That sums it up. Watch it to the end.

KG2V:

Hold a mandatory meeting for ANY age range, and the majority of people will mentally check out before the meeting even begins. It's the usual 80/20 rule: 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people.


As far as the Jay Leno video is concerned, if you put people under pressure, they tend to forget things and fumble around with the answer. Then you can select which scenes to include for greatest comedic effect. The people who answer the questions correctly aren't included in the final product, so of course the average person in the final product appears stupid.

Jay Leno asks mostly political questions that anyone should know. He also gives hints, ruling out shyness as an excuse. Certainly the ones who rattle off the correct answers are screened out for entertainments sake, but the fact remains that a large segment of the population younger than the Baby Boomers is clueless. They cannot write in the names of most of the states on a blank map, cannot name the three branches of government, cannot name more than two or three of the amendments, and don't know what the Bill of Rights is. They cannot name pivotal events in our recent history or name key politicians like Vice President, and cannot even identify pictures of cabinet members. When I was in gradeschool and highschool. this material was drilled in and we all knew it. I don't blame the younger people, they have been dumbed-down regarding their rights and obligations as citizens on purpose by the government schools. Makes for a more docile population, and encourages an elite political class and 'rock-star' elections. Don't kid yourself, the problem is real.

Also, not that I have anything against my fine southern neighbors. Over the years I learned never to ask younger Americans where they think Canada is. The answers I have received will simply and utterly astound you....

So, for a long while, we didn't participate in our local public school system. We had our reasons, many of which were based on our own experiences in the broken school system. We home schooled, we went to alternative schools. We recently put my kids in the local public schools and now I know why people move to my school district. Now I know why a nearby community has been in court for 20 YEARS trying to get their kids into my school district. I've been bragging on my kids here for a while, but now I'll have to add in my kid's schools too. I had no idea - none - what it means to be in a school system that's mostly working.

There's these tests, and our schools just keep out scoring the rest of Pennsylvania - sometimes to an absurd degree - for example, there's this one test on science and statewide, the average school score was 74, but at our school it's 100.

Math is the same way. We're scoring consistently in the 90th percentile and higher. Reading - really any of it.

So my perspective is clouded by being in a wealthy school district with high performing schools.

My workplace is also full of high-performance people. It's intense, it's hard, it's mentally challenging. We have no openings for people who can't keep up - and as a result, in the depths of a massive recession, we can't staff up fast enough.

How to store food! I don't even mean advanced techniques like canning or drying -- just how to use a refrigerator or cooler, pack a lunch, or put away leftovers without poisoning yourself or others. Sigh.

ICK! hahaha! I left a slice of supreme pizza out in its box overnight... my 16 year old asked the next day if they could eat it for lunch!! ugh.

Same kiddo did not know how to put a key on to a key ring, and was unsure of where to put the "TO" address on an envelope.

*sigh*

It's very frustrating sometimes, to look at things that we view as common sense, and seeing them struggle with it.

[/quote] Also, not that I have anything against my fine southern neighbors. Over the years I learned never to ask younger Americans where they think Canada is. The answers I have received will simply and utterly astound you.... [/quote]

Don't be ridiculous. They all know Canada is somewhere near France, the birthplace of Hockey. All the Canadian players have Francy-sounding names, and Wheaties boxes there have Franchish writing on the back...

I don't think its just the younger Americans, it could even be Presidential Candidates.

BTW Congratulations on the preservation of Canadian National Igloo and Canada finally modernising your time keeping and going from the 20hr to the 24hr clock

"I had no idea - none - what it means to be in a school system that's mostly working."

School systems work only if the parents INSIST that they do. There was an incident in FL some years ago where the parents DEMANDED that the schools change from the insane see/say method of teaching reading to phonics/phonetics. Schools in Israel changed to the American method of teaching reading for three years and then the parents were SCREAMING to change back to the sensible method of phonetics.

But the US has been using the see/say method for generations, and the parents who were raised on it see no need for change -- after all, how would they know any difference when THEY can barely read? I read somewhere that 30% of Americans can't understand the instructions on a prescription label. That's beyond pathetic, it's criminal.

And schools that can't even teach kids to read certainly aren't going to teach them how to THINK. I guess "it's not their job".

Sue