“Glamma” and “PAPA DOC?!?!” We’re going through this name malarkey with my mother and mother-in-law. Thank God my dad has more sense than to debase himself like that to our baby. I’m sure he won’t train my boy to use the same nickname as a HAITIAN DICTATOR!
From my vantage point (late 50s), I'm not sure if it's because American culture uniquely devalues older people or because older people know how much they are devalued and figure they might as well try to be "cool." Chicken meet egg.
"Kids today are out of control because adults are afraid to exercise good old fashioned authority" has got to be the oldest cliche in the book. We were hearing it as far back as 1832: "the total want of discipline and subjugation which I observed universally among children of all ages." We hear it from such paragons of moral authority as Bill Cosby. And speaking of cliches, of course the author blames it on the baby boomers. We're an evil breed, you know.
Of the myriad inanities springing from the '60s liberal world view, the idea that the children will lead us may be the silliest of all. We see the result.
Maybe it's the Marxist lens they see the world through. Decades of socialist teacher college indoctrination trickled down into the K-12 classrooms telling them that white men suck, meritocracy sucks and capitalism sucks the most. Without acceptance of hierarchies and acknowledgement that some people indeed know more than others, knowledge they gleaned from study and experience, it's intellectual chaos because we're left with just the study, and no experience. No thanks.
Part of the problem seems to be that we overvalue the opinions of the unexperienced, who tend to be younger. What you feel may be of interest, but what you have learned and can apply is of value.
One of the many issues is that, in higher education, the non-elite institutions really need to hold on to each student, because they have to struggle to fill their classrooms. The weakest ones are going out of "business." Green Mountain College in Vermont was only one of many. Basic supply & demand issue. When I graduated in the 1960s, college was an exceptional opportunity. Now not so much, and in many cases, the curriculum does not align with real economic needs. (Change of subject: "conflict entrepreneurs," a great phrase!)
“Glamma” and “PAPA DOC?!?!” We’re going through this name malarkey with my mother and mother-in-law. Thank God my dad has more sense than to debase himself like that to our baby. I’m sure he won’t train my boy to use the same nickname as a HAITIAN DICTATOR!
From my vantage point (late 50s), I'm not sure if it's because American culture uniquely devalues older people or because older people know how much they are devalued and figure they might as well try to be "cool." Chicken meet egg.
"Kids today are out of control because adults are afraid to exercise good old fashioned authority" has got to be the oldest cliche in the book. We were hearing it as far back as 1832: "the total want of discipline and subjugation which I observed universally among children of all ages." We hear it from such paragons of moral authority as Bill Cosby. And speaking of cliches, of course the author blames it on the baby boomers. We're an evil breed, you know.
Of the myriad inanities springing from the '60s liberal world view, the idea that the children will lead us may be the silliest of all. We see the result.
Maybe it's the Marxist lens they see the world through. Decades of socialist teacher college indoctrination trickled down into the K-12 classrooms telling them that white men suck, meritocracy sucks and capitalism sucks the most. Without acceptance of hierarchies and acknowledgement that some people indeed know more than others, knowledge they gleaned from study and experience, it's intellectual chaos because we're left with just the study, and no experience. No thanks.
“Conflict Entrepreneur”… gonna tuck that one in the wallet. Excellent piece.
Part of the problem seems to be that we overvalue the opinions of the unexperienced, who tend to be younger. What you feel may be of interest, but what you have learned and can apply is of value.
This is a real and complicated issue.
One of the many issues is that, in higher education, the non-elite institutions really need to hold on to each student, because they have to struggle to fill their classrooms. The weakest ones are going out of "business." Green Mountain College in Vermont was only one of many. Basic supply & demand issue. When I graduated in the 1960s, college was an exceptional opportunity. Now not so much, and in many cases, the curriculum does not align with real economic needs. (Change of subject: "conflict entrepreneurs," a great phrase!)