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The Failed American Education System

Joe Steel

Joe Steel

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This is frightening.

“I don’t think about government that much,” added Grace Nissi, a junior at Penn State.


Their comments are typical of nearly 80 young people interviewed in central Pennsylvania, a diverse cross-section of blue- and white-collar, black, white, Hispanic and Asian-American, students majoring in physics, health administration, advertising, electrical engineering and more _ from Pennsylvania State University and the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology.

...

They came of age viewing Washington as incapable and unwilling to ease the sort of tensions that could have consequences in their lives. The oldest of their generation were entering second grade as Bill Clinton was becoming president. That means that in their lifetime, government has been a relentless object of scorn, if not ridicule.


Young Americans: Connected To The World, Disconnected From Politics - The National Memo
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Obviously, the education system has failed. It has failed to teach these students the object and capabilities of government.
 
Joe Steel said:
This is frightening.



Obviously, the education system has failed. It has failed to teach these students the object and capabilities of government.
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Undoubtedly these young people will likely be democratic voters.
 
So you don't think about or idealize government? Wow, our educational system must have failed you. :roll:

This thread is one of the dumbest things I have seen in a long time.
 
Joe Steel said:
Probably not. Their obliviousness marks them as conservatives.
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The article makes it pretty clear the students want the government to solve all their personal problems.
 
Henrin said:
So you don't think about or idealize government? Wow, our educational system must have failed you. :roll:

This thread is one of the dumbest things I have seen in a long time.
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Your comment doesn't make a lot of sense. Would mind stating your point?
 
Oh 80 people, such a gigantic sample size.
 
There's two narratives at work here. Let's start with yours.

This article doesn't indict the education system, although it could have if it decided to say republicanism is being driven away from the American public education system.

As the article had not gone there, your own argument needed to be fleshed out. It wasn't. It was instead an incoherent grumble.

Let's take a look at what the article does discuss. It discusses this dichotomy of youth interest in politics. On one hand, you have scores of young people apparently indifferent toward politics. On the other hand, you have rabid enthusiasm for at least one Presidential candidate. The authors subscribe to the belief that young people are not engaged politically. This feeds into a common theme about millennials: a disengaged horde who have become a casualty of international economics in the early 21st century. But you have had plenty of studies which have argued the opposite. Young people are very politically engaged, but remain ever persistently idealistic, if not antagonistic toward the political process; preferring to stick toward protest movements, civic associations, and other forms of community outreach.

This is not much unlike the youth movements of the late 1960s and 1970s. The early 1960s had shown that young people, of whatever color, were optimistic that social, legal, and political action would create lasting change (no matter how radical their end goals were). By 1968, youth radicalism and youth drive for the political process was at dramatic low. They had psychologically taken in the assassinations of the President, Martin Luther King, Malcom X, and Robert Kennedy. Their attempt to change the Democratic Party's landscape failed in the '68 DNC, Nixon was elected and later embroiled in the biggest political scandal in generations. In essence, young people lost faith in government and civic action. Where they decided to stay, however, was in local efforts connected with more abstract national and international social movements. Volunteer work, administering food and shelter to the poor, etc. was where their efforts went. They felt a tangible effect from this work (or so they claimed), in comparison with the long, drawn-out political process which usually rested on compromising one's demands and time tables over instituting dramatic change.

Instead of this [in the 21st century] being a young person's psychological crisis, this is a national crisis. Young people, the middle aged, and the elderly alike are dissatisfied with politics. They [the young] are perhaps just as, if not more, informed than their grandfathers and grandmothers were in the 60's and 70's. They are, however, returning to their grandparents' idealized past times of local activism and social embrace of broad scale social movements.
 
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Joe Steel said:
Your comment doesn't make a lot of sense. Would mind stating your point?
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The only way an educational system could be a failure because their students don't think about government or find it overly useful for them is if one of the goals of the system was to teach the students to believe in government.
 
Joe Steel said:
This is frightening.



Obviously, the education system has failed. It has failed to teach these students the object and capabilities of government.
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Clearly the Ministry of Truth needs to get involved here.
 
Joe Steel said:
This is frightening.



Obviously, the education system has failed. It has failed to teach these students the object and capabilities of government.
Click to expand...
i honestly can't decide if they're being practical, or lackadaisical?
 
Joe Steel said:
This is frightening.



Obviously, the education system has failed. It has failed to teach these students the object and capabilities of government.
Click to expand...

