Honestly, I have many theories... First, we have tested them too much. Many teachers have taught them that reading is finding answers, so as long as they can find answers, they don't have to THINK about it. These kids love to do worksheets and read the stories and answer the questions, but if you try and have a dialogue about it, they just sit and stare. Almost all can find an answer for a test question, but ask them to explain what they just read and there's no comprehension. When I tried to teach the writing for this year's state test, they would not break out of the 4th grade patterns that they were taught. "Hi, my name is John Smith, and I'm going to tell you about (fill in the space with the topic)..." Even though they could recognize what made for a better introduction, most refused to try anything new. Someone trained them like Pavlov's dogs back in 4th grade, and they couldn't break out of their salivating patterns.
Second, technology. They live in a world where they can control what they experience. When I grew up, I had 3 channels of TV and only one TV in the house, so whatever my parents watched, I watched...or I read a book. They have 200 channels so they are limited in their experiences, so they have no schema to pull from when experiencing something new. Most watch only 2 or 3 channels, but those channels are so limited in content they have little general knowledge. MTV, BET, SPIKE, COMEDY CHANNEL and maybe a movie channel is the best they can come up with. Even with the movie, they only watch the parts they like (Only watch the fights in ROCKY, or only the nude scenes in other movies. That's one of the reasons one my kids remembered the first scene in JAWS...they were skinnydipping). Also, with all the technology, they have multitasked themselves into non-thinkers. Recent studies have shown that people who multitask while learning a new skill don't really learn it. The areas of the brain affected while multitasking are mainly in the limbic system which is the reptilian part of the brain. People who learn a task and concentrate only on that one task have the hypothalmus affected which is the area which affects memory, learning, and deep thought. Because they are so busy with cellphones, Myspace, music, etc., they never develop those areas of the brain that are crucial to thought. I wish I could hook them up to an MRI and see what areas of the brain are firing because I'm almost sure this is the main reason we are seeing such a lack of thought. Then we have parents who allow them to do these things and don't give a damn about intelligence. Too many stress getting an education and passing when they should be stressing doing your best and gaining knowledge. Most of the kids have a "just getting by" mentality instead of a "doing my best" mentality. I've noticed this trend among adults also (It's amazing how many teachers get into the job and suddenly realize there's WORK involved and wind up quitting after a year or so). Also, many are not being brought up by parents. Most have one parent (if they are lucky) or their grandparents are bringing them up. More and more have a parent in jail or on drugs than ever. Many are bringing up their siblings by themselves and they are the closest thing to a parent in the house which brings me to my next point. It's hard to work on your homework when you're helping your little brother with his. Also, I feel they have been exposed to too much at too young of ages. When I grew up, I had to wait until I was 16 to drive, 21 to drink or smoke, and (as much as I might have wanted otherwise being a teenage boy) sex was somthing to wait on also. We had stages and rituals that gradually led up to being an adult. Now, they watch porn at 10, drink (with parental permission sometimes!) at 13, smoke at 14, and have sex at 15. I can remember seeing an R rated movie with my parents, but I never saw anything like it until I was 14 or so. These kids watch stuff with their parents at 4 years of age. The parents feel that "Under a parent's supervision" means they are physically there and don't discuss things with their kids who really aren't prepared mentally to experience a lot of these things which is why they haven't matured. My kids have been more immature in the last few years, and I think it is because they never had the chance to experience childhood because they experience so much ADULT content and very little chances just to be kids. I like to think this will change, but I can only see it getting worse and worse. I've been teaching long enough to know that things go in cycles and inevitably will rise again, but I'm not seeing it with this and future generations... Bill _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
