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June 16th, 2012
09:38 AM ET

Bill's ashamed of how badly some high school students missed simple trivia

Bill Santiago tells Randy Kaye he can't believe just how bad these high school students missed the most basic trivia. Plus – his take on a man arrested for the 41st time for a DUI near a windshield replacement houston shop, and a truly sad divorce after 115 years together.

soundoff (65 Responses)
  1. Harry Kuheim

    High School is about Self Esteem, Leftist Indoctrination, and Socialization ...and most importantly...Jobs for Unionized Teachers grinding Liberal axes in English, History,Science and Social Studies classes. Never mind that we spend ,per Student, more on schools than any Country.

    June 19, 2012 at 11:18 am |
  2. John

    @Harry Kuheim Well said!

    June 20, 2012 at 12:12 pm |
  3. mrbell321

    @John: "Well said"? Really?
    @Harry and John: That was the most paranoid, uneducated, but more importantly, unintelligent responses I've ever heard. I will absolutely grant you that there are problems with the schools in America, but let's break down the statement, "High school is about":
    Self Esteem – this is a problem? Whether you think the popular kids develop unnecessary self esteem classmates or the rest are denigrated leading to low self esteem, both of these are challenges that need to be overcome and are therefore good
    Leftist Indoctrination – I almost don't want to respond because the only response is: it's leftist indoctrination if learning critical thinking and being exposed to ideas is somehow "leftist". hint: it's not. Even a little. At all.
    Socialization – So it's bad to talk to people? have friends? develop relationships? work differences out? learn to live with people who are different from yourself? If this is your point of view... wow. maybe you should avoid socialization. Never talk to anyone ever again. Please. For the rest of us, do us this favor.
    Jobs for Unionized Teachers – Tired, meaningless argument. Average salary for a high school teacher is about $55k/yr(http://www1.salary.com/High-School-Teacher-salary.html). That's nice, but it's not what you would expect if your "lazy, corrupt union fat cat" theory held any water at all. Have you met your children? Or any? I was one not too long ago. They're almost all complete jerks. And do you know any teachers? All the teachers I know work way more than any other field. You think it's just the kids who have homework? You're delusional.
    Liberal axes in English, History, Science, Social Studies – Yes. Communicating clearly using historical precedent backing it up with rational thinking being able to examine our society is obviously a leftist plot. That was sarcasm, in case you missed it. Although, I will grant you that someone from your point of view would clearly never use those tools. (That was not sarcasm)

    June 20, 2012 at 1:01 pm |
  4. BobZemko

    Hey Harry Kuheim, let me take a WILD guess: you think 9/11 was an inside job. TWA Flight 800 was downed by a missile. The government is spraying chemicals in the air to make us sick. The moon landing never happened.

    I pray that you have not nor plan on reproducing.

    June 20, 2012 at 1:16 pm |
  5. Lance

    mrbell321 seems to be oblivious to our rapid slide down the world's education rankings. Something obviously isn't right with the system, as demonstrated by the video.

    June 20, 2012 at 2:25 pm |
  6. Ben R.

    @mrbell321

    What he said.

    June 21, 2012 at 3:48 pm |
  7. Will

    How is knowing politics anything of significance? America is nothing but a bully. The education system is definitely flawed with the results showing that America keeps dropping on the education rankings as Lance said. But that's just one part of the whole problem. Make fun of kids who don't know their political leaders who only lie to us. Let's vote for Obama or Romney, whichever you pick, and they'll focus on jobs, on education, on ending the wars. Wars are costing an estimated 1.5 billion a month to fund and we're at war why? To get rid of dictatorship as to which we did already and are continuing to be at war? Has absolutely nothing to do with the oil, which other countries we are friendly with have just as much? Does it matter if Joe Biden is Vice President or just some random person named Billy? Watched the video thinking it'd be about trivia like "Name the oceans of the world" or something like that, not more political garbage.

    And it is true, a lot of the students are mean, obnoxious and just plain-out don't care. You can't force someone to learn. But that's how the world works, or at least America.

