Shockingly Stupid Americans...

[JonathanLB]

http://www.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATION/11/20/geography.quiz/index.html

My god...

I hope those people who took the survey were just joking, or were extremely intoxicated at the time, or something?!?!

[Taylor Millard]

You know...I hate to say it...but that doesn't surprise me at all.

I fear for my generation.

[Dae Jinn]

Nah, that's old news....Some americans can't find america on the map either....or so I have heard :lol It's very very sad...and makes me proud to be Canadian.

[JonathanLB]

ELEVEN PERCENT, or more than 1 in 10 Americans, cannot even find the United States on the map! THEY CANNOT EVEN FIND THEIR OWN COUNTRY ON A WORLD MAP PEOPLE! lol. My god...

This explains the existence of the Flat Earth Society, lol.

How could you not be able to find the Pacific Ocean? Wouldn't that mean you didn't study World War II history at all, didn't hear of the "War in the Pacific," don't live on the West Coast, never been to the West Coast, never known anyone on the West Coast, haven't heard of Japan, don't know that oceans have names, etc?! :)

How could only 51% of people be able to locate New York State on a map? I mean, so if I went up to 10 people, 5 of them wouldn't be able to point to New York on a map?!?!?!? My god...

Things are worse than I thought. I am suddenly impressed that 40-50% of people even vote in our elections. No wait... maybe I'm just scared about that! I think you shouldn't be allowed to vote if you don't even know where the United States is on a world map, LOL.

[CMJ]

I was shocked about the Paicifc Ocean...only like 71% knew where it was? Where the sam hell do the other 29% think it is??

[Dae Jinn]

I can see getting them mixed up though, sometimes that happens to me ^_^; I mean, if it's something you don't think about, it doesn't seem important.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Oh well. It just goes to show you that AMERICANS DON;T GIVE A DAMN! Why should we care where Iraq or Afghanistan is? It's not like we will have to go there to fight.

And there you have the mentality of your average American.

[JonathanLB]

Apparently many people cannot even tell you where California is on a map! I mean, even though the entire nation is inundated with stories about Hollywood and about these stars, people don't even know where California is, despite going to see movies every year, watching TV, etc.

I think I was about as smart as the average American when I finished off my 5th grade education. lol. At least, when I was a 5th grader, I knew my geography pretty well, thank you very much! :) They made us draw a ton of maps and all this nonsense, we had to memorize so much stuff. At one point we had to memorize all 50 states and their capitals in 8th grade, but I definitely forget all that. I would get confused labeling states in the middle of the country, which is perhaps bad, but... I mean, haha, if you don't know where the major states are, that's a problem.

Oh, and furthermore, I bet more Aborigines in Australia know where the United States is on a map than do U.S. citizens. :D

[Jedieb]

This is old news. When I was in high school my U.S. History teacher told us his favorite senior story. He asked a couple of his students what their post graduation plans were. They said they wanted to go to Hawaii. He said he thought that was a great idea. Then he made the mistake of asking them to give him more details;
"We're going to take the bridge!"

At least they knew there was an ocean involved.

[CMJ]

I'm not sure I could correctly identify every state either(hangs head) but I sure as hell could identify the vast majority of them.

As far as the middle East goes, probably the only reason I'd do so well with that is I was in 7th grade during the Gulf War, so I remember going over that area in one of my classes.

[Jedieb]

Oh well. It just goes to show you that AMERICANS DON;T GIVE A DAMN! Why should we care where Iraq or Afghanistan is? It's not like we will have to go there to fight.

And there you have the mentality of your average American.
I wouldn't go THAT far. I'm not supporting a decision to go to war right now, but if we do many of those troops will be geographically challenged. But they'll still be American troops. I don't expect any UN force to be made up of crack French shock troops. :rolleyes

[Jedieb]

As far as the middle East goes, probably the only reason I'd do so well with that is I was in 7th grade during the Gulf War, so I remember going over that area in one of my classes.


Sometimes you people make me feel older than dirt!:x

[JonathanLB]

LOL, wtf?

