This is scary

[niccig]

What teenagers know or don't know..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/02/lunch-scholars-video-reveals-students-cant-answer-basic-trivia_n_1250023.html

[mommylamb]

It's a sad, sad world.

[peanut520]

Appalling! but i'm not completely surprised by the video.

[trcy]

:shake:

[JBaxter]

Quizzed mine when he walked in the door. Got the capital of Washington State wrong but that was it. He said Seattle.. then said thats not right but couldn't think of it.

[stefani]

OK, while I don't know all the correct answers, some of the wrong answers were so way off....

I didn't know the capital of the state of Washington :-(

What country borders the US that starts with U? Only Canada and Mexico, right? Was that a trick hint?

[maestramommy]

To be fair, there are plenty of grownups that don't know the same stuff. I've seen these types of videos before on the news. Bottom line: many Americans are woefully uninformed.

[niccig]

What country borders the US that starts with U? Only Canada and Mexico, right? Was that a trick hint?

No, those were 2 different questions.

1. What countries border the USA? Canada and Mexico
2. Name a country that starts with U - any country, obvious one being USA. One girl was able to give several others.

[sariana]

No, those were 2 different questions.

1. What countries border the USA? Canada and Mexico
2. Name a country that starts with U - any country, obvious one being USA. One girl was able to give several others.

:rotflmao: I was trying to figure out if any U.S. territories bordered an island affiliated with Uruguay! (I didn't watch the video; I was just reacting to stefani's post.)

What else is there besides Uzbekistan? Technically Mexico is the United States of Mexico (or so I've been told), but in Spanish its name doesn't start with a U.

[lablover]

Uganda?


Not knowing the VP or the capital of Washington is one level, but really, to not know that Canada and Mexico border the U.S.???? And that there are 50 stars on the flag???

[niccig]

:rotflmao: I was trying to figure out if any U.S. territories bordered an island affiliated with Uruguay! (I didn't watch the video; I was just reacting to stefani's post.)

What else is there besides Uzbekistan? Technically Mexico is the United States of Mexico (or so I've been told), but in Spanish its name doesn't start with a U.

Ukraine
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
USA
United Kingdom
Uruguay

And yes, I googled to get all of them. At first I could only think of Uganda, but then was able to come up with a few more. I too didn't think of USA.

[sariana]

Is the capital of Washington Olympia? I think many people in this country would guess Seattle.

I never had to learn the states and capitals in school. The only reason I know any of them is that my sister had to learn them in fifth grade, and I usually was there when my parents were quizzing her.

[niccig]

Uganda?


Not knowing the VP or the capital of Washington is one level, but really, to not know that Canada and Mexico border the U.S.???? And that there are 50 stars on the flag???

:yeahthat: I could see not knowing some political information, and it trips me up that most state capitals are not the most known city in that state (in my defense, I didn't go to school here in the USA).

[edurnemk]

Uganda?


Not knowing the VP or the capital of Washington is one level, but really, to not know that Canada and Mexico border the U.S.???? And that there are 50 stars on the flag???

Or thinking Canada is a State? Or that Europe is a country that starts with a "U"? Or that South America is a country?

How sad...

[niccig]

Quizzed mine when he walked in the door. Got the capital of Washington State wrong but that was it. He said Seattle.. then said thats not right but couldn't think of it.

This makes me feel better...not all teenagers don't know this. And as I know from DH with editing, they probably didn't show all the kids they did ask.

[edurnemk]

This makes me feel better...not all teenagers don't know this. And as I know from DH with editing, they probably didn't show all the kids they did ask.

For sure, the video wouldn't be "news" if they left all the footage with correct answers. I was thinking the same thing as I watched it.

[JBaxter]

This makes me feel better...not all teenagers don't know this. And as I know from DH with editing, they probably didn't show all the kids they did ask.

He's a pretty bright kid but he skates by with what he needs to do vs what he CAN do. This year he perked up. He got a 96% as a final grade in his IB philosophy course he loved it. I think he has a 3.65 gpa right now. He's one of my lefties and likes to argue politics for fun.

[deborah_r]

Is the capital of Washington Olympia? I think many people in this country would guess Seattle.

I never had to learn the states and capitals in school. The only reason I know any of them is that my sister had to learn them in fifth grade, and I usually was there when my parents were quizzing her.


Well, what made that more surprising (and sad) was that they are students of Olympia High School! My 3rd grader has known what the capital of our state is for a few years now. There is not much excuse for not knowing the capital of your own state, which is also the name of your own school!

[mommylamb]

When DH got his citizenship last year he had to take the citizenship exam. I really think all HS students should need to be able to pass it in order to graduate. None of the questions are hard, just important if you want to be informed about basic US history and governance. DH has a Masters in international history and a very solid knowledge of US civics, so he didn't need to study, but it was really interesting to look at the questions. I think if we require this sort of knowledge from people looking to become US citizens, we should require it of citizens who were lucky enough to be born here.

[maestramommy]

Well, what made that more surprising (and sad) was that they are students of Olympia High School! My 3rd grader has known what the capital of our state is for a few years now. There is not much excuse for not knowing the capital of your own state, which is also the name of your own school!


I was wondering why they picked Washington. :tongue5: I agree it's pretty sad if you don't know the capital of your own state. The thing is, none of this knowledge has any bearing on a person's intelligence. I'm sure all the kids in the video were reasonably bright. It sounds more like they just didn't bother to retain anything they didn't absolutely have to. Thought it sounds like some of them were slacking more than others.... Getting Bin Laden mixed up with Joe Biden was a head shaker. Dude, have you been asleep for the last 5 years? The last year?

[maestramommy]

When DH got his citizenship last year he had to take the citizenship exam. I really think all HS students should need to be able to pass it in order to graduate.

Actually, HS students are required to pass the U.S. Constitution test that is part of the US History class. I think it's the same test, or almost all the same questions. I had to take that test as part of my credentialing, and I recognized a lot of the questions. don't know if that requirement has changed since the late 80s. ;)

[JoyNChrist]

Actually, HS students are required to pass the U.S. Constitution test that is part of the US History class. I think it's the same test, or almost all the same questions. I had to take that test as part of my credentialing, and I recognized a lot of the questions. don't know if that requirement has changed since the late 80s. ;)

I've never heard of this (graduated hs in 2004).

[stefani]

No, those were 2 different questions.

1. What countries border the USA? Canada and Mexico
2. Name a country that starts with U - any country, obvious one being USA. One girl was able to give several others.

Ah, OK, I think I was distracted by the telephone for a moment...
I feel better now :-)