    June 23, 2012 at 9:00 pm |
  8. euphewl

    WOW – $55k/ for 9 months

    That's better than I made before I got laid off... what the hell. More money and 3 months less work.

    And building self-esteem is great – except it doesn't prepare you for the real world. Google high school gradulation speech "You aren't special" – – it's a good one.

    June 24, 2012 at 7:48 am |
  9. U kidding me with the Trivial concerns

    i'm not concerned that kids have no "basic knowledge"
    however, I'm hugely concerned that mankind has no "basic SELF-knowledge"
    and doesn't even know what it means!!!!!

    June 25, 2012 at 12:36 pm |
  10. Michael w

    I'm not surprised. With the teachers union, they have too much say in what is taught. Doctors and nurses must spend 30+ hrs every two years to update thier skills and other new changes in thier fields. Now we have math teachers, science teachers who have taught every thing they knew when they graduated, that could be decades past. Why don't teachers have to maintain current knowledge in the subjects they teach? Want to bet on who would fight this? No wonder our kids are falling behind other 1st world countries, They have teachers that haven't learned anything since Kennedy was shot. Make the teachers, force the teachers to have mandated continuing education, because we will never catch up with 1st world counries while teachers are allowed to teach at the subject level they had at graduation.

    June 26, 2012 at 1:22 pm |
  11. Spirit

    I will go ahead and tell you that some of the top ranking countries in education like to skew their statistics. Also, they weed out those students who don't perform as expected and segregate the "mediocre" from the "elite," even in grade schools. Lastly, hours spent on education? A child's entire day, as opposed to the standard 8-9 hours of school in America. Many are forced to have at least one form of extracurricular activity as well, sometimes having educational studies well past their bedtime. Now, if you want America to be top-ranking, expect that, and expect the majority of the population to rebel.

    June 26, 2012 at 2:32 pm |
  12. Concerned Parent

    I do find it appalling that high school students are so completely clueless on basic information about our nation! But, I find it even MORE appalling how clueless the average parent seems to be when it comes to improving our education system! Most parents I meet seem to think that the school system is supposed to magically impart world class knowledge upon their inattentive, whinning, ungrateful, self-serving, young carbon copies of themselves without any effort or intervention from the students NOR the parents! They seem to think the school should NEVER discipline THEIR perfect little angel, but by George, they need to discipline all of the rest of those BAD students who try to "make my little angel look bad"! If you promote ignorance at home, YOUR children will grow up to be JUST as ignorant as YOU! If you are just TOO BUSY or TOO "IMPORTANT" to have YOUR time "wasted" by speaking with teachers or administrators, then you can expect poor results from your children and you can blame yourself for that ! You must get involved with your school and with your teachers and promote reading and studying as a part of your home environment! Stop blaming teachers for YOUR lack of parenting skills! Trust me, if YOU actively promote reading, learning and knowledge at home, your children will follow your example! But, if YOU openly denegrate and disrespect your school, YOUR children will also! PARENTS, YOUR child's education is in YOUR hands! If you ignore it, so will your children!

    June 26, 2012 at 2:56 pm |
  13. Just a thought

    I can see both sides of the argument here. People who are pissed off about money being spent on wars, but not on education need to compare the amount of money that we DO spend on education to other countries. However, teachers do have to spend a certain amount of time every year on job enrichment and updating their skills – there is some discretion as to what teachers do with these hours, but plenty of teachers use that to learn about advances in math and science. If you want to blame someone for what your kids don't know – blame the parents who expect the school system to do their job for them. Parents who want to see their children succeed ask them about their homework, talk to them about current events (which – it is disgraceful high school students don't know who their VP is), go to school functions and care about their kids. If you show kids what is important, they tend to follow your example. But if you spend more time on your cell phones than talking to your children, what do you expect?

    June 26, 2012 at 4:29 pm |
  14. cc3

    @MrBell. Thank you!

