Dumbing Down Our Kids

The "rules" below are attributed to Charles J. Sykes, author of the book Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, Or Add. The cheapest used copy on Amazon is only $1.15 plus shipping, so I suppose it would be inexpensive to verify, but that would take too long. Regardless of the original source, its a good funny-but-true list of lessons kids probably won't learn in school. So here it is.

Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teen-ager uses the phrase "It's not fair" 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, who said it so often you decided they must be the most idealistic generation ever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realized Rule No. 1.

Rule No. 2: The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as much as your school does. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, kids complain that it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1)

Rule No. 3: Sorry, you won't make $40,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label.

Rule No. 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he's not going to ask you how you feel about it.

Rule No. 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Kurt Cobain all weekend.

Rule No. 6: It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it, or you'll sound like a baby boomer.

Rule No. 7: Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your bedroom.

Rule No. 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. In some schools, they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and class valedictorians scrapped, lest anyone's feelings be hurt. Effort is as important as results. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life. (See Rule No. 1, Rule No. 2 and Rule No. 4.)

Rule No. 9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. Not even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And you don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on. While we're at it, very few jobs are interested in fostering your self-expression or helping you find yourself. Fewer still lead to self-realization. (See Rule No. 1 and Rule No. 2.)

Rule No. 10: Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs. Your friends will not be as perky or pliable as Jennifer Aniston.

Americanism

We just got back a little while ago from the first night of the Real Evangelism conference, being hosted again this year at FBC Indian Trail. These conferences are always excellent and this year Mike Huckabee was the keynote speaker.

If you're thinking "here comes a political rant"...wait. This is simply a collection of observations from Huckabee's speech, which will have a conservative Christian viewpoint, but will not be political. A semi random collection of thoughts from memory. Now decide to click "Jump" in your RSS reader or not.

Bailey Smith (of the conference name) provided the introduction for the Governor. One of the points he made was in providing several definitions of "Americanism" from the latest Webster's dictionary. It provided an appropriate segue for the main elements of Huckabee's speech.

Mike Huckabee spoke for almost an hour on Biblical values and morals in America, from the perspective of those values. To my recollection, he did not mention any sitting politicians by name, nor did he label any current directions in government.

What he did do is identify that our hope can not be in elected officials - and - our blame therefore cannot be either. Two points were identified that would collapse society: consolidate power into the hands of a few; release individuals of responsibilities and risk. Each individual was charged with the responsibility to live according to their beliefs.

There were a set of parallel structures in society he identified, which further illustrated personal responsibility, that went something like this:

- Parents equip their children to live independently
- Pastors equip their congregations to perform ministry
- Leaders should equip people to need less government, not more

There were many other historical points about America, parallels drawn from Judges 9 to current mindsets, the changeable nature of current society and many more topics. Overall an engaging, sometimes funny and overall excellent presentation.

So back to the original definition - Americanism: loyalty to the United States and its institutions. It was clear to all in attendance tonight that Mike Huckabee is most certainly a loyal American and an unashamed Christian.

Speed Flying

If the Olympics could add ski cross this year, it might not be too far fetched to think this combination of paragliding and skiing might be included in 2014. Apparently its called "Speed Flying" or "Speed Riding":

An Amusement Park Ride?

This video of a train going through a flooded underpass in Argentina seemed humorous to me on a couple of levels, not the least of which are the people with umbrellas in the center of the picture.



However, I didn't notice them until the second time I watched it. The first time I watched it, I immediately thought of the Whitewater Falls ride at the Carowinds amusement park near Charlotte. If you watch this second video, you'll know why.



Maybe I'm just anticipating Carowinds opening with a new owner, new rides - and a new season - Spring! Yep, all of the above.

Trans Siberian Railway

At the risk of sounding like a complete Google fanboy, I'll add one more Google offering into my list of vacation posts. Google has put together a mashup from several of its own sources into a virtual trip along the Trans Siberian railway.

The user can use the standard Google map navigation tools to zoom in/out and drag/scroll to different areas of the route. Clicking the blue line along the route loads the correct video and positions to the correct offset within the video. Since semi random selections might not pick up the most picturesque sections, there is also a travel route with starred entries that can be chosen.

There are also some preselected soundtrack options available and other features to explore.

Saving the discussion of the merits of virtual reality vs actual reality for another time, this seems like a neat use of technology to me. It provides an insight into a 150 hour journey that it is very unlikely that I'd ever pursue in real life. For that, the view of the 12 Russian regions and 87 cities is more than enough for me.

So whether its for exploring the Russian vistas or the use of technologies, give it a try. It somehow seems appropriate for a snowy day in Charlotte as well.

Enjoy!