Quote:I still wonder how much the notion of today's kids being dumber is anything real.
"Dumber" is the wrong word. It is a question of motivation. I've heard far too many teachers complain that they are expected to be entertainers rather than educators because of the distractions which the world makes available. These kids can learn anything they want to learn but far too many seem to lack the desire to learn anything which is not INSTANTLY useful to them. Learning for the sake of learning is a foreign concept.
Then there are the parents. Many pay lip service to the ideals of education....as long as they don't have to do anything. In fairness, most are working longer hours than ever before and even if there are two parents in the household the odds are that both work. They have compartmentalized education into something that is the schools' responsibility - not their own.
