In article ,
J Brown wrote:
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.

You *misunderstand* the list. It is _not_ about what they "know" (it is
_not_ produced by polling/surveying the incoming class). It is an 'elder
statesman's declaration' about what the incoming class have/have not EXPERIENCED.

Example: "knowing about" the Great Depression is an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT thing
from having _lived_through_ it. One who did not experience those conditions
(a la "The Grapes of Wrath"), simply cannot understand the mind-set of those
who have lived through the uncertainties of not knowing _IF_ there will be any
food on the table today.


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.

Nit-picking -- you need to read the intro to the list, that Beloit U.
publishes.

In terms of the "life-experience" of the incoming class, the "absolutes"
you are complaining about _are_ 'accurate'/'valid'.

Heart transplants are _not_ a 'miracle' to someone who was born into a world
where they *are* routinely performed. They are a 'normal' part of life
for that person. They have *no*comprehension* of -- they _cannot_ feel
the 'awe' (or whatever) that accompanied the announcement of the Dr. Brainards
_first_success_.

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!).

Repeating: it's not about what they "know"/"don't know". it's about what
they have or have _not_ "experienced".

Do you *REMEMBER* the JFK assassination, and the subsequent funeral
proceedings? Do you _remember_ the "feel" of those several days?
(If you're younger than about 50, you *don't*.

"Academic knowledge" -- from reading histories, etc. -- cannot convey that
emotional impact. One _is_, simply, 'too far removed in time', from the
actual event.