Posted on 10/10/2011 10:38:58 AM PDT by Marie
Dear Mr. Murdoch,
I have two kids, ages 18 and 19, so I've got a lot of young people stomping through our house on an almost daily basis. Young adults aged 18-22 are the most common demographic, with the occasional outlier.
For the last couple of weeks, I've been asking them, "so who do you like in the next election?" The conversation takes off from there.
To my horror, I've found that these kids don't know ANYTHING about our government or political system and very little about our history.
Here are a few of the things that have made me sick:
- One kid didn't know Obama was a Democrat.
- One had never heard of MLK's "I Have A Dream' speech and had never heard the words 'content of character'. (He did know that MLK was a civil rights leader, but that was it.)
- None of them knew how the primaries worked and how we even chose our candidates.
- Three kids had no idea that the states had their own tax system and that they were paying different state and federal taxes. Most of them thought that it was all one big tax system.
- Most of them had no idea that retirement plans were tied to the stock market and that when a company does well, their stock holders (retirees) do well.
- We live in Texas and four of the kids had never heard of the NRA. Of the ones who'd heard of the NRA, *NONE* knew what they did.
- One kid had no idea that there was a difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. One thought that 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' was in the Bill of Rights.
- The only right that all of these kids could name was 'free speech'.
- Most of the kids have no idea how a bill becomes law and I've gotten blank stares when I talk about the two houses of congress.
- One was surprised that Obama could run for a second term. He thought that the president could only be elected once.
- ALL of these kids have jobs and NONE of them know what they were paying FICA and medicaid for.
******************************
There was SO much more. Too much to list it all.
The thing that kills me is that these are NOT stupid kids. Most of them are highly intelligent individuals who can kick my butt in the math and science department. A couple of them are fantastic writers that put me to shame. They are capable of learning and they definitely have the desire.
They're UNEDUCATED. They know so little that they don't even realize that they don't know.
I asked my daughter whey they didn't learn any of this in school. She shook her head and told me that they don't teach 'that stuff' in school any more. She told me that she only knew ONE of her peers who knew as much as she and my son did and he was taught by his parents. I'm proud that my kids are so far ahead of their peers in this area, but very horrified and sad that our newest generation of adults are so woefully unprepared for life in this country.
The thing that struck me was how hungry these kids are for knowledge. Once I start explaining things to them, they ask for more. I've sat here watching political speeches on YouTube with these kids and they were wide-eyed absorbed. (Only one, so far, has had zero interest.)
I'm getting a lot of anger from them. These kids feel betrayed. They feel lied to. They feel as if they've been denied the keys to their own future. One girl actually threw a pack of cigarettes in rage. "Why the HELL hasn't anyone told us this s***!?!" She was spitting mad. She asked if she could bring some friends over so I could teach them. "We *NEED* to know this!"
All of them realize that their own ignorance threatens their future. I'm also hearing a lot of frustration that they don't know where to begin to fix the problem. They understand that there is a lot of BS on the internet and they don’t know who to trust or believe.
I've heard homeschoolers bash the public school system, but these kids who've just come from it are more passionate about abolishing the system than the most rabid homeschooler. This is the system that has failed *them* and they’ve had enough. One was seriously shocked to find out that other countries are out-performing the US in every area of academics. He was always taught that we had the best education system on the planet.
Next month I'm going to start offering a class in my home for any young person who wants knowledge. I'm going to teach them the basics - how our government works, the three branches of gov't, how a bill becomes law, how a supreme court judge is selected, what the two parties stand for, how we elect our officials, what are the EPA and the DOE, what the free market system works, what social security is and why it is threatened, what are the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, etc.
I actually think that I'll have some takers. If even one kid wants this information, I’ll teach it.
This situation is horrible. Our kids are *NOT* morally bankrupt or apathetic. They are being deliberately denied an education.
The big question I had for my daughter was, "WHERE ARE THESE KIDS' PARENTS??" She said that some of the parents were just as uneducated as the kids. Others just assume that their kids are getting a good education and don’t realize that there are serious gaps. Some are so busy and overwhelmed with their own lives that they don't really pay attention to their kids unless they get into trouble.
This generation doesn't even have the benefit of School House Rock.
I think that some enterprising person could produce a series of hour-long shows in the form of a documentary that’s interesting and simple. Post it free on an internet website for anyone who wants to understand how our system works.
The trick is to make it simple and interesting. Produce a show that is very well done in a way that draws in teenagers and adults alike. (“Through the Wormhole” is a great series that transmits very complex information in a way that draws the viewer in and captures their attention.) Such a series could even be marketed to homeschoolers and school systems.
An uneducated public is the biggest threat to our republic and this is crisis of ignorance must be addressed.
The very frightening part is that, when a young person does reach out for information, they encounter a lot of MIS-information that severely warps their understanding of America. These kids are extremely pliable and easily taken advantage of.
I’m hoping that you, or someone you know, will step forward and fill this gap. I can only educate one young mind at a time and we have millions of people who need this basic information, presented to them in a way they can swallow and absorb.
You’ve got the ability and the genius to pull this off Mr. Murdoch. If you aren’t interested, you may know someone who is. Please don’t disregard this cry for help.
Thank you for your time, sir. FReeper Marie
I posted this letter to Mr. Murdoch because he's currently the most influential man in television at the current time.
In reality, I'm hoping that *someone* with the ability and the means will pick up the baton and find a way to reach a generation of hungry minds.
Next year, my daughter plans to start making a series of amateur, NO BS videos for YouTube for the purpose of educating her peers. I told her that I'd fund it.
But somebody has to step in with the knowledge, talent, humor, money and understanding to do this right.
“But somebody has to step in with the knowledge, talent, humor, money and understanding to do this right.”
