Bauerlein's first chapter, Knowledge Deficit, shows that, despite the advantages that this generation's students have, they still lack basic knowledge. To begin with, students nowadays spend significantly more time in school than in previous years. Second, the number of cultural institutions open to young people has increased dramatically. Another benefit that the author mentions as being beneficial to young people is the money that is available for use. Unfortunately, it is very fair to say that young people's knowledgeability is declining for all of these drawbacks. Notably, Mark begins the first chapter with an example of the experiences in The Tonight Show where young people are asked fundamental knowledge questions that are expected to be known by any young person. For instance, "Where was Jesus born?" is one of the questions that those who take part in the show ask the young men. Surprisingly, the some of the participants fail to answer such questions correctly. In one occasion, the author highlights the question and answer given, like the particular place the pope lives in England was said to be Paris by one of the young people subjected to questioning. Notably, Mark says, "the comedy runs deeper than just the bare display of the young people embarrassed not to know very common facts.”(Mark 10)
Usually, an increase in the elements that can be used in making a specific work easy leads to the increased work that is done. However, the case of the young people in this generation is different. Despite all the added advantages that the author portrays in the chapter one including additional libraries that have increased by three hundred as compared to those present eight years earlier. The cultural institution in general that include museums, art programmes are so available that young men can merely learn almost anything yet it is the reverse that is happening currently. The learning has also been made more intensive and easy because the young people can take more time in the colleges.
Pointedly, life has become so easy to the young Americans because of the credit cards with a lot of money, schools are so accessible, the liberties are so copious, and it is similarly easy for the young to divert from the schooling system. In fact, the traits of worldliness tend to trickle down every year into every younger age groups (Mark 15). Therefore, the skills and knowledge have been trampled on and failed to keep the pace in the current young Americans lives. Moreover, the intellectual habits that ought to complement the knowledge and skills slip off as the young people concentrate on the enjoyable things like Facebook. The young people have lost interest in the world realities, have actively cut off from the studies and have been encased the immediate facts that tend to shut out the conditions that are beyond their work, friends, cars, clothes, music and even Facebook.
The young people of America daily receive information and make interactions that are either so local or superficial that other facts of domestic and foreign affairs, government, the fine art, and the historical past never finds any attention to be learned. Hence, there is a significant problem with the repositories and the intellectual habits of the young Americans. The problem in the prioritization of the young people is the very cause of the dumbest generation. The youth leisure choices, money, region, race and ethnicity, religion, gender, and education are the determinants in the interpretation of the intellectual outcomes of the young people in America (Mark 37). The availability of money to the young people with the credit cards tend to make them think and view the world more materialistically than intellectually. Most importantly, there is a particular routine that the members of the Dumbest Generation follow and these habits tend to freeze the likings of the group in adolescence although there may be occasions for the high culture. Besides, their minds are hardened to the civic and historical facts despite the coursework.
Conclusion
Evidently, the current generation of the young Americans has little intellectual concentration and possession. Primarily, the knowledge deficit is caused by the prioritization of the youth in the enjoyable things like the Facebook and video games rather than going to the libraries. In fact, the young people have underutilized the readily available resources like the libraries, the museums, and the artworks. Importantly, the intellectual habits have slipped from one young generation in America to another leading to the reduction of the intellectual possession. Furthermore, the author's comparison between the current young generation in America and the previous ones which had less technology advancement and resources in the field of learning is vital. This comparison precisely depicts the difference in standards and the reduction of knowledge in the young people of America.
Work Cited
Mark Bauerlein, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes our Future. 10-38.
We will email this sample to you with pleasure!
Type your email