Are kids becoming dumber?

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Some forums are that way, huh....

*hugs*

Sorry..I normally don't have anything against what you have to say and simply agreeing doesn't seem to serve much purpose most of the time.

I like your tank girl avatar picture, though.

That's half of my posting history- seconding what I agree with. If I ever become a superhero I'll call myself Captain Agree. My nemesis would be Disagree-oh.

True, the permitting process alone is a giant headache. All based on the fact that society doesn't want to worry about (a) having to take care of you when you become disabled because your house fell on you (or some other disaster) or (b) having you pass on construction defects to an unsuspecting owner when you sell the property.

But don't despair too much. There are cabin kits, and playhouse kits, that come complete with pre-cut parts, specifications, and instructions. A guy I once dated built the addition onto his house all by himself. It can be done, if you put your mind to it.

I'm having trouble finding this post ...

One thing, I don't even look at who posted in deciding what to respond to. It's all voices to me, and I answer the one that catches my ear. Most of the time I don't even realize who I just answered, unless they have a distinctive style. Of course, I'm not here that much, but I can't be the only one who posts that way.

I notice the avatar first, but if I like what they say I respond. Strangely, I find that the PPR forums to be the least disparaging. If you have an interesting idea that piques their interest, you usually get an answer (usually flamed.)

Sorry I guess I need to stop taking stuff so personal. I just never see this issue brought up and it's a weakness I've had trouble overcoming. I get so sick and tired of people who are in a position of power expect people like me to fit within their norm of what's expected. I'll give you an example regarding poverty in America. This is the response I got like many others I get after I was discussing an issue about poverty and the lack of education and resources for kids who do not get to have the same opportunity as some people in America:


The reason those people are poor to begin with is because they didn't educate themselves. It's not how hard you work, its how smart you work, and those people didn't work hard enough in school.

There's a big disparity in education. And that's me talking from personal experience not only as having gone both to a private school and a public school but also talking from my experience with my friends and the different schools they went to.

I think it's absurd that people refuse to acknowledge public education is severely lacking. The defense I hear is mostly that it's a bad home life that causes the failure and that bad parenting will always result in bad results...but if the kids aren't getting the proper training at home then doesn't it, by default, fall to the schools? Isn't it merely hurting ourselves to let people fall through the cracks and become criminals who hurt society and bring us all down?

Don't take yourself as example for saying peoples were "smarters" in your time, nowaday there is a lot of kids who learn to read before going to school after all, but still, individual examples mean nothing; there always some dump and some smart peoples. Also, a lot of kids are reading "The Lord of the rings" and "The Silmarillon", which are not simple and stupid reading, not everyone but still many. The old litterature is not a good example either, for first we only remenber the good books and they were more easy to read in their time as their language is closer to what was curently used in their time. The newspaper had to become simpler reading because of a rise of litteracy, not a lower of it. Because more of the population can read, newpapers have become simpler in their writting to reach more peoples.

Absolutely, the disparity is huge. I've been researching education a lot these days for both my children and myself. I've been seriously considering applying to TFA (Teach For America) after learning more about just how bad the current inequities in education are, primarily for low-income students. During my research for choosing an appropriate district for my kids, It became real clear real fast that certain districts are said to be "unfit for dogs, let alone children."

It's real easy to say that poor kids have tough home situations that lead to their failure in school, but that excuse solves nothing. Teachers need to step up and take responsibilty for what goes on in their classroom. Of course it's hard and of course there will be some children who will inevitably fall through the cracks, but the status quo is completely unacceptable. There does seem to be quite a shakedown emerging with more and more states and districts adding school hours and doing away with tenure for underperforming teachers. Charter and magnet schools also appear to be getting the job done a lot better. Either way, something's gotta give.

As a parent who gives half her life to the school, one does have to wonder what happens when a school does not have parents who can do that. Here in CA, the state funding does not cut it. We parents are raising money for supplies, computers, assemblies, specialists, and so much more. It has gone way past the bake sale: we're holding festivals, tournaments, and silent auctions, and if a proposal can't raise at least $10,000, we're not interested. We're also in the classrooms acting as aids that the district cannot afford to hire. Without parents, the school would be failing - as many schools are. There just isn't enough investment to keep them working.

I also have a few gripes about educational priorities, but that hits more in middle school. My son can recite scientific facts like you wouldn't believe, and gets an A on every science test, yet his grade so far this quarter? A "C." I bring this up in every IEP, and outside of asking them to grade my son on his own unique rubric (which him and I do not want), nothing budges. He is "failing" on note taking, and summarizing his reading, all of which are designed to - - - help him learn the material to pass the test! But he can already pass the test, and these steps are mindless busy work to him, so he puts little effort into them, and gets D's for "failing to follow instructions" or forgetting to turn it in all-together. I even joined a school task force in hopes of making that sort of rubric illegal, but couldn't get anyone else to agree with me. UUUUGGGHHHHH. The emphasis on process over learning boggles my mind, and they insist it is a life skill that they MUST teach. Well, seriously, to a small degree I get that life skill point, but not at the extent to which they take it. Employers may love conformity, but they like results even better, and I have a child who can produce results when it comes to science. Take the A down to an A -, but not to a "C." How is that for a rant?

Oh, I can so relate! I remember getting into trouble as a kid for doing math in my head, and not on the paper. The teachers didn't care that I almost always had the right answer, they just wanted it done their way. The A to C jump is way too much. I suspect I'll be dealing with these issues all over again as my son gets older. Many schools have seem to have lost their focus on the big picture and their priorities are often off target.

The funding can be a trickier issue. I recently moved out of NY state from a county that had the third largest property tax rates in the country. The districts in the county were all well funded and quite varied from rural to urban. As one could expect, the suburban districts far outperformed the others and the urban district's performance was abysmal. Now I live in PA where the school taxes are much lower and therefore the funding is significantly less, but the performance is not much different at all from NY. The district that I currently live in boasts that it is one of the most finacially efficient districts in the country. Student performance is excellent and the district is very mixed, economically and racially speaking. They seem to be able to do a heck of a lot more here with a heck of a lot less - no silent auctions necessary.

Flynn effect; kids are generally becoming smarter.