The Dumbest Generation Mark Bauerlein Pdf To Jpg
Generation Text: The dark digital ages: 13-17. The rate rises to around four out of five for teenagers; that’s a 36 percent increase over the previous three years, which means that these tools have swept into young people’s lives with the dispatch and coerciveness of a youth fad (like Pokemon and Harry Potter).
Dear Mr. Mark Bauerlein,
I write to you inregards to your claim titling Generation Y “The Dumbest Generation.” I do notagree with this designation. The members of Generation Y are too young to beassessed on the knowledge they possess and compared to older generations, it issimply common sense. Those with more life experience and opportunities to learnwill possess more knowledge. Moreover, those of generation Y are not dumb, justmore privileged in terms of resource accessibility. With the world altering so drastically atsuch a fast pace it is hard for older generations to grasp the simplicity theinternet offers learning. Generation Y members are just simply employing thetools available to them. This is where Mr. Bauerlein falls short. Themembers of generation Y who choose to use the internet senselessly should notdefine the intellect of a generation as whole. With rising IQ scores and aliterary revolution in action due to advancing technology, it is irrational topresume generation Y as the dumbest generation.
To begin, theadvancement of technology should not be seen as a threat to modern day learners,but instead a treasured tool. Today students write with much more depth andcreativity opposed to students years ago. The author Clive Thompson writes,“technology isn’t killing our ability to write. It’s reviving it --- andpushing our literacy in bold new directions.” With the internet now playing akey role in everyday communications, it also serves as a global library withtexts of every variety and language. The ability to publish writing is now aseasy as the click of a mouse which forces writers striving for success tocontinuously break through unexplored boundaries. Tamil movies bge themes download. Thompson also writes, “youngpeople today write far more than any generation before them.” With theresources provided to us we are able to express our thoughts and ideas far moreoften than previously exemplified. This being said, I believe the internet isnot hurting our generations intellect, but instead giving us the opportunity toshowcase it through a universal medium. Scholarsmust now dig deeper in thought and creativity to push past limits in order tostand out and become successful. Competition due to the internet now requireshigher cognitive thinking skills which generation Y has had a lifetime for preparationfor.
On the contrary,Mark Baurelein disagrees with this claim. He believes the members of generationY make up the dumbest generation to date as a result of somewhat logicalreasoning. He makes his assumptions on the intellect levels of generation Ythrough a survey, “What Americans Know 1989-2007, 56 percent of 18-29 year oldspossessed low knowledge levels, while only 22 percent of 50 to 60 year oldsdid. In other words, the advantages don’t show up I intellectual outcomes. Themental equipment of the young falls short of their media, money, e-gadgets, andcareer plans” (Bauerlein 1). Yes it may be true that our generation may beslightly infatuated with social media, but this does not define our metalcapabilities. And in regards to knowledge levels, ours may be low, but let’snot forget who has been retaining knowledge for 50 years and who has been for18 years. However on the other side of the argument, I do believe majority ofgeneration Y members would rather be refreshing their Twitter feed then writinga scholarly essay. Yet this does not define intelligence, only pure choice ofimportance.
Moreover, generationY has not displayed a lack of intelligence but instead memorization. SharonBegley states in her article The DumbestGeneration? Don’t Be Dumb that IQ scores have been rising in the UnitedStates since the 1930s, “Since the tests measure not knowledge but purethinking capacity --- what cognitive scientist call fluid intelligence, in thatit can be applied to problems in any domain --- then Gen Y’s ignorance of facts(or facts that older people think are important) reflects not dumbness butchoice” (Begley 1). Begley explains Generation Y does not demonstrate a lack ofintelligence, making us dumb, but instead a choice exhibiting a decision ofwhat is important to know and what is not. What older people do not take intoconsideration is the difference between schooling now and schooling 20 or 30years ago. With the advancement of technology and the internet playing animportant role in the modern day classroom, what needed to be memorized then isnow just a couple buttons away. Yes it may be true that a 45 year old physicistmay have the equation for angular velocity memorized as a result ofrepetitively studying it and applying it, but it would be unfair for him to sayI am dumb for not being able to state it off the top of my head when I am givenit on a reference sheet to use on my physics tests. With present learning sovastly different, it is not sensible to judge our generation on ourmemorization skills, but instead judge our problem solving capabilities, whichin my opinion is a true test of intelligence, which we have prevailed.
In conclusion, itis not fair to compare generations based on knowledge levels. If we were to doso I believe the generation that thought the Earth was flat would take thecake. More knowledge is entering the world making it harder and harder toretain. New technological tools are becoming available to house this knowledgeand it is up to those who live in these ages of change to make the best out ofwhat is offered to them. Just like a caveman would put out a fire with watergeneration Y can also utilize their given tools of the specified era.Demonstrating high IQ scores, the members of generation Y are proven goodproblem solvers, so when faced with a conflict, being a math problem or findinga date in history, an easy solution is reaching into our pockets and figuringout the answer given the everyday tools we are equipped with. Ease shows efficiency.
Sincerely,
Julia Wicklund
A Literacy Revolution
Mark Bauerlein Dumbest Generation
A literacy revolution.
Technology
reviving our ability to write,
pushing literacy in bold new directions.
An explosion of prose,
adapting tone and technique.
Remarkably adept on a technical level
~ Julia Wicklund ~
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