the message of the mainstream education system has become, over the last two generations, pretty much “Bad America!” – race!, class!, gender!

…and ironically, education.

Talk to your parents/granparents. All that’s been said for decades is that the American educational system is headed downhill fast. At the same time, math and science are being taught at a level that wasn’t even dreamed of several decades ago. Ask your parents/grandparents if calculus, physics, chemistry etc. were even an option when they went to school. And computer science… what’s that? Even elementary music classes have greatly changed from when we just sat in class and sang songs.

I don’t buy that kids are dumber -it doesn’t fit with my personal observations (the dumb have always been with us). I would offer an alternative explanation -the breadth of knowledge has expanded at an amazing rate. Our ability to learn and retain has not. That means compared to the “body of knowledge” any individual “knows” a shrinking percentage. That’s what we see in these polls. Yes, its sad so many don’t know who the vice president is, but those kids may have extensive knowledge in another field that far surpasses anything their contemporaries from a generation ago achieved.

From what I’ve observed, the trash class may account for as much as half our population.

stonemeister on April 16, 2007 at 10:41 PM

What you’ve “observed”, eh? You need to work on those Powers,/ stonemeister. Half of Americans are “trash”?

That sounds a lot like the snotty-snobby elitist rantings at KOS. What you and they overlook is that most people in any modern society are decent people who although not well- informed about World Events are nonetheless aware of and concerned about their families and friends and co-workers

They are not in control of their own lives, and don’t feel comfartable dabbling in examining the Workings of Power in D.C. or Geneva or anywhere else. Too many of them are spending too much time in an increasingly available escapism, but it is hard to fault them for that

In the New Age of cell phones and internet and laptops, it is easier to be Informed and paradoxically easier to be Ignorant. And yes, liberal rule and Democrat desk-jockeys
are making people stupider–people in general and kids in particular

From what I’ve observed, the trash class may account for as much as half our population.

Anna Nicole!

ANNA NICOLE!

Diversity training.

Seriously.

And if Hollywood gossip is all they care about, that’s all the news they’ll seek out.

Hey!

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/chavez092700.asp

Two-thirds of those interviewed didn’t know who represented them in Congress, 40 percent didn’t know who the vice president was, nearly half didn’t know what role the Supreme Court plays in deciding constitutional issues, and three-quarters didn’t know U.S. senators serve six-year terms.

On average, women were less informed than men and Democrats less informed than Republicans.

Another study showed that democrats were less informed on daily news as well. I’ll have to dig that one up too. So, as usual, democrats lead the charge into stupidity.

Forward ho!

Poll: We’re getting dumber

That explains the last election, and poll results on Iraq War etc….

…it’s that people who limit their news outlets to only one are by definition not the sharpest knives in the drawer.

honora

Question: Why is it when a liberal talks of FOX News and it’s viewers, FOX ends up being the “only news source” for those viewers…but when it’s CNN or MSNBC’s viewers, they somehow have various news sources?

Just wondering…

>sarcasm off

Does this mean that hard news blogging is a waste of time, or that there’s a huge audience out there just waiting to be found?

It depends on what what you see as the point of hard news blogging. The internet makes it marginally easier for those interested in hard news to get it when they want it (and even the apathetic want it sometimes). But I think AP is correct that it still remains a market subject to consumer choice.

If the point of hard news blogging is to tap into a larger audience, I would note that the very outlets that attract the most knowledgeable audiences — The Daily Show, Limbaugh, etc. — draw eyes and ears by packaging hard news in ways that differ markedly from the failing MSM model. And O’Reilly and Limbaugh pretty much dominate their competitition. I would say most hard news blogs haven’t figured out how to duplicate that kind of success.

Not to suck up, but I would say that HotAir, with its emphasis on video, and its mix of content (funny and serious, global issues and pop culture) is one of the blogs that I would say has a good chance at ultimately tapping into a much broader audience. It’s already something like number 58 on Technorati.

Ultimately, however, reaching a broader audience may depend on the further convergence of internet and trad media. The percentage of the public reading blogs at all is pretty small. Phenomena like viral video may fuel some growth in the short to medium-term, but the recent study on the demographics of YouTube usage suggests to me that you won’t get MSM size audiences until the Internet is able to compete with MSM technology, or the two converge.

And when larger doses of effluent inevitably hit the cooling device (see today’s Stak Attack), there will be ever louder calls for “even more Europe, even faster, please”. The country will be more divided, and without efforts like those of the folks at HA, only the Give Up On America And Don’t Be Mean crowd would be heard, and who the VP is could become of remarkably little significance.

“Today, somewhat fewer (69%) are able to recall Dick Cheney.”

Rove, you magnificent Bastard! Keepin’ Cheney on the down-low. What will he come up with next? Wait, were all those VT students registered Democrats? (too fresh? sorry in advance)

ej_pez on April 16, 2007 at 3:50 PM

What?????

Rove, you magnificent Bastard! Keepin’ Cheney on the down-low. What will he come up with next? Wait, were all those VT students registered Democrats? (too fresh? sorry in advance)

And apparently, if you watch FOX News instead of Jon Stewart and Colbert, you’re even dumber
JetBoy on April 16, 2007 at 3:36 PM

Well as much as I would like to say, “Of course!” I suspect the data would confirm that the best informed are people who have multiple sources for their news. Fox News may “suffer” from having viewers who get their news only from that outlet–it’s not watching Fox News that makes them “dumber”, it’s that people who limit their news outlets to only one are by definition not the sharpest knives in the drawer.

Two Americas… the well informed… and the Dems.

huckleberry on April 16, 2007 at 2:46 PM

I blame the NEA.

georgej on April 16, 2007 at 2:56 PM

Yep, I’m sure they’re celebrating at DNC headquarters
over this survey. Keeping people ignorant and lacking in critical thinking skills is an essential part of their agenda, especially in the school system.

People aren’t dumber in the sense that they can’t assimilate information. They just care less about what’s going on outside of their immediate personal lives.

It’s narcissism, not devolution.

And apparently, if you watch FOX News instead of Jon Stewart and Colbert, you’re even dumber

1. Big Three news outlets are bitter because we get out news so many other places – thus we must be dumb.

2. We are paying more attention to how much we don’t know, in comparison to decades, centuries before. The more you see DUMB, the more prevalent it appears.

It’s kinda like that new acquaintance we meet that has a car make you’ve never paid attention to. All of a sudden, that car make is all you see.

This is much ado about nothing, in the big scheme of things, and I’m surprised at how many of our group here is buying into this nonsense.