Is America Getting Dumber?

My Wonderful World Blog mentioned in an article entitled “Are Americans hostile to global knowledge” Susan Jacoby (author of “The Age of American Unreason”) , Noah Oppenheim and Matt Lauer’s interview on the Today’s Show (17th of February 2008)

There are a few video clips that are incredibly straight forward examples in showing how globally illiterate Americans can be. One Miss Teenage America babbling incoherently in the contest interview portion, when asked her opinion why one fifth of Americans can’t locate the US on a world map.

Less than 1 in 4 college students can find Iraq on a map

Another contestant in a reality TV games show “Are you smarter than a fifth grader?”, who lowers herself deeper and deeper as she can’t answer “Budapest is the capital of what European country?” She “thinks” , “I thought Europe was a country”, “France is a country?”, “Hungary! That is a country?”

Not only seem Americans to be getting dumber but they also seem proud of the lack of knowledge. Jacoby makes a case, that not only don’t Americans know certain “general knowledge” about geography, global awareness, foreign languages, and locations of countries currently in the news, but they also expressed that it is NOT important.

Here are some factors that were attributing to this decline. An abundance of electronic media. “The media gave up responsibility by giving the public what they want to know instead of what they should know.” “It is the first time in history that we have 24/7 electronic access to information”.

The argument that people don’t have the time, that they are to busy to read books, other literature, arts and culture is countered by Jacoby with that people are setting their own priorities. People are choosing to spend their time watching TV many hours a day, listening to iPods, instead of reading quality literature.

Lauer makes a point that

Technology was supposed to be a tool that would help us expand the knowledge instead we are using it as a crutch and a distraction.

Jacoby says that reading on the Internet doesn’t count, because she is “trolling like a vulture” for bits and pieces of information. She is not connecting what she reads to a larger body of knowledge.

Technology is not used as a tool anymore, Lauer adds, we are not choosing between literature and technology. Technology has become a knowledge of choice for some.  IF they have the knowledge about technology and the Internet, that is valuable (even more valuable)  and there is no need to “know” the content by heart. Noah Oppenheim asks, if anyone would rather have their child have access to a facility with the research tools available of the Internet or rather being able to recite the presidents in order?

I was flabbergasted when I saw the video clips of the Miss Teen and the game show. The initial shock wore off soon, since it was not the first time that I have been confronted with this kind of open ignorance about world geography, cultures and the study of foreign languages. It is the general acceptance of this ignorance by the general public that still shocks me EVERY TIME.  It is the attitude of “Why would I need to know?” that makes me sigh in resignation.

I have had a parent openly ask me during a parent -teacher conference to please accommodate her struggling child from grades and homework assignments in my Spanish class, so she could concentrate on the real important subjects like Math, English and Science.

All in all, I am glad that they talked about the American decline of general global knowledge and the lack of interest or acknowledgment of its importance and necessity. I do not agree with Susan Jacoby’s statement that reading online DOES NOT COUNT. For avid bloggers that even borders on absurdity to say that we are not making connections to a larger body of knowledge.

What are your thoughts of this interview?