Miss Teen South Carolina Gave the Answer She Was Taught (in public schools)

RushLimbaugh.com ^ | September 4, 2007 | Rush Limbaugh

[SoftballMominVA]

I guess then you and I see it differently

I see a kid that made a mistake and screwed up, but don't see it as anything other than that - just a kid that gave a really REALLY dumb answer to a pretty simple question and did it on camera

You and others see it as a cause celebre for poor education and want to grind her face in it. Then of course imply that I too am empty-headed. Nice way to take it to the personal level. You miss the comment about 'no personal attacks'?

Just know that karma is a funny thing. You and others may find yourself on camera one day. Hope others are kinder to you than you are to them.

[vox humana]

No one has mentioned how stupid was the question.

The question was not stupid.

If the girl's IQ had been above double digits, she could have simply said, "Unfortunately, some Americans can not find the United States on a world map because geography does not receive the emphasis that it should in many of our schools."

[rock58seg]

And I think Rush glossed over the real reason for her answer.

She was probably coached just before the session, that no matter what the question, to not forget mentioning her concern for conditions in South Africa and Iraq.

The poor girl must have been completely floored by a question which concerned only the U.S. And had to improvise some way to follow instructions.

I thought she did rather well considering.

[rock58seg]

How many were in favor of women no longer being made to suffer?

[rock58seg]

Texas in particular is so large that it gets viewed like a whole country by its inhabitants. From one edge to its furthest isn't all that much shorter than the distance from Georgia to NY.

I live in South Central Texas. For various reasons I dislike flying, trains and busses. I drive most places. NYC,(daughter), Miami, (daughter), Santa Cruz, (in-laws), Denver, Vermont, Wyoming, (friends) Nevada, Missourri, Louisiana, Mexico (vacations). It sometimes seems most of my time is spent just getting out of Texas.

Mexico is the closest border and that is three hours away.

[Maelstorm]

I would say that is a good idea if we tax payers weren’t already paying such extraordinary amounts of money to buy those text books. If you were just going to make people who don’t pay taxes pay then I might go along with you but then again I don’t think that would fly. I don’t understand why we spend any money on text books at all. I’d rather schools be centered around a well stocked library with all lessons being crafted from books shared from there.

[Caramelgal]

I understand where you're coming from, but I'd be willing to bet money that this particular girl could kill herself studying and working hard and she would still never be capable of being a doctor, engineer, mathematician, or any other hard science profession.

You make a very good point. Miss SC came off as being as dumb as a “box of hair” and no matter how hard she studied she’d probably never win a Noble Prize for Mathematics or Astro-Physics but unless someone has a real mental defect, I have difficulty believing that there is any excuse for being that vacuous.

Counseling her that she could be just as good as the boys would be a lie.

Here, I have to disagree with you just a wee bit.

I do agree that boys and girls are different and that boys tend to be innately better at certain subjects like math than girls. Part of it is “wiring” but part of it can be taught. If you condition girls and tell them that they’ll never be good at math or science then you are setting them up for failure. If we set the bar low for girls or boys… we get more Miss or Mr. SC. (and trust me, I’ve met a lot of stupid people in my life and some of them were actually men :),). The mind, any mind, is a terrible thing to waste!

Telling girls that they can never be “as good as the boys”?

What message does that send?

I have a great niece who just turned 13. She learned to read at a very early age in large thanks to her mother, my niece, who was a stay at home mom and very intelligent in her own right. When my great niece started school she was already reading two grade levels above the rest of the kids. In the 5th grade she was assessed at reading at a SR HS level. She’s an avid reader and loves and excels at math and science.

She was staying one weekend with me when she was about 8 years old and we were out shopping when she spied a copy of American Scientific magazine on the news stand. She asked me to buy it for her and being the indulgent Aunt that I am, I bought it for her, truthfully thinking she just wanted to look at the pretty pictures.

She spent the rest of the evening reading the magazine cover to cover and only on a few words did she stumble and ask for my help. (Heck I stumbled on a few words so we looked them up in a dictionary together).

She read me aloud an article that most interested her on Plate Tectonics. After she read it to me, I asked her some questions to see if she understood what she had read and I was floored! Not only could she read but she comprehended what she read and formulated some very intelligent opinions on her own. (BTW- she also keeps up with politics and current events too and thinks Al Gore is an idiot).

I recently attended her middle school honors program where she won 8 awards in various subjects including awards in math and science and health. She also won one first place and took second place in essay contests on patriotism, one sponsored by the American Legion and the other by the VFW.

She was first presented the award in the AL contest at a Memorial Day parade ceremony and it was kept secret from her as a surprise. When her award was announced she was asked to come to the podium and make a few remarks. This very young girl showed more composure than many adults would. She was gracious, humble and eloquent and even humorous and self deprecating and it was all completely off the cuff. She had the presence of mind to thank her parents and to thank the AL commander and presenters by name along with the Iraqi war veteran who was the key note speaker.

She wants to go into the medical sciences as a medical researcher. She has expressed the interest in attending Johns Hopkins. She recently told me she likes science and medicine but doesn’t think she’s a “people” person and so doesn’t think she be a good MD. I however think and know she can and will exceed in any field she choices and that she’s much more charming and engaging than she gives herself credit for right now at 13.

