Korean Job Discussion Forums

[eamo]

Chris Rock sums it up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxGuBeyQM2M&feature=related

When people get to point of being proud to be ignorant.......well.........

[Adventurer]

I do not think you can simply say there is a problem with the education system or the teachers. I was a teacher in the U.S, and I quickly learned that it was largely due to the politicians and administrators that so many people were uneducated. You cannot blame the American people for that. It is the leadership that does not care if the electorate is educated. Obviously, the leadership could push for more education in America. What is worse than not knowing where Iraq, Saudi Arabia, or Israel are is the amount of people who are functionally illiterate. Frankly, I think if the populace was educated, they would change the structure of government and get more involved, and the elites, I don't think, want that. Sometimes, people make fun of some Americans including other Americans. What is needed is to ensure change happens in the country so people actually become more educated.... Check this article out...

http://www.register-herald.com/features/local_story_095175027.html?keyword=secondarystory
Parents, you really need to read along with your children

Point Blank column

By John Blankenship
Register-Herald reporter

Nearly half of the U.S. population is affected by it.

And we�re not talking about oil company deceit, influenza, AIDS, mental illness, or liberal extremists � we�re talking about illiteracy.

A number of national literacy studies reveal that an estimated 47 percent of the American adult population performs only the simplest reading skills.

Astonishing as this may seem, it�s true.

Fewer than 40 million Americans can complete any challenging literary tasks that require above average reading skills � meaning they can add the total on a bank slip or identify a piece of specific information in a brief news article.

And what�s more, only another 50 million can calculate a total purchase, determine the difference in price between two items and locate a specific point on a map.

Believe it or not, only about 60 million persons in the country can decipher information from long texts or legal documents.

An estimated 25 million Americans cannot read or write at all.

An additional 45 million persons are considered �functionally illiterate� � those without the reading or writing skills to find work. Sadly, the vast majority of Americans do not know they do not have the skills to earn a living in our increasingly technological society, according to a statement released a decade ago by the U.S. Secretary of Education.

------

In an historical perspective, this phenomenon does not bode well for America.

Culture and civilization traditionally have flourished or fallen with literacy and a common language.

When common knowledge becomes accessible to all, common values are defined and pursued.

In our post industrial era, most Americans make a living with their heads instead of their hands. Education � not steel, coal or even capital � is the key to our economic future.

It is estimated that each year more than 700,000 high school seniors graduate unable to read their high school diploma.

[Thiuda]

Religion = Ignorance.

[nicholas_chiasson]

[Thiuda]

[tombirner]

I'm apolitical, and definitely not about to get into a big thing with people on here, but I have to say I'm kind of annoyed at the many subtle jabs at America I come upon abroad. America is great. We have the most influential and beloved culture and political system. We have different landscapes and set the social climate across the globe. I'm not going to say we're the greatest country in the world, because I think that's totally subjective... but it just bugs me how eager people seem to be to come up with reasons for dissing America, which are usually very broad and often unfounded anyway. I grew up in America and I put the land, its society and its people second to none in every measurable way. I think it's common to resent something that clearly stands out, which is why I come across so many people eager to belittle it. Keep dreaming. America is awesome.

A more politically-minded person with more time on their hands probably could have written this better, but here's my two cents. Maybe I should take the time to really read and study the original post and articles and responses... maybe this should be posted as its own subject, but I sense so much anti-American sentiment when traveling, and I guess this will serve as my outlet.

[Thiuda]

[BreakfastInBed]

One of the problems is that street smarts are cool, and formal education is not. These kind of smarts get you paid, get you laid, and get you by, but don't exactly lead to an enlightened worldview. America is still in love with the rough around the edges, self-educated, underdog mythology that served it well through the 2nd world war. Unfortunately that self-image just don't cut it when you're not an underdog anymore. What it manifests itself as now is simply arrogance all too often.

[Adventurer]