Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?
In Mark Morford’s “American Kids, Dumber than Dirt” the article is somewhat of a warning to our society about future generations. I think Mark Morford wants to show how kids are continuing to become less educated and how it continues to grow worse throughout the years. The effects of kids becoming more uneducated is influenced by several factors. Factors including a school system that fails to teach, technology taking over kids minds, and the failure to have common knowledge. But with all of the negative factors, he shows how some kids have been and can be beneficial to society. Even if there is only a little bit of hope, he wants to inform readers that there is still hope that there are kids out there
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who are brilliant and will continue to change the world. In the article, it explains how generations are becoming less educated and with this issue, there are many factors that are included.
The minds of kids are continuing to revolve around technology and unhealthy foods. The mind of an average student is being taken over by the use of cellphones and watching television for an extended time.The use of technology plays a huge part in kids not being educated, since kids are always on their electronics and lack the skills to properly socialize with others. Kids aren’t being taught how to be or treated like adults and this is affecting the way they act to adults and how they will act when they are older. They grow to be apathetic and don’t take the time to consider other people’s feelings. Kids lack the ability to do the simplest things and are becoming more lazy as they grow. When kids are asked simple everyday questions they never seem to know the answers. The education system has played a part in kids not being educated correctly and they need to find a way to educate students correctly and more efficiently. But, with all of this said about kids not being smart enough, there are still brilliant minds in our generation and future generations. Those kids are the ones that spark the hope in the people who think that kids aren’t smart enough to do anything. If there is not a change in our society, then the future for kids is going to fall into a deep hole that no one can get out
of. I found this article to be very eye opening. I’ve never really looked at our generation through the eyes of someone who strongly believes kids are getting less educated. But, I was also really glad to see the author has hope in the kids who are different from the average kids. I’ve noticed as years pass, the amount of laziness our society has continues to increase. You can walk around your neighborhood and you won’t see anyone playing outside. I strongly believe that technology is taking over our society. Everywhere you go you will see people with their eyes glued to the screens and the lack of acknowledgement of others is quite shocking. Kids lack the ability to talk to share the feelings and emotions, because they can simply do it over a screen. I think the school education system does affect kids, but I also believe there are teachers who really care to teach students, and usually it’s the kids who choose not to listen and open their minds to new ideas. I think kids don’t take school seriously, because they are apathetic and lazy. It’s sad to see the kids that want to succeed be labeled as lazy when it reality they are trying their hardest to do good in school. I still believe there are kids out there that are world changers and can really benefit our society. I believe that any kid can become educated, but only if they are willing to work for it.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said:“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” Mr. Roosevelt was indicating that education is key to ensuring a positive future for our country. Years have passed since his presidency, and many can argue that America’s educational system has improved, but that still remains to be seen. While it is true that education has gotten more focus in recent years, as highlighted by the “No Child Left Behind Act,” it does not mean that the system is fully developed enough to aid all of America’s children. Now, the average American is just that: average. Children generally receive B’s and C’s, average grades, in school if they are lucky enough to be in a good school system. Literacy rates are lower than they seem, and not enough people are properly motivated to do well in school. Forms of entertainment and parental influence, which also play a large role in the development of children into successful, productive adults, are not where they should be with respects to education. Much more needs to be done to improve the educational system of the entire country. Preschool should be made mandatory to help individuals reach their full potential and achieve what only a minority of today’s society is currently capable of.
For example, “as Americans, we have quite a proud tradition of being represented by ignorant high-ranking officials.” Moore states students no longer have the information nor the skills needed in their libraries because of the budget cuts, despite that, “the ultimate irony in all of this is that the very politicians who refuse to fund education in America adequately are the same ones who go ballistic over how our kids have fallen behind the Germans, the Japanese, and just about every other country with running water and an economy not based on the sale of Chiclets.” Moore explains instead of helping the future of the United States and making school first, Americans are gaining knowledge that is useless to this society, such as facts about sports, he states, “Why on Earth am I retaining that useless fact? I don’t know, but after watching scores of guys waiting for the ESPN show, I think I do know something about intelligence and the American mind” nevertheless, they lack the information such as facts about own country. In addition, he mentions this nation has an obsession with testing, for example, resorting to testing and believe their problem would suddenly be fixed because of the test results improved. Although he claims Americans are obsessed with testing, he wants the, “so-called political leaders” to be tested the same way they test others in this
He seems to force what he says, rather than having a natural tone, causing the reader of the article to be left with a feeling of discontent. Although he only focuses on the negatives that those of the past have done, his argument is direct. No matter what generation you are from, it seems one always suspects the other of either ignorance or reckless abandon. It is easy for someone of the younger generation to point fingers at those who raised them, while taking no responsibility to take control of their lives. He does leave the reader with more awareness of a problem students face upon leaving school. This article is a persuasive piece due to the usage of Brooks principle message and literary
... with unlimited advanced technological opportunities we will continue to see problems in this area. Children are exposed to technology at ages as young as two years old. It is easier for a parent to hand their child an iPad rather than to teach them singlehandedly. So again I say that the blame is not necessarily the technology but rather the parents fault for allowing the technology to take ahold of a young child’s developing mind.
