The Dumbest Generation

Mark Bauerlein, a professor of English at Emory University, states that people under the age of 30 are "The dumbest generation" and this is because of the technology that we use. Hence, his book "The Dumbest Generation" was written, and subtitled "How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future". He also says that 'most high school students don't really do a whole lot, and that they don't read, they don't go to museums or get involved in community life, they don't do much homework and spend too much time on the internet instead.

Clearly, he does not know what he's talking about, as students DO read. We might have not read as much as students have in the past, but we definitely read. There are websites on the internet that allow you to look for books and download them, or just read them online. I personally do this quite a lot of times, as it saves money and also there are not much English books in Vietnam :(

Furthermore, we DO take part in community services, as there was the Terry Fox run, the Christmas Bazaar and others. Also, it might not be much, but we have mufti-day (non-uniform day) where we pay a sum of money THAT GOES TO CHARITY if we choose to wear our own clothes (which All of us do). The money is then given to charity to help build toilets etc. for orphans, or to help buy medical supplies for children who desperately need it. So doesn't that count as taking part in community services?

Additionally, any student who goes to school will be given homework. Therefore we do it, and as we get older and progress to higher grades, we get more and more homework, which is also much harder. But we do it anyway, why? Because homework is not an option, and needs to be done so that the next lesson we have will profit from what we have learnt (like preparation). It could also be work done in class that we haven't completed, and it is important that we do it at home (or else we'd be missing out on something). Sometimes, students also enjoy homework; it could be because it is their favourite subject, or simply because we enjoy doing the task that was set for homework. However, if we do not do our homework, there are consequences, and we will get into trouble (as i am going to be for forgetting to post my blog for a long time...) and receive a detention.

Mr. Bauerlein also states that kids use too much slang because they can't spell or because we are too lazy. This is not true. Most people use slang because it is a quicker way of talking to friends and family online or by texting. Is it so stupid to save time? Also, when we do school work, write letters, or essays, we definitely do NOT use slang. However, some students do write in slang while talking to friends and such because they are lazy, but can you blame them? After a whole day in school, writing essays and doing all kinds of studying, which is done in Formal writing. Can't we come home and relax? Talk to our friends online informally? What is the harm in that, as the next day when we go to school, we still continue to write properly and formally.

According to Mr. Bauerlein, kids know nothing as he says that "fewer than 30 percent know what the Reconstruction was, and a quarter of them cannot identify Dick Cheney as the Vice President". Now, can this really be the students fault? If they are not taught something, they are simply stupid for not knowing it? When Mark Bauerlein says this, i cannot help but think that He, is the stupid one. If not, then how can he not think of the reason why a student does not know things like this? Also, teachers and parents sometimes complain about the fact that students don't watch the news, or that they are not bright and that they spend too much time on the internet. Well, why, in the first place do students need to watch the news? When adults watch the news, it is mostly to do with business, like what is happening in the stock market, or if there is news that there is a growing demand in rice etc, the people who are involved in that business will have to make plans and arrange it, so that the amount of rice they produce will have to increase and they will then sell it to make a profit and so on. But when you're a student, you don't even have a business, and you are still studying, so why do we have to watch the news? Also, is it really the child's fault if he/she is not bright? Because if the parents encourage the child and help them whenever they need help, the child will definitely be brighter and succeed in what they want to achieve. However, some parents just complain and criticize their child if they are not pleased with something, when this happens a lot, the child will just lose their will to achieve something and just give up instead of trying harder.


Last but not least, is it also wrong to use the internet for research? Because it definitely saves time as i'm sure it takes a lot faster by typing in what you want on google or yahoo and getting what you're looking for, than going to the library, searching for books and reading through every one of them to look for something. Students do this to make life easier, why do it the hard way if there's an easier way? And Mr. Bauerlein calls this stupidity.


Think again Mark Bauerlein!!!