Quote:I attended a conference last week where this subject came up.  I'm doing some research on the topic because they provided a ton of supporting material that shows how the learning curve has not only flattened out, but actually has declined over the past 20 years or so.  It supports my point completely, and it's a study that was done by a liberal think tank, not some conservative publication. 

 

What's interesting about the current trend is that we're dumbing down an entire generation or two of future leaders, but we're pandering to them telling them how smart they are, and how entitled they are.  We're manufacturing generations of faux intellectuals.  That's not to say there aren't smart kids, but the system is designed to combat them at every turn.  If you look at how curriculum in school has changed over the past, say 40 years, the emphasis has changed from focusing on the core (Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Science), you can see a correlation between the changes and the grades kids are getting.  We're no longer the world leader in any of the critical areas, and because of that, we're losing ground to countries like India and China when it comes to advancing new technologies. 

 

People sit here complaining about outsourcing, but they're perfectly content to continue sending their children to public schools where common core is more and more prevalent.  They don't question or challenge the kids.  They teach them convoluted logic.  But most importantly, they don't teach them the critical skills that are required to succeed in life. 

 

I will pull together the information when I have some time and post it here because it was an interesting and terrifying analysis of where we're headed as a nation based on the quality of public education we're putting out there for our kids.  Parents should be outraged, and many are, but not enough to truly force change.  There is a wave starting to grow that could change that, but it doesn't address what is almost a lost generation. 

 

The biggest thing that I see that stands out is, children are taught to come up with the same answer on standardized tests, but aren't taught or allowed to question it.  They need to come up with the "right" answer using only the "right" way to solve it.  They aren't allowed to analyze a problem and come up with a solution on their own.

 

The same goes for college students.  I see it every day in my job.  A young engineer fresh out of college isn't interested in finding a solution to a problem, he/she is more interested in generating flow charts and discussing theory.  When and if they do come up with a "solution", it's usually not very practical in the real world.

 

The bottom line is students today aren't trained or allowed to ask the question "why" and they sure are not allowed to ask "what if"?

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