I've been complaining about this list all day to anybody who would
listen, so hear goes:
I've seen this in previous years, and it always drives me nuts ... I
think the idea is, "What can you reasonably expect from people who have
experienced so little?" But I think you *can* reasonably expect them to
know something about history. I know WW II happened, though I wasn't
around for it. Not having lived through it (or anything--pick your
historical event or cultural phenomenon) is no excuse.
And what definition of "always" means nothing more than "since I was
born"? Glenn Miller hasn't "always" been dead, though he died before I
was born. To say "Heart transplants have always been possible" is just
plain silly.
That said, this is a pretty sobering list ... not because of what this
year's freshmen (excuse me, "first-year students") don't know, but
because it makes me feel old (as does having written this grumpy email,
come to think of it!).
Jim
beginning woodworker, advanced-beginning English professor
"Joe AutoDrill" wrote in
news:HajPe.4018$IG2.706@trndny01:
MINDSET LISTŪ FOR THE CLASS OF 2009
Shamelessly stolen from:
http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/releases/mindset_2009.htm
Most students entering college this fall were born in 1987.
1. Andy Warhol, Liberace, Jackie Gleason, and Lee Marvin have always
been dead.
2. They don't remember when "cut and paste" involved scissors.
3. Heart-lung transplants have always been possible.
4. Wayne Gretzky never played for Edmonton.
5. Boston has been working on "The Big Dig" all their lives.
[snip]