    @John and Harry. I second one readers request for you not to reproduce.

    @Lance, you have conveniently missed MrBelll's statement that "I will absolutely grant you that there are problems with the schools in America..."
    Not surprising from someone who hears/reads what he wants to read. Please don't be afraid of the inconvenient, Lance.

    June 27, 2012 at 2:08 am |
  15. cc3

    Most people ought to know that the report said at the start that most students got the answers right. You can't take some outliers and spread that to encapsulate the whole education system. (You can, but that's quite dishonest.

    June 27, 2012 at 2:09 am |
  16. emma

    Education budgets have been slashed and burned since Reagan took office in 1981 and you people think your students are dumb because of teachers' unions?
    No wonder your kids are dumb: the dumb are raising and teaching the dumber.
    Good luck to you all.

    June 27, 2012 at 9:19 am |
  17. drillteamer

    I don't understand the education system any more; my Pre-AP English II teacher had majored in sports medicine and minored in English, and the woman could barely string a sentence together properly. I regularly pointed out errors in her spelling and grammar, as well as that of the seniors who ran the "Word of the Day" powerpoint on the morning announcements.

    June 27, 2012 at 12:45 pm |
  18. Grim Reaper

    @mrbell321

    Put together a cogent argument yourself instead of posting some backslapping diatribe. The facts remain teachers as a general rule are left of center politically. The fields of study cited even more so. As far as teachers working 'way more' patently false. Teaching is what you put into it nothing more nothing less. Kids being 'jerks' you can't thank the coddling, hand holding, and nurturing on the right wing. You get the whole enchilada on that one to choke down. With regards to salaries for teachers I agree they're one of the lowest paid professions in society. The sad reality is a number of good teachers have left the profession due to the money and the bad ones unable to find work in the private sector taint the professions brand. You can also thank the NEA as well as your local teachers union for not policing its ranks to protect the integrity of teaching. Before you pass judgement on someone as unintelligent take a long hard look in the mirror.

    June 27, 2012 at 7:44 pm |
  19. Momof2

    All teachers and paraprofessionals (teacher's aides) must have 100 hours of professional learning every 5 years to recertify in order to keep working in our school system. Most teachers in our system only make around $30,000 with paraprofessionals topping out at $15,000. Yes, we have summers off but most of my colleagues spend that time planning for the next school year. Furthermore most teachers and paraprofessionals spend several hundred dollars of their salaries each year on their classrooms and even more on individual needy children. Most in our district are members of a teachers union simply because it is the most affordable way to get personal liability insurance and easy access to a lawyer should the need arise.

    June 27, 2012 at 9:41 pm |
  20. a parent

    So, when was the last time that you discussed the Vice President or any other relevant person/current event with your child at the dinner table? Memorizing facts is not nearly as powerful a teacher as being immersed in discussion or debate. In one of his books, renowned physicist Richard Feynman talks of how his father, a tailor, would quiz him on math problems. How many of you do that?

    June 27, 2012 at 10:04 pm |
  21. Fladabosco

    You know a society is sick when its villains are teachers, unions and community organizers and its heroes are thugs, sleazes and CEOs.

    The Fox news kind of people have demonized teachers, tried to have the bible taught as fact and to teach students by rote memorization so it can be measured.

    I am not a credentialed teacher but I spend a lot of time in schools from elementary to the large, well known University I lecture at.

    High school should be about educating kids about the world and teaching them to think for themselves. They should learn how to intelligently debate what is going on their world. They should learn to argue for both sides so they don't become a mouthpiece for those in power or those who want it.

    My kids are smart and one is a fine business school. My kids don't know who Kafka was or what he did. They don't know what the Korean war was about, where Sarajevo is, what the attorneys general do. Most of the kids in high school now have never heard of Beethoven. They don't know what journalism is or what it ought to be.

