky to the printer friendly versions?
http://www.fredoneverything.net/Gilbert.shtml

Absolutely. Most Webmasters have utterly abandoned frames-based sites. At any rate, to find the *actual* content URL for the page on the right frame of the frameset:

1. Right-click within the right frame (or do whatever you Mac ppl do for pop-ups )

2. Select Properties from the pop-up.

3. Select the Address/URL info and copy.

You'll end up with something like this:

http://www.fredoneverything.net/ObjectiveNews.shtml