tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post4286408225959950243..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: Why are American kids so spoiled?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-34668027830834577532012-06-27T17:42:57.164-04:002012-06-27T17:42:57.164-04:00Yeah, that's true to some extent. But the numb...Yeah, that's true to some extent. But the number of Mormon troops in our council, one of the few in the entire USA that is growing, can be counted on the fingers of one wrist stump.<br /><br />The Mormons use BSA as their youth group, but that doesn't mean it's just Mormons. And if you think it was the Mormons who decided that gay men are not appropriate to have around attractive introvert.profhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09042783611716432247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-41168552761207833932012-06-27T15:58:54.642-04:002012-06-27T15:58:54.642-04:00"They were good chemists, too: they invented ..."They were good chemists, too: they invented sarin, methamphetamine, and the Fischer-Tropsch process. Still, the price for all this was much too high."<br /><br />- Froderick Frankenstien from Fresno<br /><br />I dug myself into a hole there, didn't I? My point was that it's a shame that such training was used for war purposes and support for the crappiest government in Europe. Strelnikovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12660962615198939441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-85040495312575572522012-06-27T10:42:14.097-04:002012-06-27T10:42:14.097-04:00It's definitely socioeconomic. At a school wi...It's definitely socioeconomic. At a school with a high first-generation college and/or American/lower-middle-class population, I see far fewer helicopter parents than many here do. The downside is that many of my students have to spend too much time working for money to truly pay attention to their studies, and are liable to miss class to tend to younger siblings, elderly relatives, and/or Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-2125311154956305002012-06-27T10:34:36.981-04:002012-06-27T10:34:36.981-04:00Well, there are going to be crazy (possibly person...Well, there are going to be crazy (possibly personality-disordered, I'd guess, in your case, but I'm no psychologist) parents in every generation -- and, fortunately, sane kids who manage to disentangle themselves from such situations. The societal (as opposed to personal) harm comes when over-investment in/identification with one's kids becomes the norm.Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-24051802079705346562012-06-27T10:30:50.131-04:002012-06-27T10:30:50.131-04:00Indeed, and it probably explains why I was quite h...Indeed, and it probably explains why I was quite happy as an undergrad at an R1. I was ready to spread my wings, and to take advantage of the amazing resources the place offered, without a lot of guidance. The main place where I needed guidance, and received it (from advanced graduate students), was in doing jr/sr independent work. Of course I came out of the experience thinking I was more Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-31565690175174425042012-06-27T09:43:37.622-04:002012-06-27T09:43:37.622-04:00Fuck yeah. These are kids that won't tie their...Fuck yeah. These are kids that won't tie their own goddam shoelaces. <br /><br />We complain about it all the time: kids who have to be told what points they're supposed to pick up from a reading; kids who have to be told to do the homework; kids who won't do a fucking thing unless there's a grade attached to it, even if we tell them that the exams (worth 99.999% of their grade) introvert.profhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09042783611716432247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-23604087452869522162012-06-27T09:39:46.795-04:002012-06-27T09:39:46.795-04:00My sympathies.
At a meeting last night for scout...My sympathies. <br /><br />At a meeting last night for scouts preparing for a high adventure trip (only First Class rank or higher allowed, so we assume some competence and independence) one boy's mother was there. She wouldn't let him handle his own paperwork. <br /><br />The boy is one of our problem children; he's spoiled rotten. But somehow or other he passed his First Class introvert.profhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09042783611716432247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-55856160288953527802012-06-27T09:35:54.237-04:002012-06-27T09:35:54.237-04:00The Boy Scouts do similar things. Not quite so ext...The Boy Scouts do similar things. Not quite so extreme... but there is a Wilderness Survival merit badge, and you can't make First Class without knowing how to use a map and compass.introvert.profhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09042783611716432247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-52377654877427877592012-06-27T09:34:33.895-04:002012-06-27T09:34:33.895-04:00Actually, that's a line from the Knights of Ba...Actually, that's a line from the <a href="http://knightsofbadassdommovie.com/" rel="nofollow">Knights of Badassdom</a> trailer. It looks geekerific. <br /><br />Oh, and did I mention it stars Summer Glau? <pant,pant>introvert.profhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09042783611716432247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-28634115066708086182012-06-27T09:32:48.062-04:002012-06-27T09:32:48.062-04:00They need to shame these idiots right back, and th...They need to shame these idiots right back, and throw the social science research at 'em in support.introvert.profhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09042783611716432247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-316237055036138052012-06-27T05:52:49.064-04:002012-06-27T05:52:49.064-04:00They were good chemists, too: they invented sarin,...They were good chemists, too: they invented sarin, methamphetamine, and the Fischer-Tropsch process. Still, the price for all this was much too high.