But I wonder where she’d be today and where she’d be headed to go tomorrow if she was given the message by her parents and teachers that math and science is only for boys. I wonder if when she asked me to buy her that American Scientific magazine, I told her that sort of stuff was only for boys and steered her into getting Glamour or Vogue magazine instead…

[oldvike]

Uhm, okay

[fr_freak]

If you condition girls and tell them that they’ll never be good at math or science then you are setting them up for failure.

I've always wondered about this: how much of girls' avoidance of hard sciences really is the result of conditioning. It seems to me that if a girl had aptitude and interest in a certain area, she would be motivated to pursue it regardless of what people told her. We have a number of examples of this from years where women weren't even allowed to enter into these subject areas. Marie Curie is one example.

With regard to that, I have an anecdote of my own. My sister always had a strong interest in the sciences. When we were kids we always shared the science fiction novels that we checked out from the library. I think she originally wanted to be an astronaut. Anyway, she was on the receiving end of a fair amount of that "girls can't do math" kind of thinking, but no matter how much she might be told that, she always knew instinctively that it was BS, and never believed a word of it. And that was back in the late 70s, early 80s, before all of this grrrrl power stuff came into play.

She ended up getting her Master's in Physics, and was halfway through her doctorate when she decided she was bored with the whole theoretical thing and decided to get into web design for a while. So my question has been, if she wasn't phased by the negative attitudes toward women, why are so many others? Is it because they have weaker personalities, or is it because they actually do not have the aptitude my sister had, and so were just looking for an excuse to shy away from those subjects?

I’ve met a lot of stupid people in my life and some of them were actually men

Whaaaaat? Stupid men? Tell me where they are, and I bash them. I bash them good!

[Entrepreneur]

When I worked a project in NYC, I regularly came across college graduates - sometimes engineers - that had no concept of anything outside of the city.

This is common for anyone who works and has lived around the country and world. A lot of people who live on the east or west coast seem to have trouble with the concept of civilization in between (think of maps with, "there be dragons here").

[Landru]

"I guess then you and I see it differently."

You *guess*? >*thunk*<
What tipped ya off. {g}

"I see a kid that made a mistake and screwed up..."

God Bless you.
You're a *Mom*, so your response --however well meaning-- has & is having devastating consequences to en entire generation of young people. Unless we're content assuming a 3rd world status we're all compelled to demand, and expect a much higher standard of performance of all.
It's a matter of our very survival, Mother.

"...but don't see it as anything other than that..."

Yea.
That much is fairly clear if all else after, isn't.

I see a kid who's supposedly the cream-of-the-crop. Allegedly educated, articulate, poised *and* pretty this individual's supposed to represent the best we [read: The United States of America] have.
If I'm wrong?
Where, why & how?

"- just a kid that gave a really REALLY dumb answer to a pretty simple question and did it on camera"

Embarrassing, wasn't it.
Forget her faux pas happened on *camera* for what we *all* witnessed & are addressing came from the head, be that as it may.

The whole sordid affair was much more embarrassing for we tax payer citizens than it was for her, make no mistake about it.
It'd NEVER have been broadcast to the masses otherwise or the quisling mediots would never have spent the ammo making sure the entire nation saw it in lieu of regarding it an innocent error made by an adolescent.
There was a *reason* behind it being made public, don'tcha know.
Capiche?

What happened was infinitely more embarrassing for what she represents; insofar, as our nation, the state of our education system, culture et al right down the line.
I'm embarrassed even if you're not, Mom.

"You and others see it as a cause celebre for poor education..."

HA!!
Well????

"...and want to grind her face in it."

NOT in her face!
The institution(s) responsible for making one as banal as this kid should be ashamed, though they're anything but *because* said institutions know all-too-well they've people like YOU defending, smoke screening, rationalizing & doing the heavy lifting concerning their accountability. ;^)

"Then of course imply that I too am empty-headed."

Lookit, I'm concerned about the frightening downward spiral the republic's heading. You're making excuses for abysmal performance while Rome burns! Your behavior's precisely *how* the republic got in this fix to start.

"Nice way to take it to the personal level."

If you took it personally so be it, if the shoe fits, wear it.
Just know many of us can plainly see the himbos & bimbos our society's producing, we're not blind even if doing so would make you *feel* better.
We realize these youngsters are our future, the future of the entire republic and we're sickened.
Looks bleak and that's just calling a spade a spade, Mom.

"You miss the comment about 'no personal attacks'?"

Nope, haven't missed a *thing* thank you very much.
I want you to know I know personal attack(s) are the LAST thing you're concerned about, you couldn't care less.
It's the *message* I convey, that's what you don't like.
~eh? :o)

"Just know that karma is a funny thing. You and others may find yourself on camera one day. Hope others are kinder to you than you are to them."

~sigh~

Tell you what Mom, & it's NOT a personal attack but rather a *wish*.
I wish for the young lady in question successfully become the physician of her dreams.

...so she may be your physician. ;^)

[SoftballMominVA]

Thanks for the post. Have a nice day.

[Clintonfatigued]

Did you hear about this? It’s pretty astonishing.