Saturday Night

Honestly, with 40 results on my Blogline feeds, you would think that I would be able to find lots to say, but I really can't.

An article from Library Stuff talking about the debate between core knowledge and 21-century skills was the first to stand out to me.

It frightens me, actually, that so much emphasis is being placed on these "skills": thinking creatively and critically, working with technology, and working well with others. What I see happening is that we will be producing generations who don't know anything. What good is thinking creatively if you don't understand the basics to go along with it? Why suddenly are the schools supposed to teach people to work well with others? The way I see it, that's a parent's job from day one. We are such a feel good society that we've become afraid to ask anyone to do something that they might fail at and that scares me. As we move farther and farther from the basics of education and personal responsibility, we see more and more children coming into our library who have no idea how to behave... and parents who don't seem to care to teach them. Yes, our teens are out of control and we try to deal with that. That is quite difficult, if not impossible, when they have no respect for authority. And why should they? Adults don't demand it. It might hurt their self image. Garbage, I say! And it's not just the teens. We have preschoolers who look at you as if you are crazy for daring to call them down. Today I was at the mall with my 3 1/2 year old and we were in the little play area. She couldn't enjoy herself because there were children too big for the area who were climbing on top of the equipment and jumping onto other pieces. I predict that the area will be destroyed within a year. Where were the parents? Watching. At one point I told my girlie that I'd stay by her so that she could feel safe from the kids jumping around her and got death glares from one of the parents. Honestly!

I got a little off topic there. Anyhow... we're starting to send kids through the schools who can't add 2+2, but can give you a creative story about why it should equal 5. Good grief! Preparing children for the grown up world is important, but if they can't read well enough to fill out a job application or do the simple, basic math to count a cash register drawer, we're doing them a huge disservice. Maybe I should quit my job and just home school!