If you graph out the momentous events they have seen from 911, AStan, Syrian civil War going on 5 years, 1 million refugees this year into the EU, the Political leaders in both parties trying for one upmanship, screw the other party, make the other party look foolish, to the so called independent pundit, one on each side tearing blood, bone and gristle from their opponent, the other side are liars, to Govt. dysfunction, over many years, Govts leaders failing time and again to work on solutions, why would they trust Govts.?
The US has reaped what has been sown, political division and the repercussion's are represented in your youth.
 
Joe Steel said:
This is frightening.



Obviously, the education system has failed. It has failed to teach these students the object and capabilities of government.
Click to expand...

You think it was the school system? For my part, I learned far more interest in history, philosophy or political questions at home than at school. Sure, later at the university I picked up more details and formal structure. But without interest in these things from childhood, you just don't develop enough interest to do the necessary reading.
 
Joe Steel said:
This is frightening.



Obviously, the education system has failed. It has failed to teach these students the object and capabilities of government.
Click to expand...

These folks, like many, see the difference between what government promises and what personal effort, without any direct personal government assistance, can actually dellver. Not one mention was made of their share of the, ever expanding, national debt. At least when you take out a student loan you are offered a chance (but no guarantee) to better yourself with it - what, exactly, do you think they get for their "fair share" (now about $60K/person) of the national debt?

A bunch of congress critters who dole out funds taxed away from others or simply borrowed in their names (before they ever even get a job or a chance to vote) should not be of much interest, or immediate concern, to them since they have little, if any, power to do a damn thing about it. Congress critters have an approval rating on par with a roadkill sandwich yet enjoy a re-election rate of over 90%.

Those that get all excited about which media anointed and party/PAC supported buffoon will occupy the White House (aka presidential politics) are simply kidding themselves. Obama, that promised all manner of great stuff and even called adding to the national debt unpatriotic, simply kept 96.6% of the "Bush" tax rates that he railed against on the campaign trail and, of course, raised the national debt at unprecedented levels. Obama did make good on that ending of the ME wars promise - we now just fund those ME wars and only pretend to fight them.

Capabilities of Government 101: Government may be big and government may be slow to change but government sure gets more expensive every year. ;)
 
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Joe Steel said:
This is frightening.



Obviously, the education system has failed. It has failed to teach these students the object and capabilities of government.
Click to expand...

I don't care if college coed's are confused by politics.

As long as they only vote for ballot candidates and measures that they understand it's fine with me.

Leave the others alone and let the informed populace decide them.
 
Henrin said:
The only way an educational system could be a failure because their students don't think about government or find it overly useful for them is if one of the goals of the system was to teach the students to believe in government.
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It is. That's why we have mandatory civics courses.
 
Joe Steel said:
It is. That's why we have mandatory civics courses.
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Ummm..no, that's not the reason. I do however find it interesting that you actually support the public education system teaching children to believe in the state. You do realize that is nothing but brainwashing, right?
 
Joe Steel said:
This is frightening.



Obviously, the education system has failed. It has failed to teach these students the object and capabilities of government.
Click to expand...

While I agree the US educational system is in failure, I doubt the lack of interest in government is a result of corrupt classrooms. Rather, I would say, it comes from a 'lifetime' of government failure. Note the fact many of these students were in grade 2 when Clinton was president. They have had 23 years, the last eight of which have been promises, mis-direction, increasing racial tensions, bitter arguing over procedure and playing chicken with government shut downs. All their lives they have been exposed to running arguments, but no solutions and little progress, about abortion, gay marriage, illegal aliens who are taking their jobs, gun control and what is in their face: a failing educational system.

At no time in their adult lives has government mattered at all, like dysfunctional parents they argue and play nasty tricks on each other while house is on fire. Of course they don't think much of government. Take gen-xers, add 15 years of unending war and eight years of near-recession, the fact that like they're parents, the middle class American Dream will be denied them.
 
Joe Steel said:
Probably not. Their obliviousness marks them as conservatives.
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Yet the majority of people below the age of 25 are overwhelmingly leftist in almost every western nation? Facts?
 
Henrin said:
Ummm..no, that's not the reason. I do however find it interesting that you actually support the public education system teaching children to believe in the state. You do realize that is nothing but brainwashing, right?
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Only the state can protect the citizens from predation by misfits and malcontents. That's not brainwashing.
 
Well, it's becoming rather obvious the OP isn't well educated on the subject either. Find something negative, point straight to the education system. Elaboration is optional.
 
joG said:
You think it was the school system? For my part, I learned far more interest in history, philosophy or political questions at home than at school. Sure, later at the university I picked up more details and formal structure. But without interest in these things from childhood, you just don't develop enough interest to do the necessary reading.
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for sure this is correct also they are young people become more aware and involved when they perceive it as having an effect upon them
 
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