American Millennials are among the world's least skilled

[rambot]

That is a two way street. When I go to pick my child up an hour early for a family need and I am told by staff it will count as an "illegal" absence, that adversarial relationship is being fostered by the school system. Choosing such language to use in relation to parents is a deliberate attempt to create the illusion the school system has the ultimate power over the children, as opposed to the parents.

So first off, when I look at this, it sounds like a poor, poor word choice by an administrator. Obviously, common sense dictates that it is not "illegal" to take a kid out early. Perhaps they meant "unexcused absence", but all of this seems like fodder for some other underlying issues.
Using phrases like "deliberate attempt" speaks MUCH more about you than the people you accuse (at least in this situation). As said, someone misspoke and you've chose to see that as a representation of an ENTIRE system. Schools recognize that the ultimate power over children is held by parents, but that doesn't mean that it's appropriate to cave to every single whim and fancy that a parent comes at. The "customer is always right" attitude is foolish and folly. You don't need a licence to parent; you don't even have to be sane. So you'll have to excuse teachers for now cowtowing to every whim of every parent. And if a parent presents as high maintenance and adversarial and this is rarely don't respectfully in my and my friends' experience, (which, there is NO DOUBT AT ALL, you do) don't expect to get treated with respect back.

If parents will not fight back against an overreaching school system imposing its will, no one will.

I thank you for proving my point. Continue with that attitude, and especially subconsciously doing so around your children and you will see the OUTCOMES of your education system erode very quickly.

Far too many parents operate under the illusion that teachers, by virtue of the fact they are teachers, are somehow superior in both intellect and judgement.

Relative to the GENERAL public, educators ARE superior in educational pedagogy and all aspects thereof, as well as child development. So, in aspects of education and development they ARE better informed and their judgement, frequently IS more sound. You don't have to like it but that is true.

In my opinion, parents with your attitude have misplaced pride. They believe that they understand their child BEST and what is best for their development. This is not always true. Those kinds of parents want them to share the EXACT same values as themselves. There's nothing wrong with that but let's acknowledge that as a natural tendency of parents. It can be a good thing even. But wanting your child to share your value system does NOT ALWAYS equate for what is "best" for your child.

This is absolute nonsense. A sizable percentage of public school teachers are among the dumbest creatures walking the planet, their IQ totally eclipsed by their ego. Your children need to know you will stand up for them, particularly where the public school system is concerned.

If you think of teachers as, you know, people, you would see that there is a wide variety of personalities. Some of them ARE stupid, some of them ARE cocky; some of them ARE self righteous. I take exception with your assertion that "a sizable percentage" of them. IF you have found that every teacher your child had was rude, pompous, curt, whatever, I'd bet 100$ it's because of how you treated them and they were simply mirroring your behaviour back at you. Besides, you have no basis for that claim. Why do you feel righteous in making such a negative claim about SO MANY people who are, regardless of their capacity, doing their best in an honourable pursuit?

Parents with that attitude are insufferable to teachers. NOT because they advocate for their kids. Teachers actually LIKE that. What they don't like is that many of those parents don't know when or how to advocate and for what. So instead, they just complain and whine and think they are advocating.

 

[HorsieJuice]

If, by more powerful, you mean that they require one or more enormous pre-coded frameworks or pre-compiled wrappers before the application will run, then sure....

By "more powerful," I mean they have a lot of low-level stuff already taken care of for yo, which allows you to get on with the business of making things.

 

[SepiaAndDust]

By "more powerful," I mean they have a lot of low-level stuff already taken care of for yo, which allows you to get on with the business of making things.

Ah, rapid application development. It has its uses, but I'd hardly consider it to be more powerful.

And I imagine that's a part of the problem. If coders don't know how to control the low-level stuff, they don't really know what their high-level code is doing.

If Little Johnny is whiz-bang at using a device to solve basic math problems, he may not have any idea how to add the sum of twenty-three and seven to the product of sixteen and thirty-four without one, let alone be able to figure out sales tax, recipe proportions, or the amount of a tip in his head.