In addition to laggard/sluggard parents, isn’t one of the purposes of our elementary/secondary schools to impart such civic knowledge?
I would also suggest the History Channel - but in order to first attract that demographic and get them ‘hooked’ the ‘show’ has to have a tease (sex) or an incentive (money).
Maybe a game show format i.e. $64K question on the subjects you have identified. It could be ‘BIG’ with substantial prizes, scholarships, documentaries etc.,
Good luck and God bless.
This letter needs to be thrown in the face of every striking NEA-infested so-called teacher every time they even begin to form a picket line.
They have the right idea, but it needs to start at the Jr. High level.
The parents ( products of the government godless indoctrination system) are as uneducated as the kids.
Last year, during the height of the Tea Party protests, my daughter put together a small protest with her friends.
She made the signs and told the kids when and where they were going.
But first she had to spend days explaining what the problems were and why there had to be protests.
Once the kids got the message, they were more than happy to sign up.
She’s in the process of educating her peers on Perry, Cain, Romney and Obama and gathering a group to vote in the primaries.
On the one hand, it’s kind of nice to be able to influence these young voters to our cause.
On the other hand, it’s terrifying how mailable they are and how easily swayed. If we can convince them to vote for our candidate in less than five minutes, anyone can.
Marie, I am on Free Republic nearly every day urging that the godless and socialist-funded government schools be shut down. Why conservatives fail to see the urgency is very distressing to me. Even here on Free Republic there “conservatives” who insist that their child's school is different, and/or that a godless and socialist-funded program can be reformed.
Short term: Perhaps “juntas” as formed by Benjamin Franklin in the city of Philadelphia.
Short term: Encourage as many parents as possible to homeschool. Remove as many children as possible from the godless, socialist-funded, government schools.
Long term: Conservatives must work to shut down all government funded schooling. What is needed is complete separation of school and state.
Long term: Abandon the Prussian style factor-model system of education and move to small home-based schools, one room school, private tutoring, apprenticeships, mini-schools in the homes of teachers in the neighborhood, qualifying exams (as Charles Murray suggests) instead of college degrees, etc. ....In other words, an educational setting that our Founding Fathers enjoyed.
Don't you know the school's job is teach kids how to put CONDOMS on cucumbers and make sure they feel happy. Learning?? no, that is not their job. /s
FReeper Marie, these are your kids?
If so it seems to me you should have been educating them on these issues all along - they are 18 and 19?
What happened?
No, from the context of the article, these are her kids’ friends and her daughter is the one who is trying to educate them along with Marie.
Apparently you didn’t read the letter.
*MY* children are heavily educated on these issues. They grew up listening to Rush and Quinn while I homeschooled. My daughter named her cat after FOX news anchors. They’ve been dragging their friends to Tea Party protests.
My daughter is trying to come up with a video format to educate people of her generation on the basics.
Neither of my children will even consider dating a liberal and my son refuses to date a female who is pro-choice.
My kids are Army Brats who were raised by involved, conservative parents.
My letter was about my concern for the dozen or so of their friends who’ve come through my house. I’m hoping that someone will see the need to properly educate this generation.
I agree with your sentiments and applaud your efforts. But please don’t make the mistake of assuming that Murdoch really cares what happens to our republic. He merely saw the opportunity to make some money by presenting a network that appeals to those who are not totally on the left. It is strictly market-driven, IMO.
To give you guys an idea of who my children are, I’d like to illustrate an example from last week.
My son was driving home one night and my daughter was a passenger in the car.
They hit a deer, breaking both of her back legs and hip.
They stopped and located the deer, who was still very much alive and suffering.
My daughter called the police and got permission for my son to end the deer’s suffering. The cop said, “go for it.”
She then asked if they could have the carcass once she was dead. The cop said, “sure!”
It’s illegal to discharge a firearm in city limits. (Something that they didn’t even ask because they are aware of our local laws.) So my son calmed the deer down, told her he was sorry and slit her throat.
After the deer was dead, they brought her home, properly butchered her and put the meat in our freezer.
My daughter is getting her CCL in a year on her 21st birthday. She’s already looking into ways to carry concealed while dressing fashionably. Daddy is taking her to gun shows in the spring so she can find a gun that ‘fits’ her.
Both of my children have been going to city counsel meetings for the last couple of months. My daughter’s irritated with the way the counsel is running things and is pulling her friends together to find a candidate that’s more pro-business that they can support. She wants to vote the obstructionists out.
She’s already been playing with the idea of running for a local office if she can’t find someone she can support.
Those are the kids that *I* raised.
Bookmark.
There’s a website called Cornered Cat that has tips on CC for women. One article even addresses the fashion question: http://corneredcat.com/Concealed_Carry_for_the_Fashionable_Woman/
Hi Marie, sorry, I read your article twice and couldn’t tell. Must be the Dayquil fog.
don’t worry about it. i get ‘brain fog’ more than most people!
:)
“Why conservatives fail to see the urgency is very distressing to me. Even here on Free Republic there “conservatives” who insist that their child’s school is different, and/or that a godless and socialist-funded program can be reformed.”
The lack of urgency is also distressing to me; further I find it absolutely stunning that most self-styled Christians and conservatives I know are quite happy to send their children to government schools without a second thought. And unfortunately, I do not see the attitude changing, and for that I blame the pulpits, which are (in my view) deafeningly silent on the matter.
A friend in a leadership position at my previous church (S. Baptist) told me that the pastor was opposed to homeschooling, and only grudgingly approved of the local home school association using the church building for meetings.
If you follow the various education threads here, you’ll find contempt for those who pursue the study of history or political science. If it’s not math/science/engineering, it’s a waste of time, didn’t you know that?
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