    June 28, 2012 at 10:44 am |
  22. Bemusedattorney

    @Grim Reaper,
    Have you ever sat down with a teacher, any teacher, whether from primary or secondary education and truly engaged them in conversation regarding their profession? Have you cared enough, as you purport to through your incoherent rambling, to discuss the countless hours (often well into the night...every night) they pour into our children's education? Have you cared enough to ask why it is that our teachers literally spend thousands of dollars of their own meager salaries to supplement the ridiculously low funding they receive from school districts? And this isn't just for the hell of it, mind you. This is usually so they can meet the standards they're required to meet...and without any additional funding, guess where the money comes from...the TEACHERS. Not to mention the fact that this usually prevents the teacher from giving the (often needed) individual attention to struggling students. Now, I don't care whether the teachers themselves are right of center, left of center, or above center or any other geographic political metaphor buzzword you'd like throw out there. New ideas, often ones that challenge our own understanding, ought to be nurtured and encouraged. It's the only way we can move forward as a society. I'd like to know the source of your resounding assertion that " teachers working 'way more' patently false." Where, in your decades of personal experience (because you're obviously an expert on education and education administration) is that assertion supported by any solid documentation? What I can tell you is that many teachers pour themselves into what they do. In spite of staggering standards, insufficient funding to help meet those standards, and in spite of society's bemused neglect of the entire educational framework...in spite of people like you, they soldier on and attempt to give our children a chance to expand their knowledge and be inspired to be the next president, doctor, biologist, engineer, artist, singer. The teacher's unions aren't the bad guys here either, in case you're still reading at this point. In fact, the teacher's unions are usually the only recourse many teachers have if they hope to receive additional support for their classroom objectives. Furthermore, they at least attempt to keep the pay teachers receive relatively competitive, such that we CAN retain the best professionals in the field. Your blanket assertion that they do nothing to "police their ranks" is uninformed and, at best, only marginally accurate. Again, I'd love to know where such assured authority comes from when you speak to this issue. The fact of the matter is that our nation's educators face a losing battle every day....shrinking funding, larger classrooms which make classroom management near impossible, and a government/society with only a marginal interest in the issues. Please, take a step back and reexamine things before you lambast the people attempting to educate the next generation of thinkers.

    June 29, 2012 at 8:59 am |
  23. JJ

    Most of the kids got the answers correct. Some who got the answers wrong probably did so
    to get on the video (people did that in JayWalking to get on TV, since he never showed the people
    who got the question correct.)

    The "Who is the VP?" question has been used since IKE was in office (VP was Nixon in case you were
    wondering), and adults were shown missing it then.

    I have a son in HS, and am impressed by the knowledge he and his freinds have. Maybe he is just in a
    good circle of friends, but they are taking college level courses, they talk about microbiology,
    bioinformatics, physics topics for fun. Much more than I ever experienced in HS.

    I agree that we should be teaching our students more. I'd suggest that all the critics put your money where
    your mouth is and have your school boards pay the teachers 10% more for a 10th month of school.
    Most other countries have gone to the equivalent of 10 months worth of school (a longer year,
    or longer hours per day). Other countries start algebra in the sixth grade, we should too. When the kids
    arrive at a Univ., they compete against foreign students who are 2 years advanced because of the extra
    time the foreign students have spent in school. We no longer need the kids to be out in the summer to
    be farm laborers, let them concentrate on learning before they have to take over the reins of running the country.

    June 29, 2012 at 5:05 pm |
  24. MarkinFL

    The failure in our system lies at the feet of the parents. The children with parents that value education and respect teachers almost invariably are good students that get an excellent education from the very same schools and teachers that are supposedly "failing" the students whose parents do not push them and always blame the teachers for the poor performance of their unmotivated children.
    YOU and your child are responsible for you child's success or failure. The teachers are there to facilitate your child's success, not ensure it.

    July 1, 2012 at 11:08 pm |
  25. philtration

    The problem is that stupidity is now popular.
    Complete fools rake in money while screaming and fighting on TV.
    Brain dead teens and 25 year-olds high fiving each other because they can barely put together a coherent sentence.
    When I was in high school that last thing that you wanted to be thought of was being a moron and a loser.
    Now it is the new cool.