Every day people are around technology there is something new learned. I feel as if this century kids will either be really disciplined or
How will this growing problem be fixed, not only in the United States but the world as well? One important action is to continue the effort to improve schools worldwide. Schools in poorer areas of districts would benefit from a greater number of better trained teachers and faculty. Other actions to help improve schools would be to add more leadership and extracurricular activities, encourage students to focus and stay in school, and making things such as school lunch and recess better. It is important to have students enjoy being at school and enjoy learning, otherwise they'll lose intere...
In the first few paragraphs, author attracts the attention of the reader and explains the main point of the article. The author begins the article saying that she “Pity[s] today’s parents who want to do the right thing.” The sentence attracts the audience to continue reading the article because the sentence sparks curiosity in why the author pities today’s parents. The article continues, “They [parents] buy child-rearing books, explore over psychology articles, play Mozart in nurseries festooned with alphabet cards and the periodic table.” Parker shows good persuasive technique by describing an exaggerated scenario of what parents are doing these days to try to develop their child’s mind.
Education has always been in existence in one form or another. As each child is born into this world regardless of who or where they are born, life lessons immediately begin. He/she will learn to crawl, walk, and talk by the example and encouragement of others. Although these lessons are basic in the beginning they evolve as the child grows. However, the core learning method of a child does not change. Learning from others, they will watch, listen, and then act for themselves. Thomas Jefferson believed that an education would lead men and women to the ability to be self-governed and become positive contributors to society (Mondale & Patton, 2001). Today, we can see how true this is by the examples of others. Those that are given the opportunity for education are more likely to find jobs and develop skills that not only improve a community, but influence the economic growth of their nation (Ravitch, Cortese, West, Carmichael, Andere, & Munson, 2009, p. 13). On the other hand, if an education is not provided to individuals, they can become a hindrance to that nation’s growth.
...of getting them an actual book knowing that it would only sit there. According to Andrea Lunsford, 38 percent of writing takes place outside of a classroom. She also said that we are in the midst of a literacy revolution. This generation has more access to knowledge than anyone ever has. This generation is in for something great. There might be evidence why Generation ‘Y’ is the smartest but with the ignorance of facts, by choice, and the lack of education, Generation ‘Y’ is considered to be the dumbest generation.
Education is the area that society needs to be concerned with, according to a study
The education we get today will help us prosper in the future, and the mor...
Modern high school students lack the knowledge of past generations. This is a detrimental happening in society. Current students in high school do not partake in academia like previous learners. Technology has curved society into a ‘phone in hand at all times’ culture. Many scholars do not even open a book, they rely on Google and other forms of shortcutting to the answer. The deficiency of literature in present day culture creates a deficiency growth of information. The dumbing down of the current generation could have long reaching effects. This can be seen in Fahrenheit 451, where with the destruction of books, the government controls the ability to accumulate knowledge and be unique.
In the video Robinson states, “I believe that we have a system of education that is modeled on the interest of industrialism and in the image of it”. Even though many things have changed since the 18th century, the current American educational system is still the same as it was back then. Robinson states that schools are still organized like factories. “ Schools are still pretty much organized on factory lines ringing bells, separate facilities, specialized into separate subjects. We still educate children by batches, you know, we put them through the system by age group.” All of this leads to limiting the students with their learning, by forcing them to work faster or slower than the pace they learn. Not all students work the same way as others do, some do better in groups while others work just as well alone. This all leads to many thinking that there are only two types of people, smart or non smart people. “They have twin pillars, economic and intellectual and my view is that this model has caused chaos”. The chaos Robinson is talking about is the ADHD “epidemic” that the U.S is facing because of how different the 20th century is from the 18th century. “Our children are living in the most intensive stimulating period in the history of the earth. They are being besieged with information and coerced for attention from every platform: computers, from iphones… And were penalizing them now for getting distracted. From what? Boring stuff.” The thing is that there is no progress with adapting the educational system to our way of life, the only thing changing is the amount of standardized test American students take and the medicines they are taking in order to focus in class. Robinson pointed out how “ADHD has risen in parallel with the growth of standardised testing” and the only thing that parents and doctors are doing is
Technology is so easy for the youth to access and there are many things that affect children through the use of technology. Children can misuse technology by accessing inappropriate materials, most kids today have smart phones and are able to access this so easily. Another reason children are affected by technology is that they are never taught how to properly use it, so they begin to think what they are doing is okay, when it is not, at a young age. My generation is more prone to the misuse of technology because they have grown up with it and it has been apart of their childhood. As technology becomes more developed it will be more vibrant in children’s lives and as they grow up it will become more of a part of their childhood. The more it is in a child’s life the more it will become more known. I did not receive a phone until I was 14 and it was not even an IPhone, but today there are children who have IPhones at the age of 8. This affects children because they are becoming more dependant on technology as a young child and they think that it is alright to depend on technology. They are given technology and they do not know how to use it properly nor do they know that it is not okay for them to depend on technology and that they need to depend on their minds to do things not just technology. The more technology comes involved in children’s lives the more it will affect them throughout their
Children of all ages everywhere these days seem to only depend on the internet. The internet is an amazing creation, but people take advantage of it. Since there is internet there is access to all kinds of social media, games, and all sorts of other things. However, because of today’s society internet is one of the only things kids use and go on, whether it’s go on Facebook for hours or watch ridiculous videos on YouTube, the internet is taking a negative turn towards children, their brains, smartness, and attitude. Despite helpful or early learning programs, the internet does not make children smarter.