In the course of working a few days ago, I overheard an interesting conversation between a couple of 60 yr old+ school teachers and some friends of theirs. They were discussing the state of American education today, and brought up a couple of things I hadn't considered, but they make sense as far as the declining education our kids seem to be getting these days.
One of them said that many of our children can't do basic math anymore. Computers and calculators have created a lack of need for learning how numbers work, how they are computed, and what numbers represent.
Another observation (by one of them who is an English teacher)- when she gives her students an assignment to compose and write a paper, many of them are actually using text messaging abbreviations in the body of their papers..
Those two things, plus the fact that students aren't generally taught cursive writing anymore are a concern to me personally. It sounds like technology is one of the barriers to learning.

I don't find it so surprising that kids used text speak in their papers, so much as I find it appalling that they apparently think that's "okay" to do. Which tells me that their previous teachers didn't teach them any better. If teachers give them a big fat F on papers that aren't written in ****ing english, then I bet they'd stop writing in text speak.

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To tax the larger incomes at a higher percentage than the smaller, is to lay a tax on industry and economy; to impose a penalty on people for having worked harder and saved more than their neighbors. ~ John Stuart Mill

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I have seen the same thing.

I learned to do math pretty well, by being responsible for keeping score when our family would go bowling (the old score sheets).

Now they have computers that do it automatically.

I exchange texts with my children fairly often and they know better than to use text speak with me.

They grumble about needing to capitalize, punctuate and spell words out...but they do it out of respect for their dad.

As far as cursive writing, I'm not quite so hung up on that.....after watching my oldest son struggle with dyslexia.

Once I bought him a word processor for high school, he really blossomed....in spite of his problems.

In fact, allowing me a moment of child bragging.....he earned his degree in anthropology 5 years ago and has just been hired as an assistant curator for a world class museum.

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I'm not really hung up on it, but I think that cursive writing is useful for helping people with "flow" of thoughts expressed into the written word. It's more creative than the mechanical nature of printing and typing. Not a big deal to most people, but for a left-brained individual like myself, every little bit of help in the creative side of thinking is important.

On that I would agree.

Quite frankly, one of the things that brought me to the attention of management when I first started on the railroad... was the fact that I had good penmanship and could spell.

I believe that set me on the path of promotions, ahead of my peers who had been there longer than myself.

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I know this is a little off topic..

I think that technology is actually impairing the new generation's ability to interact with people IRL. Young adults won't look people in the eyes. They ask questions while they look down and mumble.

I've seen them at the mall standing in a circle with their cell phones out texting to each other! While they're standing 2 feet away!

Something is wrong

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"The ultimate decision about what is accepted as right and wrong will be made not by individual human wisdom but by the disappearance of the groups that have adhered to the "wrong" beliefs."
-- F.A. Hayek

I've seen the exact same thing Bodo Getting connected seems to be making us more disconnected. I honestly believe that we are becoming more and more isolated on an emotional and psychological level.

Agreed. Probably why we're seeing more Columbine and VT type shootings.

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"The ultimate decision about what is accepted as right and wrong will be made not by individual human wisdom but by the disappearance of the groups that have adhered to the "wrong" beliefs."
-- F.A. Hayek

Yes, they can't write well....chickenscratch.

One of my kids said his teacher said they didn't need to know how to write well, cuz they use computers.

This will come back to bite them.

Boy, y'all hit that one on the head.

My wife and I went to Universal Studios for their Halloween Horror Nights and we were both aghast, at all of the teenagers standing around in groups, not talking to each other...but the glow of their phones shining brightly.

It was pretty sad actually.

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