    July 2, 2012 at 10:02 pm |
  26. Max

    Wow! Welcome to the John Dewey progressive system of liberal education and its results. This is what you get when you teach about rappers instead of Mozart and social issues over classical education. I would like to know via poll exactly how many of today's kids know about the Constitution or the Declaration of Independance? I'm sure the number will be absolutely pathetic. and to imagine these kids are the future! But dumbing down society is always part of the statist's plans.

    July 3, 2012 at 6:42 pm |
  27. Nate

    To be fair, none of these questions are on NCLB tests. The emphasis on reading and math means little time to discuss current events or analyze history.

    If you don't like it, how about increasing funding on education? How about going back to the days when a 25+ class size was a horror story, not a common sight?

    July 4, 2012 at 5:36 pm |
  28. Chad R

    Kids are having kids. Simple as that. A lot of this boils down to parents: You must discipline them!!! This new culture of being your kids best friend is flat out wrong and it obviously is not working. And, I would also agree: Kids these days (mostly) are brats and have no respect for authority. I know, I know – there are lots of great kids and good parents out there, but this problem persists and seems like it is getting worse. And, secondly, I beleive it is our responsibility to know who's in public office. We Americans take things for granted way too much. We live our lives with care-free attitudes with our noses stuck in the air. A little bit of humility would cure this. Think about the basics: Student loans, Income tax refunds (so many tax credits out there), Food stamps, etc. This list could go on and on. But, how many other people are afforded these (seemingly never-ending) benefits? We should have these benefits (in my opinion), but there are A LOT of people who are not afforded these. These are a few examples of taking things for granted. It will come back to haunt us, but I hope we fix it before it gets too bad.

    July 5, 2012 at 10:05 pm |
  29. cheapseats2

    This is where progressivism is taking us.

    July 6, 2012 at 2:07 pm |
  30. Oklahoma Teacher

    I am a liberal, union card carrying school teacher here in Oklahoma. I teach chemistry, physics and math.

    May God go with my students.
    If they do not prove to me that they have, um, mastered the course, they don't pass...

    I am sick and tired of so many so called "educators" passing their students for "doing work" instead of
    having a mastry of the course that is being taught.

    July 6, 2012 at 6:11 pm |
  31. phneutral

    It's parenting that is lacking. You can't expect the school system to raise your children. The kids need to be rested. fed and ready to learn. Wake up parents! You are the ones failing.

    July 7, 2012 at 3:10 pm |
  32. James

    @mrbell and @chadR, I agree whole heartedly. Some of the other comments were written because they were created by people suffering from very problems they are bemoaning. The current state of the union is a direct reflection of our history as a country and that of other historical world powers. I will make this as succinct as possible; become wealthy (comparitively speaking) man seeks leasure, to our demise (take a deep breath and think about it). Every world power from the Roman Empire on, became fat and decadant (regardless of any belief system) Rome was and we are. Edmund Burke's, " Those that do not know history are doomed to repeat it", should come to mind! Our current state of decay, specifically our children, is the manifestation of this human cycle. Those that make decisions for us, the system is what it is, do not do so from a altruistic view. When the goal of almost every man, woman and child is comfort (and I am as guilty as any reader here), what choice gets me more wealth and comfort is the choice that is going to be made.

    Think about it people, we are the youngest, fastest growing world power ever and done so in near complete isolation, hence our lack of knowledge or respect for the rest of the world. We have had such an abundance of everything, we need not leave our shores and subsequently our collective culture to vacation (sand, sea, mountains, plains, amusement parks, museums many world reknown). This type of isolation is never good. This why those that travel abroad are often referred to as the "ugly Americans", because "our way" is better and yours is not. No "their way" is simply often just different. So all these things and others make up our 2012 state of affairs, giving us the "students" seen on the video.