I guess it does help if you travel a bit. I've been to Indiana, California (San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego), Washington (Seattle), Washington D.C., Nevada (3 times) Florida, Missouri, Idaho, Hawaii (five times), Colorado (Beaver Creek twice and Denver), New York (NYC), Arizona, Mexico, Italy, and Canada (3 times). I think that about does it. I never realized that I had travelled quite a bit until my friend Bryan said to me the first time we went to Nevada, "This is the first time I've ever been on a plane and the first time I've ever been to another state, besides driving up to Seattle."

Mind you this was only two years ago, actually less, so I was stunned. I was like... "You've only ever been to Oregon and Washington?!?!" Neither Bryan nor Ben have ever been to California yet it is right below us. I've been to "The Rock," hehe, the San Diego Zoo, Mann's Chinese Theater, quite a few important places down there.

I never much liked travelling as a kid because I was a pretty difficult one, haha, but I suppose I appreciate it more now. At least, I know what I like in a city...

[Weiß Hexe]

Knowing America's luck, these young people will be sent to fight in Iraq (maybe, hopefully not!) and end up in like....Russia or something.

[JonathanLB]

Knowing our luck, the few people who actually DO know where Iraq is will die over in Iraq and then nobody will know where it is. I mean, that would be horrible, but it might keep us from engaging in future wars with them -- nobody would be able to figure out where to go to fight them ;)

[Dae Jinn]

I know most of the Middle East stuff because my step-dad and his family is from there, and it's interesting to me because of that. (He watches a lot of CNN, so if I have a question about something, I just ask him :))

I can definetly see having trouble naming the middle states, when ever someone I met from the boards tells me where in the USA they live, I usually have to look it up on a map, unless it's on one of the coasts.

[CMJ]

I traveled ALL the time when I was a kid. My folks would take road trips everywhere, so I've probably been though about 40 states.

Of course I'd like to travel through alot of those places again, as I was too young to appreciate alot of it.

[JonathanLB]

Yeah I guess it is kind of embarrassing I can't name all of the middle states, but I think I could do ok. I'd get confused in a few parts, though, even though I know I shouldn't.

[CMJ]

Nah..I get confused on the Eastern seaboard because the states are so small(remember I'm from Texas originally) and clustered together.

I know the middle of the country rather well.

[Dae Jinn]

I think it would depend on where you live. I would probably get confused on all the little provinces on the east coast, I do remember getting Nova Scotia and New Brunswick confused all the time in grade school :x

[Master Yoghurt]

http://www.thegjo.com/TEMP/World-map.jpg

[CMJ]

That is just too funny!!

"Here Be Dragons"

[Dae Jinn]

:lol

[JonathanLB]

I had forgotten about that. It's so funny. I love all of the "Go away commies!" references, that's just too funny.

[JMK]

I like to think I have pretty good map navigation skills, and seeing as how I took Geography all through high school, I cannot believe people are that clueless.

While we're on the topic of stupid people, did anyone catch Wacko Jacko dangle his kid from the 4th floor of his hotel?

[Dae Jinn]

Yeah, on ET. HE just wants attention now....:\ IMO anyways...

[JMK]

That is so strong Yog!! :lol

[CMJ]

That was almost as scary as his attempts to grow facial hair....

[Jedieb]

Yog is mean! I say we bomb him next! ;)

[Master Yoghurt]

Originally posted by Jedieb
Yog is mean! I say we bomb him next! ;)

If your bombers can navigate all the way to Yurop :)

[Taylor Millard]

I will say this...I know where Iraq is. The same with Qatar. :D

[Zatania Duvall]

I think it has to do with the flawed education system. I dont ever remember learning about Iraq in school until 11th grade or so. Even then, they never told us where it was on the map. Whenever I look on CNN whenever they show Iraq on the map, they don't show the entire world, just the country itself. So thats still guess work of where it is.

I'll admit that I don't even know where Saudi Arabia or Iran is. Whenever teachers here in America showed us anything on the map, it was ALWAYS major countries/continents. Like America, China, Africa, Europe. It wasn't until I moved up North to New York that they actually taught us about countries within Europe(I at first lived in the south around Mississippi and Lousiana. School really is a lot easier there than up here. Thank God for that or I'd be more naive than I am now).

