Generation of Uneducation

I really resent my new computer. I mean, I like it, but this new word program is driving me crazy! It auto-fills certain words, but sometimes it does it with other words that I have previously typed and didn't intend on typing again. Goodness, it's happening with every other word at this point! I'm sure there's a way to turn it off, but I just can't figure out how. What can I say- I'm slow in the technology department. So, in the meantime, I have to suffer with it.
 
Oh, I just remembered an invention that my husband thought was really cool. There is a phone with a touch-screen that lets you slide your finger across the screen over random letters, and comes up with a choice of words that best match your random sliding. Therefore, you don't actually have to do any thinking! I think it's a new version of the iPhone, except the  “i” stands for “idiot.”
 
Some people may say that this is a very cool application, as it saves a person time and whatever other lame excuse they can come up with. I, however, think it's just another way we are all being dumbed down. What is such a big deal with having to fill in your own words? Is it really that much more time-consuming? What happened to learning how to SPELL or type sentences that are actually grammatically correct?
 
You may say that this is really not a big deal, as there are many highly intelligent people with very complicated jobs that don't know how to spell. But this issue points to a much larger issue, which is the pathetically low level of education our children have. I recently read an article that clearly shows how dumb we're becoming.
 
Here are a few points in the article that I found interesting/appalling…
 
Let's look at some hard facts, starting with SAT scores. College News website reports that since 2006, the overall score has fallen by 20 points, from 1518 to 1498 in 2012. Here's a chart that clearly shows an overall decline since the 1960's.
 
Speaking of tests, let's just have a look at this eight-grade exam from 1912. I think it's fair to say that most adults couldn't pass such an exam (yours truly included.)

But we don't have to go looking for proof to see that the level of education has fallen dramatically. The problem is not just in the schools; it's in the society that promotes this growing epidemic.
 
To begin with, we spoon-feed our kids with mindless entertainment from the moment they wake up until the time they go to sleep. As soon as they manage to drag themselves out of bed, they're texting on their “smart” phones. And they're not texting actual words, mind you. They're texting one or two-letter words, like c u (see you) or thx (thanks). Oh, and my all-time favorite is ur (you are, or you're.) That one drives me crazy! Are they simply being time-efficient? Since when do teenagers care about time or efficiency?
 
Television is arguably the number one destroyer of minds, as I have written previously. Check out why TV is not so innocent in my articles, “Killing Us Softly” and “WMD's.”
 
If I were to list all the things wrong and dangerous with the internet, this article would be 50 pages long. Aside from all of the adult-oriented websites that even adults shouldn't be looking at, is the simple fact that a kid is more likely watching videos than reading articles. The same goes for adults. I prefer to read, and when I want to find out more information on something, even something as simple as a recipe, it is almost impossible to find it without a video attached to it like a blood-sucking leach!
 
With all of the time they're plugged into some type of media, they're losing time doing things that could actually make them smarter. As if! A kid's biggest nightmare is that one day he'll wake up as a nerd.
 
But what has our educational system done in response? Have they maintained previous standards of education in the attempt to bring our children back up to a certain level of learning? G-d forbid! How would it look if every kid failed every class? Teachers everywhere would fear for their lives! So, they've done the opposite- they've lowered the level of education in response.
 
FYI- did you know that ebonics is actually taught in some schools? Fo' shizzle! In 1996, Oakland passed a resolution that recognized the legitimacy of this dialect.
 
Personally speaking, all I can do is lament and smack my forehead over the catastrophic nosedive the United States is taking in all areas of life. Dear parents, we all want the best for our children. If we're aware of the general trend of life in the diaspora, we can see that the quality of life is not improving. Isn't it fair to our children to give them the best opportunities in life? In Israel, the quality of education is stellar, and even more importantly, the likelihood of our children reaching their spiritual and physical potentials is astronomically higher than anywhere else in the world.
 
Like I always say, each Jewish family must meet their G-d given quota of at least one doctor, lawyer, or accountant in the family. Here in Israel, we have plenty of opportunities for all of them and more! (Even- gulp– rabbis!)