Quote:
Originally Posted by thwart
Really, the only difference is the absence of Sr. Ethel...
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Yeah, no kidding. During my generation there must of been legions of Sister Ethels that mastered the craft of knuckle raps who were then assigned to Catholic elementary schools throughout the Diocese. Um, of course real corporeal punishment did not actually occur
, the stern imagery of Sister Ethel and the implied threat was usually sufficient to maintain order. Those were the days...
To close the tangent on average reading level of Americans one more point I would like to make and a frightening one that I hope I am wrong about
: reading level establishes a rough equivalence for some forms of intellectual capability because it facilitates, or in its limitation throttles, the inputs into development & growth of any person to learn, grow and function in an increasingly complex society at any and all levels.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ti Designs
I think the real problem is that we're a really stupid population.
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There may be some truth in this hyperbole if the reading level of Americans is as bad as Wikipedia claims it to be.
The danger here is that if the average American reads at a 1st or 2nd grade reading level, there leaves open the possibility that he/she also thinks at a level of a 1st or 2nd grader too - a lack of input and stimulus will not serve to enhance and further any person's innate mental processes. And if that is the case, then our nation will suffer tremendous dislocations because a functioning democracy & rule of law both asks and requires something from each of its citizens. There will be other more easier & addictive forms of input, rather than the difficulty of reading, to tell a citizenry what to think when it is apparent the citizenry has no interest or capacity for thinking for itself and acting on its own perceived interests.
Maybe the solution isn't to get people to read better but to get "truthful information of the public concern" out in a more amenable and digestible form. Big ask, IMO as it still requires a basic competence. And in that there also drags in long-term issues on the value, role and competency of public education to aid citizen's ability to function in a democracy.
Nothing simple in anything in life. Sorry, no intent on my part to be a downer. But I never kid myself to try to know what I'm/we are up against.