I think that things like that should be started early in life but I have not seen a single school do that. And I've been in a lot of states in this country because my dad is in the military. So in all the eleven schools I have been to, none started to teach geography fully until about 11th grade, when it's hard to pound something like that in your head.

It's a proven fact that younger kids learn much easier. Thus why they can learn to speak, and to walk or crawl in a short amount of time. Some three year olds know two or three languages! I know that when I have kids, I'm not going to let this country's mistakes rub off onto their education. I'll just have to break out a testbook and take things into my own hands because American Education is bogus.

Sure they act like they're tough on education nowadays but they're not. They worry too much about things that are completely useless (like truth tables. My mom and dad never heard of that crap before I asked them to help me with homework). Also, schools really need to teach kids something they'll actually NEED in life. Like how to do taxes, or how to fill out a check or even how to make a reseme. I never got taught that in school and always had to ask my mother how to do it because now that I'm older, I forget some things that I never used before.

*stops ranting and smiles sweetly* I think I'm going to move to Europe. :D

[Jedieb]

If your bombers can navigate all the way to Yurop
:lol

We're working on state history in 4th grade and it continues on into 5th grade. Middle school typically focuses on U.S History. It's not until HS that most students are exposed to European and World History. Although we do actually teach kids about Egyptian and Greek cultures in some early primary grades, there's only so much a 3rd grader is going to retain about the pyramids. History and Geography are traditionally difficult subjects for most students. I don't why. Year after year I have kids who don't know the differences between a county, country, or a continent. If they can't handle that then you can bet they're clueless about what countries make up the Middle East.

Let's be honest though, there's nothing wrong with having a GENERAL idea of where a foreign country is as opposed to knowing which specific countries border Iraq or Germany. Does anybody know which countries border S. Africa off the top of their heads? Probably not, but you're more than competant enough to use a map to get that information. Now, if it takes you an hour because you're looking for Johannesburg in the middle of Australia then you really are a dullard. ;)

P.S. I wonder how many Europeans know which states border Virginia? ;) Your primary focus should always be your immediate area. It should never be your sole focus however. You should have some general knowledge of the world. But I would never tell someone they had to memorize the borders of more than 150 nations around the globe.

[Morgan Evanar]

The lack of money and our overly Americentric/Western view of the world is becoming our downfall, especially when you look at the education system.

[Sanis Prent]

I learned about Iraq when I was 6 years old...what is their excuse?

[JMK]

They've got to somehow make teaching Geo and world history FUN. I bet that among the x% that don't know where Iraq is, or the 11% that don't know where the U.S. is I bet that some know the specific layout of the Star Wars galaxy, or every nook and cranny of middle earth. That's a scary thought.

[Sanis Prent]

I learned geography quickly as a kid, because I knew there were commies and dictators and bad guys in other countries, and I'd make big drawings...blowing them up.

[Master Yoghurt]

Yeah, I think the quality of education is a decisive factor. It is also a cultural phenomenon on a broader level..

For example, the average Norwegian reads 1,65 newspapers per day. News, political debates and documentaries are among the most popular TV programs. Most of our radio channels are focused on having journalistic content rather than just music. Knowing and being able to locate the 50 US states is often mandatory at schools.

Most Europeans are fairly aware what goes on in US or the rest of the world on a geopolitical level. When there is a election for Presidency in the US, our major TV channels broadcast it directly all night, and you bet people are watching it.

Quick poll: How many Americans on this forum are able to pinpoint and differentiate Sweden, Denmark and Norway on a map?

[Jedi Master Carr]

Quick poll: How many Americans on this forum are able to pinpoint and differentiate Sweden, Denmark and Norway on a map?

