Comments on: How Our Children Are Getting Dumber

By: Gay

Gay — Sat, 22 May 2010 00:41:12 +0000

I agree with Roy Leggett. The vets deserve better. Their health and their body ia ruined. My daughter was in the war several times. She has more wrong with her than I do and I ma 65. They are not getting all the money. Look where our money has gone. Give these foreign countries money. Why? We need to help our nation first. And just hand it out to aliens to live here. They get foodstamps, checks, health care and housing. We have vets homeless that are not able to work. We have welfare and SSi abused.
And for the kids, they get a chioce of what they want to learn. They don’t have to learn the things we did. If they want to take a guitar or some class that they may or may not work at at a later date then they do. I know some that have taken beautician classes. They don’t work at that. I know some that took guitar classes. They run around and drink and live on welfare. You don’t see many with these classes that go on to be someone. The basics we had to take is not mandatory. It is an option.
And now a days if a teacher suspends a child or calls in the parents, they really go down the teacher’s throat instead of looking at what their child did and punish them. I know dropouts that parents fought the teachers and the kids kept on till they turned 16 and dropped out. Teachers hands are tied but i have to agree with someone in this blog, they don’t teach like they use to.
When I was in school, and I applied the same principal to my children, if my child didn’t try, I went to the teacher to find out why. My momma said if the teacher or principal has to call saying you were punished, you will get it good when you came home. I told my daughter to do her very best and if she fails then it was her best. No goofing off.
Well, since someone mentioned NASA, it takes so many million dollars everytime a ship lifts off. And they say every time it lifts off it lets so much radiation back to earth. So this is telling me the ozone layer may have been from that.

By: Jean

Jean — Tue, 18 May 2010 00:16:18 +0000

I have been working for a college for 20 years. I was in administration for 9 of those years in the admissions and registration office. I remember so many college-age students coming in for their first year. They would come in after testing to register for the appropriate classes for which they scored. So many of them had to start with basic math, reading skills and basic writing skills. As parents, we have really failed our kids in grade school when full grown 12-year graduate students can’t even add 2 + 2 or comprehend what they are reading on a grade-school level. We cannot expect the teachers to do all the work. As parents, we need to reinforce what they are being taught in school on a regular basis. Too bad if little Johnny can’t go out to play or watch TV until the homework is finished. Kids need rules from little on up through college. These are the next citizens that will take over our country some day. We need to invest time more than money in our kids so we can help them develop good habits while they are young so that these habits can continue into adulthood with a good job that will support them without mom and dad’s help. Kids need the responsibility of making sure that their homework is done. Parents need to spend time with them afterwards to make sure that they are on track and learning what it is they need to learn to move on to the next level of academia. Let’s help our children advance into the next grade with the knowledge that they need to tackle the next steps to learning. American students should be able to read and write as adults and to comprehend a job application. I see so much of that in my current job in a career center where people of all ages come to look for work. So many older adults, as well as some young ones, have to bring someone with them to help them read and interpret a job description so they can apply. It’s really sad. How can we sit idly by while our kids are sailing through school without really learning everything they need to succeed in life as an adult? Let’s get involved and go to some school board meetings and ask questions. See what we can do as parents to help this situation so that all children can be a success in whatever career they choose. I was a grade school volunteer for many years and I made appointments to speak to the teachers of my children when they had problems. By working together, my children got the help that they needed and were ready for college right after high school. They are all a success today because a parent got involved.

By: JimEd

JimEd — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:59:06 +0000

Don’t throw money into the money-pit. We put 10X the money into education than we did 15-20 years ago and the kids coming out of high school and college are 15-20 times dumber. Ask a young clerk in ANY retail shop to subtract your purchase from the cash you give them. They cannot do it without the aid of a register or a calculator. Spelling, History, Language usage (English) – also atrocious. Yet they know how to use a condom and take a birth control pill, thanks to the lax parental supervision and liberal policies of the education system. We need dedicated teachers, not more teacher’s unions. Parents should accept much of the blame too! THey should get involved in raising their children and stop pursuing the brass ring. Don’t be your kid’s friend, they have friends at school and at playgrounds. BE THEIR PARENT!

By: Louis

Louis — Thu, 13 May 2010 01:20:28 +0000

I was incorrect, apparently. NationMaster.com lists the U.S. 3rd and 4th in spending, per student, for secondary and primary educaton, respectively. Given the comparative results, we are not getting our money’s worth. Obama is not stupid; he is intelligent, dedicated to his agenda, and evil. I may be an cockeyed idealist, but I still believe in the Constitution. With the rise of the Tea Party Movement, it may be making a comeback. And I think my post is better than Marilon’s.

By: Evelyn

Evelyn — Wed, 12 May 2010 22:30:02 +0000

I personally know a family like the child you are speaking of. These parents said all they wanted was for him to be happy. He now resides in Federal Prison. I can relate to your sister-in-law’s reason for leaving teaching. Another good teacher to bite the dust of teaching because of lack of good sense in parents and the School Board.

By: Evelyn

Evelyn — Wed, 12 May 2010 22:23:35 +0000

Good responce, Marilon. Top notched Post.

By: Evelyn

Evelyn — Wed, 12 May 2010 22:12:45 +0000

Louis, did I read you correct? Spends more money than any other Country? That wasn’t saying much, now was it? May I ask where you are getting your information? If the higher in grades the children go and the dummer they get then by the time they get out of College they will be ready to become our President, using Obama as a roll model. Constitutionally…..what constitutionally??? Obama has used our Constitution as toilet paper since he has been in office and you try to convince someone of Constitutional rights? Did you read what you wrote?

By: Patricia

Patricia — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:06:04 +0000

Way to go Steve…. You have just about hit the nail on the head. I have not read every comment, but I do feel that the parents are a large problem as well as the overwhelming fact that teachers have no power to control a student anymore. Recently my sister in law gave up her teaching job because they had given her a student that was larger then she and that was a big problem. His mother keeps saying she will bring suit if they do not treat him right. He belongs in a special school, but is in the public school and disrupts the class and causes trouble. He takes meds but sometimes his mother says he doesn’t want to take it in the morning so he comes to school without and is even more of a problem. Recently a teacher had to hold him to keep him from hurting himself and the mother called her up on charges for putting her hands on the boy. The teacher was reprimanded. Can you believe that.
At any rate the lace of the teacher to control the students is a major problem in the schools today.

By: Marilon

Marilon — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:11:52 +0000

All this rhetoric regarding one expense against another is irrelavent. The bottom line is the lowering of expectation from the students. When most of us were in school you got whatever grade you actually did the work for and your grade reflected that effort. In recent years the “leave no student behind” theory has enabled the promotion from grade to grade of pupils NOT able to do the required studies. Letting the grades establish the pass or fail is the only way to encourage today’s spoiled young folks to do what IS required to learn. Passing little Johnny or Janie to the next grade whe he/she cannot even do the basic things like spell or do basic math is just like throwing a non swimmer into the middle of the ocean. Though they may not sink to the bottom immediately, they will continue to flounder throughout the school years, actually holding back the rest of the class as the next teacher tries to help this unprepared individua(s)l come up to the standard the rest of the class already has. To top that insult off, the entire group is learning that mediocrity in performance is acceptible. Let the differently abled students fail if necessary so they can learn to persevere, and reward the ones who excell with the promotions they deserve. THAT is the reality of the real world, and babying them just to make the school dostrict look good on paper is false psychology.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:55:23 +0000

I am afraid you are correct in stating that our children are not progressing like other countries. Just look at most of the replies that have misspelled words or are grammatically incorrect – “Even with spelling and grammar checkers” built into the system. This is plain laziness, period.