But the calculator is never wrong!

True, but we don't learn much by getting the right answer. We learn by figuring out how we arrived at the wrong one.

 

[Skaloop]

I saved it because I fear it may get removed, given the language in it...


But yeah, handwriting has what to do with the ability to spell, use grammar, etc.? Though, I admit, I haven't noticed handwriting being removed from focus in school. I seem to recall, just a few years ago, helping my niece and nephew at the time with their homework, which most definitely included writing.

Or maybe they meant script and/or cursive, in particular? This may be the case. I am not sure.

They don't teach kids how to use an abacus anymore, either. Or a slide rule. As for writing in cursive, that's an outdated and unnecessary talent.

People of an older generation always seem to be complaining about the younger generation, even though the younger generation is better than the older generation at most basic skills.

 

[SepiaAndDust]

...even though the younger generation is better than the older generation at most basic skills.

Such as?

 

[Fenny the Fox]

They don't teach kids how to use an abacus anymore, either. Or a slide rule. As for writing in cursive, that's an outdated and unnecessary talent.

People of an older generation always seem to be complaining about the younger generation, even though the younger generation is better than the older generation at most basic skills.

It is one I am very fond of though.

Truth be told, I recall being always told "you'll need to know how to use cursive later, so learn it!" We never really needed it though. By middle school, it was too much trouble to read it all the time, and teachers preferred standard lettering, and sometimes typed. By high school, it was either standard lettering or, more often than not, typed. In university? It was nearly always a requirement to type rather than write anything handed in for any reason (sometimes with very very specific font/spacing/format requirements beyond the nearly universal 12 pt TNR/double space).

That said, I always have preferred to use cursive when writing things out.

 

[Aldebaran]

It is one I am very fond of though.

Truth be told, I recall being always told "you'll need to know how to use cursive later, so learn it!" We never really needed it though. By middle school, it was too much trouble to read it all the time, and teachers preferred standard lettering, and sometimes typed. By high school, it was either standard lettering or, more often than not, typed. In university? It was nearly always a requirement to type rather than write anything handed in for any reason (sometimes with very very specific font/spacing/format requirements beyond the nearly universal 12 pt TNR/double space).

That said, I always have preferred to use cursive when writing things out.

Same here. When I go online, I have a list of things written down that I want to look up. I use cursive when I write my list because it's a lot faster. Now, if someone asks me to write something down for them, such as directions, I would normally write cursive because that's natural for me. These days, I could do that and expect to hear from the person I give it to, "I can't read this because I never learned how to read/write cursive in school". Yikes!

 

[Fenny the Fox]

Same here. When I go online, I have a list of things written down that I want to look up. I use cursive when I write my list because it's a lot faster. Now, if someone asks me to write something down for them, such as directions, I would normally write cursive because that's natural for me. These days, I could do that and expect to hear from the person I give it to, "I can't read this because I never learned how to read/write cursive in school". Yikes!

I still use it if I write to other people, I never get that response. Honestly. But for all I know...it might largely be that the circles I run in most often would value something like penmanship and literacy a bit more highly than many.

 

[Skaloop]

Such as?

Typing. Computers. Math. Science. Rap. Tattooing. Sports. Communication. I could go on. Maybe they're not as good at doing long division with a pencil and paper, but how good are you at using an abacus?

Humans are tool makers. We make tools so that we can do tasks easier than if we don't have those tools. From making stone cutting devices to the abacus to the calculator to the computer to the smartphone, these are all things that allow us to reduce effort in one area so that we can improve in others without wasting our time writing out every single calculation, or doing hundreds of calculations when a computer can do millions in a fraction of the time. Yeah, if computers disappeared right now, we'd be in a bit of a pickle. But we could still teach our kids how to do long division with a pencil and a piece of paper. The fact that they don't have to do it doesn't mean they are any less brilliant or any less able to learn how to do it. But right now, why waste a bunch of time teaching kids anything other than basic mathematical processes when it can all be done by other means? Why not teach them how to harness that power to advance our knowledge?