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-5566516373453233332012-06-27T04:56:01.647-04:002012-06-27T04:56:01.647-04:00".....but you have to admire them for one thi...".....but you have to admire them for one thing: physical training for adolescents."<br /><br />And the Type I Volkswagen.<br /><br />Damn, that's a car.....Strelnikovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12660962615198939441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-78369768435719856242012-06-27T02:19:46.396-04:002012-06-27T02:19:46.396-04:00My mother actually raised me in the crappy America...My mother actually raised me in the crappy American way back in the 80s. I had no chores, I did nothing to earn money, I was not allowed to spend my own money, I often got in trouble for doing things like getting my own dishes out of the cabinet when I was in my teens, she sat in her car and watched my corner when I was a Safety.... and god how I hated it. <br /><br />Most of the children I went ProffieinaHearsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15571846308138863288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-32053387699133849362012-06-27T00:47:44.748-04:002012-06-27T00:47:44.748-04:00Is this really true of all children, or does it co...Is this really true of all children, or does it come down to socioeconomic differentiations? I mean the Matsigenka group being researched kind of has a socioeconomic need to have their children be self reliant. Middle and upper class Americans, not so much. Their children have the luxury of being able to be helpless into their 40s.<br /><br />Same with college: if students are helpless, there'The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-89161825841700248422012-06-26T23:35:54.859-04:002012-06-26T23:35:54.859-04:00Doesn't how undergraduates are treated at rese...Doesn't how undergraduates are treated at research universities have a lot in common with this? I'm beginning to think that "sink or swim" has a lot to be said for it, since the hand-holding we get roped into doing has so little obvious effect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-24942485635025808602012-06-26T23:19:49.941-04:002012-06-26T23:19:49.941-04:00"Wait, verily, those are three things..."..."Wait, verily, those are three things..."<br /><br />(Crash!) NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-61680447337689750722012-06-26T23:08:42.117-04:002012-06-26T23:08:42.117-04:00"Their competence encourages autonomy, which ..."Their competence encourages autonomy, which fosters further competence—a virtuous cycle that continues to adulthood." <br /><br />Indeed. As the adult child of a single parent who practiced mostly-benign neglect while pursuing a demanding career, this rings absolutely true to me. But it's very hard to explain to parents today -- including members of my own generation -- that my Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-16805558829100860872012-06-26T19:25:06.777-04:002012-06-26T19:25:06.777-04:00Ha! It wasn't actually titled that. Someone el...Ha! It wasn't actually titled that. Someone else referred to it that way and it stuck.The Magical Realisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14069059368113533234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-32187502958800917352012-06-26T19:24:22.621-04:002012-06-26T19:24:22.621-04:00The WSJ did a piece a while back on a similar them...The WSJ did a piece a while back on a similar theme, called "Tiger Mom Meets Croissant Mom":<br />http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204740904577196931457473816.html<br /><br />Nevertheless, I remain a little skeptical. Articles like these always seem to pit the worst of one group against the best of another.The Magical Realisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14069059368113533234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-88575366909812685802012-06-26T19:21:39.405-04:002012-06-26T19:21:39.405-04:00In Germany during the 1940s it was a common HJ* dr...In Germany during the 1940s it was a common HJ* drill to send a kid (ages 10-13) blindfolded into the forest, drop him off, and order him to make it back to the HJ camp before dawn. The boy was armed with a knife and a compass.<br /><br />You can loathe the Nazis, but you have to admire them for one thing: physical training for adolescents.<br /><br />_________________<br /><br />* The Strelnikovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12660962615198939441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-82604505231198438242012-06-26T18:40:11.807-04:002012-06-26T18:40:11.807-04:00I feel a Life of Brian moment coming upon me.....I feel a <i>Life of Brian</i> moment coming upon me.....Liz Imbriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10789417084922765275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-60367952386198403252012-06-26T13:35:17.943-04:002012-06-26T13:35:17.943-04:00Do-gooders!Do-gooders!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-55984822648665099522012-06-26T12:37:04.784-04:002012-06-26T12:37:04.784-04:00Well there's a Free Range Kids movement that c...Well there's a Free Range Kids movement that calls for less restrictions on kids. Unfortunately, most of the parents on a website I read about it awhile ago are constantly shamed by other people and even have the cops and CPS called on them for things like letting their kids ride their bikes up and down the block without being outside with them, or letting them walk to school unsupervised. ProffieinaHearsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15571846308138863288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-58508427494408058702012-06-26T11:05:50.713-04:002012-06-26T11:05:50.713-04:00Not just American kids.
I have students who loo...Not just American kids. <br /><br />I have students who look like superstars based on their international O/A-levels results who refuse to even try and learn a concept or an idea. <br /><br />Since they are all brilliant, any failure is that of their instructors.Vog3lfr3ihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07498874776211940606noreply@blogger.com