Thursday, December 9, 2010

Chapter 6 ~ No More Culture Warriors

This section of the book began by retelling the story of Rip Van Winkle. This was a tale of a Dutch American villager who stays in the woods for a 20-year nap. Before, people found an old newspaper and debated public issues months after it happened, but after he woke from the nap he discovered they participate directly in the same type of events. At first, I really did not piece the correlation of the Rip Van Winkle scenario to the conclusion of the book.

Toward the end of the section, the author states that as of 2008, the intellectual future of civic understanding and liberal education looks dim. The social pressures and leisure preferences of young Americans help in setting the direction of the American mind. According to the author, the direction is downward. He provided the following joke told during the seventies about college students after the late sixties.

“What do you think of student ignorance and apathy?” the interviewer asks the sophomore.
“I dunno and I don’ care”—

The author made a bold statement about the Dumbest Generation caring very little for things such as history books and civic principles, foreign affairs, etc. and that they know less. The comparison of Rip Van Winkle made at the beginning of the chapter was made toward this generation. That is, that they are the latter day Rip Van Winkle, sleeping through the movements of culture and events of history who would rather be with their peers instead of great books and momentous happenings. According to the author, intellectual life can’t compete with social life for the Millennials.

He went onto state that if parents and teachers don’t realize the issues (fewer books and more videos checked out of libraries, more kids go to a mall than a museum, etc) then they are blind. In his opinion, unless things change the Dumbest Generation will be remembered “as the fortunate ones who were unworthy of the privileges they inherited. They may even be recalled as the generation that lost that great American heritage, forever.”

I agree with the Section 3 summary in that the author is very pessimistic. I can almost envision the author as being a very old fashioned teacher, stuck in his own ways. Too stubborn to realize that things change, they aren’t always going to be like the old ways, and that change can be positive; it doesn’t have to be viewed as negative. I’ve witnessed impact technology has played on our students and teachers and the result is mostly positive. Change is what you make of it, in my opinion.

1 comment:

  1. The author makes some good points. At first I felt a bit offended by his stating statistics in chapters 1-4 and by his title. But from chapters 5-6 I could see how our generations obsession with so called reality TV, lil wayne, and fashion among other things are blinding us from our true potential. The times we live in now are different and things have change but are we utilizing our new advantages? It seems like we are playing with the new technology and not using it to make new discoveries or find purpose in life or whatever greatness could come from it.I always believed that everyone is purposed to do great things we are all capable of it yet we seem a bit stagnated. Not everyone but the majority of youth have no substance or some sense of value. I mean, when was the last time you came across someone who reads avidly? Why not visit museums? Even if the past is set in a dull, out dated tradition doesnt mean that it has nothing to offer.History has shown that we learn from our past. Present day history is rich in knowledge that supports advancement. Do we even utilize that? He's not pessimistic, he's honest.

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