Where is the WAR ON IGNORANCE? We are in a Crisis of overwhelming

[opihimoimoi]

Loloism.....

Go ask the next 10 people you meet...what is 9 x 7..... or 7 x 9

and see the proof.

Ask what is the ANTHROMORPHIC PRINCIPLE? Pulses and Particles?

OK, that one is covered in TIME a couple weeks back.... but math is one of the most important keys to life.

[BlueEyedSon]

1. Ask them if we found WMD in Iraq. Ask if Iraq is now free &

democratic. Ask if Iraq and/or Saddam had something to do with 9/11.

"Against stupidity the very gods themselves contend in vain."
--Friedrich von Schiller

[Mika]

2. But.. but.. they can fly kites now!

:crazy:

[Nimrod]

3. There's no money in that war

Ignorant people provide better cash flow than intelligent ones.

[quaoar]

4. Ask 10 people

to name three countries in Africa.

Or where the Great Wall of China is.

Or which side Gen. Grant fought on during the Civil War.

[DIKB]

5. ooh

those are some good ones.

What was Old Ironsides ? What war did it fight in ?

Who was the hero of a battle in the Spanish American War who then went on to become President ?

Name one President who was assassinated, OTHER than Lincoln and JFK.

[Ruck]

6. Just being devils advocate

Ask,
Who got us into Viet Nam (JFK)

Who got us out (Nixon)

Means nothing but most people don't know

[Sparkly]

7. "Means nothing but most people don't know"

So if it means nothing, what's the point??

Don't you think the disasters of the current administration happening right now, every day, DO mean something?

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[maxsolomon]

12. enjoy your stay

thanks for the stale talking point.

[LibDemAlways]

8. True, many Americans know very little about

history or geography. They couldn't find Africa on a map much less name any countries on the continent. And, I'm extremely confident most Americans, if handed a globe, couldn't find Iraq. What's also sad is they don't know anything about North America. I'll bet 9 out of 10 US citizens couldn't name three Canadian provinces or identify the capitals of five states.

People are also incredibly ignorant about their own government. I'll bet most couldn't name their two Senators or their one Congresscritter.

When I was in 6th grade 40 years ago each schoolday began with a discussion of "current events." My daughter is now in 6th grade and the only recent event discussed in her class was Ashlee Simpson being booed at a football game. America the stupid.

[opihimoimoi]

10. Thinking is being made UNAMERICAN......UNPATRIOTIC EVEN

They doan want us to THIMK.. THE PUBs want a LOLO Class for exploitation and their ARMIES.

THIMKING IS BECOMING OK ONLY IF THE PUBS GET AN ADVANTAGE/WINDFALL/PROFIT/GOOD PRESS/EXTRA VOTES

[izzybeans]

9. Please help stop the attack on education

Beyond the problems with no child left behind, the creationist movement, etc. or perhaps part of it, there is a large problem with a lack of trust in education in this country. parent's complaining to teachers incessently while not doing their part at home, students discounting the importance of what they are learning, are rampant at all levels of the education system. It's not that these things aren't taught. They aren't retained becuase there is much less follow up within the media, the family, etc. Blaming teachers en masse has been the ultimate cop-out for the dumbing down of our culture. When its all William Hung all the time why would we expect kids to retain even the simplest proofs?

[LibDemAlways]

11. As a former teacher, I agree completely.

Unfortunately, today's teachers are coerced into teaching to the standardized test. There is no joy in learning when the material is nothing more than a set of facts to be regurgitated and then forgotten.

My sixth grader's curriculum is more difficult than anything I had in high school way back when, but its an endless grind of "study for the test, take the test, study for the test, take the test......."

No time to focus on learning how to think, how to critically examine. No reading for pleasure or creative writing.

I don't blame the teachers at all. They are just doing what's required by the system. We're turning out a generation of standardized test takers who won't be able to write a coherent sentence or formulate an original thought.

[izzybeans]

13. Totally agree about the testing aspect as well...

Quantifying knowledge is no easy task if its even possible. And for what? It's not to benefit the kids. It's to push through policiy intitiatives.

[opihimoimoi]

15. And we supposed to be a Beacon, a shiny example, for the World?

Nuts

[hfojvt]

16. What is lolo?

See how ignorant I am?
About ten years ago, I was a volunteer at a youth center and offered a free soda or candy bar to anyone who could answer a simple question (like naming all the planets in the solar system or naming the capitol cities of the seven states where I had lived). I remember that most of the kids who tried were able to do this, but not without some prepping.
I would be very surprised if I met more than one person out of ten who could not tell me 7 times 9. In my classroom experience, most kids could do FOIL. On the other hand I have seen a HS math teacher who had problems doing induction and a fifth grade teacher in Wisconsin who had never heard of Eau Claire.
I also am unsure of your anthromorphic principle although I have taken college anthropology courses, nor your question about pulses and particles although I almost have a BA in physics.