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I am afraid that much that must be done will be looked upon
by many as too "dirigiste."
I think that liberal minded people might find themselves in
a bit of double bind. The recipe for reversing the dumbing down of
American kids might include some much needed direction or sense of
purpose in the lives of these kids as well as the traditional 3
rs. Learning to think critically is not easy. But is
necessary.
Direction could come from many places It won't
come on its own. And it won't come as a result of video
games. Or from TV. And it won't come from responding to challenges of
any kind with an all purpose "whatever" response.
Arthur
From: Lawrence de Bivort [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 4:23 PM To: 'Karen Watters Cole'; [email protected] Cc: Cordell, Arthur: ECOM Subject: RE: [Futurework] It's About Identity 2: America's Great Wall Hi, Karen and
everyone, This is such a sad situation. Given its
wealth and relative enlightenment, America could have achieved a truly wonderful
role of genuine leadership in the world, had it not succumbed to the temptations
of power and greed. Is this hope truly lost? These last years have been
increasingly dark ones, I know. But might there be a means of recapturing those
things that were beneficial and generous, and discarding the dark parts of the
American culture and policies? In the last couple of years, I’ve had
several focused chances to talk with American kids about their view of the
world, and the increasingly large gap between the way they view the world and
its reality. The reaction is mixed, from dismissal because what I have found
myself calling for is a regime that some kids view as onerous and worrisome, to
enthusiastic adoption, the kids sensing that here at last was an adult who would
talk straight with them and about what would be required for medium- and
long-term happiness and success. I do have less sympathy in the plight of
older people, who radically underestimated what would be required for a
comfortable retirement. It is this older generation that initiated the policy of
peace-time massive national debt, for example, quite happy to see their kids pay
for them. But it is the kids who are being cheated,
by the debt-soaked older generation, and by parents who won’t tell things
straight, or themselves don’t understand what is happening in the
world. So, short of saying ‘good luck when things
hit the wall’, what are things that WE can do NOW to begin to reverse this
cultural abdication and help kids get themselves aligned effectively with the
dynamics of a globalizing society? Lawry From: Karen
Watters Cole [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Thanks, Lawry, for resurrecting this
topic. Don’t you think that any society, the
further it moves away from its original point of reference, will “lose its
way”? When we were still mostly agrarian and the
middle class was the minority, children were raised with after school chores
that correlated to the family’s welfare, i.e., if not milking cows on the farm,
tending the vegetable garden in town, maybe a few hen eggs. Eventually, as
gardens disappeared chores became setting the table and cleaning, but the
connection to survival waned. Activities that built character and taught
business experience shifted from neighborhood ties to the service industry,
involving kids in lessons further away from home and family
connections. Likewise, generations of Americans raised
families on the notion that life would be better for their kids, so naturally
kids began to see this as their birth right. Our economic success has outpaced
our cultural evolution. Some people look forward to our economy
‘hitting the wall’, anticipating that there will be a positive sociocultural
transformation (we can only hope…) but perhaps this is romanticizing the Great
Depression a la Swiss Family Robinson. For others going ‘cold turkey’ from
addictive consumerism will be thrust upon them, rather than a tempered gradual
choice. For too many of us, especially the poor, elderly and frail, it will mean
disaster because we have not tended to the liberal principles of the greater
common good, as in universal health care and education as we should have done.
Young people do not understand these
broader ramifications, their vision obscured by the immaturity, so that learning
to become responsible adults is done outside the family and too many are raised
to think adulthood is bestowed upon them at a certain birthday, and with the
acquisition of the latest status symbols. This is of course, tribal by nature,
but we have lost the connection to why and what for. The substance is lost.
Karen -----Original
Message----- These are indicators of an
economy/society that has lost its way. After it "hits the wall" there will
likely be changes in attitude. arthur From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of Lawrence de
Bivort I think Harry points to a
fundamentally important issue. I will indulge in a few
generalizations.... Why have we created a culture
of entitlement? Why do American parents allow their kids to embrace the
notions: 1)
That school must be entertaining, or there
is something wrong with the teachers? 2)
That they need anything they
want? 3)
That ‘hanging out’, ‘chilling,’ and
‘veging’ are acceptable at any time? 4)
That because they are Americans everything
will be provided them one way or another? 5)
That ‘having fun’ and ‘being happy’ are the
two highest values (and rights) or children? 6)
That working hard is bad and
undesirable? 7)
That ‘fashion’ is
important? I do believe that children
have vastly more ability than their parents give them credit for, and that they
embrace challenges when they are framed correctly, and that they are robust
enough to ‘know the truth’ about the world and the effects globalization is
going to have on their lives. Why is it that so many parents underestimate
the capabilities of their children and educationally under-serve
them? Cheers, or
sighs, Lawry From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of Harry
Pollard I well
remember my 10-11 year old sons delivering newspapers in the Canadian snow. Our
house was built on nursery land and my kids would harvest asparagus from the
unbuilt on fields and sell it to the neighbors. Maybe that
attitude has disappeared with the advent of computer
games. Harry
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