I'm Sure I've Seen Dumber

I've been reading a book called The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein. It contends that despite the many promises made of new technologies to revolutionize learning, they are more likely making our young people stupid...er.

The author marches out a brigade of statistics from national academic, arts, and research groups. The numbers show that young people aren't reading anymore. Their writing skills are unacceptable for college and the workplace. They are disinterested in artwork that's not a product of their culture. And they lack the mental stamina to stay focused on singular projects that require intensive critical thinking.

And then I put the book down on my nightstand, next to several other books I haven't finished reading.

I understand the distress felt by this author and many others. It's today's adults believing that today's youth lack knowledge, responsibility, and accountability. Of course, with Social Security running on empty, a booming global population that will threaten the viability of natural resources, and an endless parade of pandering, self-indulgent public officials who are more focused on, above all else, staying in power... well... I guess the feeling is mutual.

And while the author makes a compelling case, I hope it becomes more than self-righteous fodder for those already forecasting a nuclear winter, circling 2012 on their Mayan kitchen calendars, and sporting bumper stickers that read, "Nostradamus was right!"

And yes, I've seen other distressing numbers too. Our nation's students have more school days than many other developed nations, yet their performance lags in areas such as math and science, two subject areas that will produce the engineers and ingenuity needed to change the world's economy. Back in the days of the Apollo space program, most NASA engineers were in their 20s. Today, they're in the 40s. One presenter at a tech conference I attended mentioned that today there are more NASA engineers in their 60s, than in their 30s.

Where are NASA's future engineers? Possibly in China or India which are graduating more engineers from college than the US.

Regardless, I'm more of a "future is bright. Gotta wear shades" type of optimist. Especially when I see my two little kids jostling playfully in the shopping cart. Maybe one of them is a future NASA engineer.

Mr. Bauerlein begins a terrific conversation. So I will add that today's young people have developed skills that were not foreseen, ten years ago, applying technologies that were not imagined 15 years ago, sharing their ideas through a medium (the Internet) that did not exist to the public 20 years ago. They can mobilize, inspire, and inform hundreds, thousands, millions of people with the tap of a keystroke, thus creating a new power structure, where anyone has a say in decision making. Potentially, it offers the purest form of democracy.

This ability cannot be dismissed, no matter what the statistics say. Sure, it's a goofy idea that one electronic message can mobilize dozens to Grand Central Terminal to freeze their bodies at a precise time all for the sake of 'performance art,' but anyone who's ever tried to organize a group of children or teachers... you have to admit, it's pretty impressive.

So perhaps the problem is not so much the youth of today, but with the educational system-- a system that reflects the needs of an agricultural and industrial society of long ago-- that the grown-ups have stuck them with. Maybe the problem is with inadequate assessments that don't paint a complete picture of the learner and uninspiring curriculua or teaching strategies.

That said, it is imperative for educational leaders, parents, and bureaucrats in charge of what is taught in schools to reshape the curriculum so that we can make the best of the know-how, curiosities, and passions of today's students. Learning should be experiential. It should be fun and it should be relevant to our world. How much more powerful will the writings of Shakespeare, Newton, and Gandhi be when their words are invoked by teachers in a manner that connects students to their experiences? As adults, if we can create learning contexts for kids to apply their creative talents, then perhaps we won't be complicit in raising the Dumbest Generation.