    Lets be clear where I am coming from, father of 3, one gainfully employed in the military, another the class of 2012 salutatorian and another making his way through the mindfield that is grade school; and I and my wife take full credit for there successes and failures. The parents of today's class of children are products of the morass dictated above and do not know what they do, you are not their friend, nor is it easy, nor is it always going to be non-combative! Our job is to make them productive citizens, inhabitants or what ever description you wish to use, of our country and planet. We as parents wear many hats, educationally speaking usually entails two camps, beligerent task master or omnipotent conversationalist of all things (if not known, find out). My children have college level reading skills in 3rd grade because we used "big" words around them and with them all the time growing up, when they misused them they were corrected and when they asked what they meant we spent the time to talk to them and when they were beligerent about not doing what needed to be done they lovingly received the proverbial boot! Lack of this parenting is the problem!

    In closing, a teachers job is to convey information to individuals wanting knowledge. Not to control 25 out of 30 problem children and teach 5 learners, at worst they should have 5 problem children and 25 learners; those 25 learners should come from a nurtured environment created my ma and pa. Even in a bad system learners can excel, our system is not the world best nor is it even close to the worlds worst, so where in lies the the problem, parents? And all this come from, due to the economy, a security guard and provider...

    July 7, 2012 at 4:20 pm |
  33. Surthurfurd

    So we are surprised when children do not know basic information yet the vast majority of US citizens believe in mystical beings.

    July 7, 2012 at 8:43 pm |
  34. jbkorn02

    I don't doubt ths. And even though the schools are supposed to be teaching them I completly blame the parents. These questions seem like more common sense is missing. After gradeschool I don't think I learned anything which I didn't lean better later in life through the discovery and hisory channel (back when they had history shows).

    July 9, 2012 at 4:42 pm |
  35. MoreOverreactionPlease

    After watching the local high school academic game show this weekend, I can only logically conclude, based on the intellectual prowess of the 3 teens representing their school, that all teenagers are brilliant, well-read, and excellent problem solvers. What a tribute to the American public education system!

    July 10, 2012 at 1:06 pm |
  36. Dave

    Children today are more intelligent than children 20, 40, or 60 years ago. Yes, our bottom keeps sinking lower and lower, but our top keeps rising higher and higher. Schools, at least the public schools I attended, are not places designed to help the intelligent and motivated student excel. They are daycares for parents to dump their children so they can go to Starbucks and continue their work running the country into the ground. This is just another misleading piece designed to make the failed baby-boomer generation feel better about how badly it has screwed up this country. Thanks for the crippling debt, unsustainable social programs, and ever-expanding class of worthless Americans you've bought with taxpayer dollars. Now please just die so we can set about making the difficult choices that will be necessary to save the Grand Experiment from your selfish ignorance.

    July 10, 2012 at 5:10 pm |
  37. Ed

    Why hasn't this gone viral cause the guy uses the term Retarded in a derogatory way?

    July 11, 2012 at 9:57 pm |
  38. Ben

    I just graduated high school, and this is sadly accurate. but, don't blame the teachers, it is the curriculum that the state says the teachers must teach. they have to cut out EVERY fun and interesting lesson to meet the state's standard a month before school gets out because of their testing. Last year, i had to arrange a meeting with the principal just to save the physics class from being cut – that class was very fun and interesting and was canceled for next year's class. Another thing is society. just look at the CNN page- there is not section dedicated to science because people shun it. even on msnbc.com, it's Tech & science. honestly, i dont give a dam about a new ipad of phone, i want to know about that probe on its way to Pluto or NASA's rover landing on mars. these are interesting things the majority doesn't care about, because snooki's baby is somehow "better". with so little attention given to science, people become ignorant and superstitious which makes me want to change my major so i can become a scientist, just to help explain the world better and make people interested. the point is, school needs to be fun to make learning a priority in a kids life. don't blame liberals or conservatives, its a problem caused by both in a horrid symphony.