 

[Skaloop]

Oops.

 

[Skaloop]

Same here. When I go online, I have a list of things written down that I want to look up. I use cursive when I write my list because it's a lot faster. Now, if someone asks me to write something down for them, such as directions, I would normally write cursive because that's natural for me. These days, I could do that and expect to hear from the person I give it to, "I can't read this because I never learned how to read/write cursive in school". Yikes!

So you'd have no problem reading something written like this?:

 

[Aldebaran]

I still use it if I write to other people, I never get that response. Honestly. But for all I know...it might largely be that the circles I run in most often would value something like penmanship and literacy a bit more highly than many.

Just wait until more of today's kid's graduate High School and enter the workforce in the years to come. The chances of encountering this will increase with time.

 

[SepiaAndDust]

Typing. Computers. Math. Science. Rap. Tattooing. Sports. Communication. I could go on.

Do go on. Then explain in what ways are the younger generations better than the older ones at any of the things you've mentioned.

I don't think rap and tattooing are basic skills, though....

 

[Fenny the Fox]

Just wait until more of today's kid's graduate High School and enter the workforce in the years to come. The chances of encountering this will increase with time.

My sister in high school also typically uses cursive. (In our case, it may be due parental influence though, since both of our parents use cursive in essentially all applications.)

I guess that I am largely, by choice I admit, surrounded by college students and graduates, many either Arts, English/Lit, or science majors. This may skew my experience, as I pointed out. I don't really associate very much with folks that are freshly out of high school or such. And my experiences in the work force (at least in situations I would ever see or use hand written anything) has mostly been with people notably older than me.

I may (read: almost certainly) be a bad example for this issue.

 

[SepiaAndDust]

Humans are tool makers. We make tools so that we can do tasks easier than if we don't have those tools. From making stone cutting devices to the abacus to the calculator to the computer to the smartphone, these are all things that allow us to reduce effort in one area so that we can improve in others without wasting our time writing out every single calculation, or doing hundreds of calculations when a computer can do millions in a fraction of the time. Yeah, if computers disappeared right now, we'd be in a bit of a pickle. But we could still teach our kids how to do long division with a pencil and a piece of paper. The fact that they don't have to do it doesn't mean they are any less brilliant or any less able to learn how to do it. But right now, why waste a bunch of time teaching kids anything other than basic mathematical processes when it can all be done by other means? Why not teach them how to harness that power to advance our knowledge?

The man who knows how will always have a job.

The man who knows why will always be his boss.

People who don't learn the foundations don't know why things work.

An imaginary number? What's that?
Don't worry about it--just plug it in here and you'll get the right answer.

That's not learning, and it isn't knowledge.

 

[TerranceL]

What does handwriting have to do with anything? I'm just gonna leave this here:

That must be why so many of them spell like 3rd graders.

 

[TerranceL]

So you'd have no problem reading something written like this?:

Uh...

Is that supposed to be difficult to read?

 

[Skaloop]

The man who knows how will always have a job.

The man who knows why will always be his boss.

People who don't learn the foundations don't know why things work.

An imaginary number? What's that?
Don't worry about it--just plug it in here and you'll get the right answer.

That's not learning, and it isn't knowledge.

I'll ask again, can you do math using only an abacus?

Can you make a variety of cutting tools out of rock?

Are you able to use a pendulum to determine the rotation of the Earth?

Kids today aren't stupid, they just don't have to waste their time on things, just like you don't have to waste your time using an abacus, making your own knives, or figuring out if the Earth is rotating. The development of human knowledge is built on what those before us have discovered.

 

[Skaloop]

That must be why so many of them spell like 3rd graders.

Example? And no, text-speak is not at the same low level as 3rd graders. It's an efficient method of advanced communication; it's not misspellings and poor grammar.

 

[Skaloop]

Uh...

Is that supposed to be difficult to read?

Laid out in alphabetical order, no, not really.

But I am betting that if given a script written using that style of font, you wouldn't read it as fast as you read something typed in Arial.