Annoyed.

[rug]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/letters/article4021903.ece

[panader0]

1. That's me 47 years ago....

[rug]

2. We never learn.

She was 4 on 9/11.

And here we go again.

[jimlup]

3. As a High School teacher I recognize this voice as my own 30 years ago...

And that is why I refuse to treat my students as anything less than equals...

[WillyT]

4. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[elehhhhna]

5. "I'm kinda over being told to throw my hands up in the air..."

IMO that lyric captures the zeitgeist of many of today's teens, and I get it.

[REP]

7. Off topic, but she seems to be a really delightful young woman

I look forward to the rest of her career.

[REP]

6. The sad thing

is I doubt most American high school students that age could write as well.

"What's the matter with kids today" is a song that's been sung since the first human child became an adolescent.

[LiberalAndProud]

10. I think you would be wrong.

There is some extremely profound stuff coming from kids that age. Sadly, few of us have the time or inclination to pay attention.

[REP]

11. A lot of my friends are teachers

So no. Most cannot express themselves coherently in written language. Little time is spent teaching kids how the language works, let alone how to construct sentences, paragraphs, and themes. Not on The Test you know.

[LiberalAndProud]

12. Perhaps so.

Maybe it isn't evident in the classroom. I don't know if I can say anything about 'most' of them. I just know that some of them accomplish some really powerful word-work. Perhaps they are the exception.

[REP]

13. Definitely some do

The ones defiant enough to not let the love of learning be bored out of them by the crappy standards teachers are forced to labor under! It was bad when I rode a dinosaur to school but these days, I feel thankful for my crappy education compared to the pure bland horror that passes for education today.

[LiberalAndProud]

15. You know, REP, GWB is the president closest to me in age.

When "Is our children learning?" exemplifies the peak of educational prowess (Harvard Business School and Yale, for pity's sake!) I have some reservations about the quality of my own learning.

[REP]

21. Obama's a little older than I am ...

... he went to better schools, but I don't cringe to have him as a contemporary when he speaks.

GWB was a legacy. How much money do you think those "gentleman's Cs" cost his daddy? Joe NobodyNotasRich would have had to transfer to gasp! a public school.

[hatrack]

16. Maybe so, and maybe this letter is the exception that proves the rule . . .

But it's a damned fine exception, notwithstanding.

[F4lconF16]

24. I sorely wish you were right...

but in my experience, most freshman college students could not write that well. I read a number of papers for students in an English class last year, and most had very little ability to communicate clearly and effectively. Maybe 1 out of 50 could write as well as the piece above. In high school, it's even worse.

[adirondacker]

8. "responsible young adults" instead of "juvenile delinquents" is how I was brought up. nt

[PowerToThePeople]

9. kick

[JVS]

14. Hey, she's from the same town as Johnnie Walker!

[rug]

18. Good catch!

[LittleBlue]

17. Libertarianism will explode with this crowd

They've grown up during an era of total political paralysis. Any notion of a political solution to anything is virtually hopeless.

This will fuel anti-government sentiment in the coming decades as those youth become politically active, or inactive.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

19. Interesting theory ...

I posit anarchy as a possibility ...

but, then I try not to be cynical and pessimistic

and Hope that a better change is still possible.

Peace.

[LittleBlue]

22. I wouldn't dismiss your notion for a minute

Could anarchical ideologies gain a foothold? Definitely. Especially with the way our government is carrying on.

The problem I see is, this libertarian ideology doesn't just appeal to right-wingers any more. People who would normally be receptive to progressive arguments feel the same economic frustrations and may come to feel a sense of hopelessness. There is a price to be paid for centrism, compromise and dismissive partisan attitudes during times when young generations are being crushed.

Peace indeed

[H2O Man]

20. Recommended.

My advice to her generation: Rage against the machine!

[DeSwiss]

23. This.

K&R