"I am really not that dumb - I just tend to act that way..."
I am sorry I have to rant about this once again. Quite often, I react to what I hear on the news. This morning I heard an alarming statistic - 42% of all Americans did not know that Obama Care was now the law of the land. 42%! You would have to be living under a rock not to have heard about this for the last four years. If that was not bad enough, 40% of the people asked did not know who the Vice President of the United States is!
I have said for many years now, our students are the victims of low expectations. The "hungry mind" generation has morphed into a group of "whatever" citizens. How in the world can someone not be interested, not be engaged in with today's issues? Many times when I ask someone a question, the answer I receive is "Oh, I don't know - I never watch the news." If you don't care about issues, don't care to be involved or informed, you will get "rolled" by any government which is voted in.
This has led me to a profound thought - we really have an achievement gap not of race, but of information. For people who want to learn, to stay informed, the menu of opportunities is staggering. For those who choose to "cocoon", it becomes harder all the time as the multi media sources constantly improve and expand. Somehow today, our public schools have become full of people who are not informed nor challenged. We created this, we can also stop it.
Another example which I found illustrative happened on the first of the year. That is the day the Payroll Tax relief expired. Many saw their checks go down and had absolutely no clue as to why. What was equally interesting, many people had no clue why the Payroll Tax was taken out of their check to start with. They also did not know their employer had to withhold an equal amount. Finally, even fewer knew this tax was the only way to fund the Social Security and Medicare funds. Don't you think that when most of these people will eventually collect some type of Social Security or Medicare, they should be informed? They should care?
A man I worked with years ago had a sign in his office which said "Life is hard. Life is harder when you are stupid". Okay - stupid is a harsh word. I will use "ignorant". I was told when I was growing up, if you don't understand what is being discussed, keep your mouth shut and ears open. That is the way you learn. Wake up. Pay attention. There are millions of people in this world who are paying attention, and they are just waiting to pass us up. It is hard to compete on the world stage when your mind is asleep and your competitors are not.
Another example which I found illustrative happened on the first of the year. That is the day the Payroll Tax relief expired. Many saw their checks go down and had absolutely no clue as to why. What was equally interesting, many people had no clue why the Payroll Tax was taken out of their check to start with. They also did not know their employer had to withhold an equal amount. Finally, even fewer knew this tax was the only way to fund the Social Security and Medicare funds. Don't you think that when most of these people will eventually collect some type of Social Security or Medicare, they should be informed? They should care?
A man I worked with years ago had a sign in his office which said "Life is hard. Life is harder when you are stupid". Okay - stupid is a harsh word. I will use "ignorant". I was told when I was growing up, if you don't understand what is being discussed, keep your mouth shut and ears open. That is the way you learn. Wake up. Pay attention. There are millions of people in this world who are paying attention, and they are just waiting to pass us up. It is hard to compete on the world stage when your mind is asleep and your competitors are not.
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