"We are creating a cadre of youth cast in the fire of low expectations"
The bus had stopped down the block and let George off. What a day, he thought. Towards the end of the day, all he could think about is how close he is to the next level in Call of Duty. It was another long, boring day in school. George did not like the rumors that next year the school day might be extended to 2:30. For what? More boring crap being talked about? No, George had already talked to his mother about dropping out next year. He could sleep until noon and play video games all afternoon. Life would be good. There is no jobs anyhow. In school he was not learning, not interested in learning, and the many of the teachers did not give a rat's butt if he learned or not.
About four o'clock his grandpa called to check on him. Neither his grandma or grandpa liked the fact that George spent so much time alone in the house after school. When grandpa asked about his day, George spilled his guts, loaded with angst and slang. His grandpa said, "George, you are starting to sound like Holden Caulfield." George did not have a clue what grandpa was talking about. "George, have you not read Catcher in the the Rye by J. D. Salinger?" George had not only not read it, but never even heard of it. Now his grandpa was puzzled. He had read it in high school, so why not today? "How about Melville - have you read Moby Dick?" Now that George had heard of - sort of. He saw it mentioned while scrolling though old movies on Netflix.
I would like to say this short narrative on George is not only fiction, but also rare. However, I think there are many kids like George out there today. The grandma and grandpas who went to school in the 1950's and 60's learned about a great many things. School was safer, the teachers were dedicated to teaching and the curriculum was solid. The school days were longer and the there were fewer days off during the school year. Graduation rates were sky high in most schools unlike today where many inter-city schools struggle to make it up to 50%. So where in the world did we go wrong? When did the wheels fall off the wagon?
When I was a junior in high school, my English teacher had us read many poems and novels. We started with Beowolf, followed by Shakespeare, Keates, Thoreau, Frost, Melville, Steinbeck and yes, even Heinlein (just to name a few). Every night we had the assignment to read 2 to 3 chapters, or a poem, and to be prepared to discuss it in class the next day. One person would be called on at random to give his or her impression of what was read. Others would then be called on to comment and further the discussion. In other words, there was no hiding. If you did not read the assignment, things got very embarassing, very fast. The expectations were high and so were the results. Today, we talk about diversity, bullying, depression, inclusion, white guilt, GLBTQ and so on. We are interested in how do kids feel, instead of what do they know. Critical thinking has gone the way of the dinos.
The world is changing. So fast, it is hard to keep up with. The worst thing a person can do right now is not pay attention, to give up. Emerging countries with emerging workforces exploring emerging technologies are all around us. They want to take the territory which we seem willing to cede to them. In this Brave New World, we are on the way to being on the outside looking in. Only raising the bar for each and every one of us will change this trajectory. And that bar needs to start in first grade.
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