It is undeniable that every generation looks at subsequent generations and laments, "Kids these days...". It is also undeniable that the effect is worstening. I fear that we ourselves are to blame. Why?
Who's raising the subesquent generations? The previous generations, that's who! I look around and see kids with no manners, no social skills, and a HUGE sense of entitlement. Why?
Blame computers? Internet? iPhones? Not entirely. A kid isn't simply born with an XBOX and a Bimmer- somebody must put it in his hands.
I honestly think that a vast portion of the problem boils down to, "I want my kids to have a better life than I had". This manifests itself as ever-decreasing discipline and responsibility in the household, growing up. "Dang, I hated "chores" when I was growing up, I'm not going to make little Lucy do them!". Or, "My first car was a trashed 1977 Celica that leaked fluids it didn't even have, so I'm gonna buy little Colton a new car so he doesn't have to worry about repairs." Ultimately, what do we have? Vast numbers of spoon-fed little oxygen processors that just couldn't cope with reality.
Any parents with school-age kids on here might see things like this: There is NO failing a kid in school anymore. It does not matter how far behind the program the kid is, we can't hurt their little ego by failing them, so they just get jammed through to the next grade. The result? Graduates that can't spell. Or find Romania on a map. Or whatever.
One of a million examples I have- My younger son was having difficulty learning how to print legibly. I noticed that his worksheets were not the "classic" style- you know the one- two solid horizontal lines with a dashed line in between- so that the kid would have a basic format to size and shape the letters. Nope. These sheets were just a blank page. Say, an "A" and a big blank space. then below that, an "a" and a blank space! Meet-the-teacher night came along, and I asked her where the lines were. "Oh, we don't use lines, they are too constraining"! WTF? So how the he// is my child to learn how to print? You would not believe her suggestions. Things like- "put some hair gel in a baggie and have him write on it with his finger. Or a baking pan with a layer of sand in it."
I said, "Brilliant. I can just see my son at 25 years old. He's on his way to his boss' office with his Betty Crocker Etch-A-Sketch, bucking for a raise. Halfway there, he trips on the shoelace that nobody taught him to tie. Now what?"
Back when I was a teen, and my mother was in her mid 30's, she went back to college. Because of her "advanced" age, her professors often employed her assistance marking papers. I remember one evening she was sitting at the desk in the living room, muttering under her breath with a stack of papers before her. I asked what was going on. She split the stack and handed me half, "Read these!" I did. Brutal. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar be dammed. And remember folks- this was before the internet, or textspeak! This was the late 1980's. College students, maybe 5 years older than I. Pathetic.
I could give you tens of examples in this vein. Unfortunately, they all lead to the same political rant- which obviously, I cannot get into here.
Yes- there are some wonderful kids out there! Smart, well-mannered, educated, social, able kids, that give a glimmer of hope to the future. Nowhere near as many as there should be. This is why I am more than happy to see younger folks on this forum- kids that are willing to learn, willing to get dirty, willing to turn a wrench. Good on you guys! (And the occasional girl!).
Oh- and one more point. Every now and then, I will see someone butcher a post, and another member will suggest he use "spell check". Spell check? THIS IS THE PROBLEM!!! Spell check is for when you tend to screw up "their" and "thier", or you just cannot seem to get through "governor" without goofing. Spell check is for a slip of the finger while typing, and you've just blown through an entire paragraph without noticing your error! Spell check is NOT a substitute for learning how to bloody spell!
That's why I used the term most kids. My 8yo daughter is more mechanically minded than her 17yo brother, but not as much as her 21yo brother. There's always exceptions to every rule...
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