    July 12, 2012 at 5:05 am |
  39. Teri

    Sadly, kids these days are taught to memorize and take a test. They are not taught to think, rationalize, or analyze the information given to them in order to form a logical conclusion. They are taught to use a calculator, but not taught basic math skills. Most can't even type, but hunt and peck or type in text-speak. I work in HR and you'd be amazed at how some of the applications and paperwork are completed. Most are full of blatant spelling errors and grammatical errors. And, I'd say at least 90% are sloppy and incomplete. Then you have to further weed them out due to the "we was" and "I seen" speak. There is no excuse for a child who has completed high school to not know how to speak or write, but this is generally what we see these days. I even see college graduates who can't do simple math or compose a report or letter. Ben's post above is a prime example of the writing skills of graduates these days. Sad, sad, sad.

    July 12, 2012 at 12:16 pm |
  40. Teri

    Dave – I am 40, so hardly a babyboomer. And, I see quite a bit of this on a daily basis. Thankfully my daughter is in private school, which is not as bad. But, I have a friend who has a daughter in public school. He asked me during this past school year to help tutor her in some of her classes. I was shocked to find that she was learning in 7th grade what I learned in 4th grade in the Alabama public school system. The average student these days is NOT smarter. Overall, they lack basic skills and common sense. But, you are correct in that the top students are getting smarter. Those are the ones in private school. Those who attend public school are going to have a hard road ahead and the truly sad thing is that if the parents had their priorities in a different order, a lot of these kids could go to private school. But, when buying a new car every 2-3 years, upgrading your cell phone every two years, buying spinner rims, eating out, and keeping up with the Jones' takes precedence to your child's education, this is what you end up with.

    July 12, 2012 at 12:25 pm |
  41. Bill

    Watch the documentary "Waiting for Superman" to get more insight into the myriad of problems our education system faces. And it wasn't produced by some right-wing nut but instead by people solidly in the Democratic and progressive side; even so the truth was so obvious it couldn't be white washed. Sad to say but the root of the problem really is the 'system' itself and DOES include the teacher's unions to a very large extent. I have to agree with the comments above about pay; teachers and administrators (way too many of them if you ask the experts) DO have a very good compensation package; varies depending on location of course but actual hourly wage is good, getting off all those extra holidays including Spring/Summer break is a huge benefit, nearly impossible to get fired, and retirement includes generous pension and full health coverage. But yet we still keep hearing all the whining about how tough teachers have it.

    July 13, 2012 at 12:13 pm |
  42. jeannie1579

    Kids are so stupid today – parents should take most of the blame – constantly telling them how "special" they are – guess what? your kid is a dumbo. and, if the kid has better skills than others in the class, he gets picked on for being smart.

    Teri's comments about the parents priorities says it all – My parents scrimped and saved so my brothers and I could attend private school. Fast forward 15 years, two Engineers and a V.P. is what we do in our chosen careers.

    And, Ben - who says school has to be "Fun"? You're there to learn, not necessarily have a good time. Physics, calculus, chemistry, etc., have their moments, but I don't really think "Fun" describes these mental exercises.
    FYI – at age 16 I started reading Scientific American and still like the magazine. Now girls that age are reading gossip, tabloid, etc.

    Our educational system is raising a nation of mediocre individuals who have no long term career paths open to them except: "Do you want fries with that?"

    July 14, 2012 at 4:04 am |
  43. Sam

    Please tell me no one is really trying to judge anything on a comedian's skewed video. Please rewind this report and listen closely this time: MOST OF THE KIDS GOT THE QUESTIONS RIGHT. Is that 60, 70, 80 %? But people answering the questions correctly isn't newsworthy, nor will it garner a million hits on Youtube. It will however play into the tired old mantra, "Waa! America's education system is the pits! Our kids are dumb! Johnny can't read!" Look to your own house folks. If you can't see that a small number of self absorbed teens in a short moment forgetting the VP has nothing to do with overall education, you didn't learn much in school, and that role modeling is probably why your own kids can't read.

    July 15, 2012 at 12:34 pm |
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