I can its Norway is first, Denmark is south of Norway and in the middle of Norway and Sweden. And I can answer's Jedieb's question


Does anybody know which countries border S. Africa off the top of their heads

Its Botswana (sp) Nambia, and Zimbawai (sp), I may have missed one, though. I am not really bragging here but Geography has always been my thing, I rememeber in college in Civilization class the proffessor did geography tests where we had to know where countries and capitals were and I always made A's some times I got them all right. I have no clue why I have a very good memory when it comes to places, I also like maps I have always been fascinated in looking at them as a kid so that is probably why I know where countries are. Also I am not surprised that there are people who don't know watch Jay Leno, he has this thing called Jay Walking where he asks people question and the answers some of them give his scary.

[JMK]

Here in Canada on friday night there is going to be a show called "Talking to Americans". It is sickening how dumb some of these people are. Of course it's ridiculous to generalize, but you've got to see this to believe it.

[Master Yoghurt]

P.S. I wonder how many Europeans know which states border Virginia? ;)

West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland, and Delaware perhaps, not sure about that one.

How do I know that? I have actually been to all those states :p

[JediBoricua]

I can Yog.

But that it thanks to my fantastic Geography professor I had in the 8th grade. Education here is a reflection of public education in the states so I am very sure that if that survey was taken here by kids my age, they would get the same results.

It really bugs me the amount of people I have heard talking of Africa as if it were a SINGLE country! People there are close (or over) 50 countries in that CONTINENT! Granted it is almost impossible to know where every single one of them is, especially since they change name and border a lot, but at least you must know it is a CONTINENT!

[Master Yoghurt]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
I can its Norway is first, Denmark is south of Norway and in the middle of Norway and Sweden

Impressive! :)

.. and you too Boricua!

[Jedieb]

I loved these subjects when I was in school, but I was in the minority. Why, I don't really know. Students just don't care about these things and many adults are completely ambivalent. Isolationism plays a part in American geographic ignorance. Much of it is cultural. Many Americans simply aren't interested in what happens outside of their city, county, or state. They just don't care.


And :thumbup for Carr's knowledge of African geography!

[JMK]

That's not good. :(

[Sanis Prent]

You guys forgot Swaziland, though I'm not sure that it would count, since the country is technically within South Africa.

[Sanis Prent]

You know what the problem is? Everybody's so full of hippy crap nowadays. I grew up in the Cold War, and as such, the threat of big crispy nuclear barbecue loomed over all. You find out quickly who the good guys and the bad guys are, and then you watch GI Joe, and realize that the bad guys want to take over the world, so we've got to take it over first. Early on, the only practical way of doing so are to play Axis and Allies or Risk, and you quickly realize where the good guys and bad guys are. But ever since the damn commies faltered, we've kinda had this "oh lets accept other cultures and leave them be" attitude. We're just going to let those other cultures learn how to play risk, and soon they'll...TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

So we've got to remember the damn commies, or something.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

oh shush you, Charley. :lol

I used to be really good with geography, but then I got into higher education, and didn't have to keep it in mind anymore. I mean, music majors don't have to rememeber what the capital of Ethiopia is (Addis Ababa!) or that Nebraska and Wyoming are actually not interchangable on a US map. I wish they were! Damn states always confusing me.

And this is not a popular opinion, but money doesn't have everything to do with how well children are educated. Money and good teachers can only do so much. If the kids aren't getting the help and support and continued teaching at home with their parents, then they learn to hate school and learn nothing at all. Yes! Again, the downfall of the American intelligence levels can also be traced to the end of family values!

[Sanis Prent]

I memorized the states and their capitals in 2nd grade :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

And you still know them?

[Sanis Prent]

Yes.

[Rmiao]

If you think that survey is bad, I once read one where people in the US were asked to identify the STATE they lived in - not even on a map, just write out the name. A good percentage of them couldn't do it.

[JonathanLB]

"If your bombers can navigate all the way to Yurop"

Nah, they're mainly interested in the "dragons"! Arg matey.

[CMJ]

ROTFLMAO!!:lol :lol :lol

[JMK]

Apparently "Reing of Fire" has had a profound effect on the military!

[Zatania Duvall]

Stuff they used to teach kids in past generations is different from generation to generation. Hell, my brother who is only two years apart from me was learning stuff that I was never taught and didn't learn until senior year. They keep changing the way they teach things. Like with my grandma, she learned algebra and all sorts of stuff that we'd learn in highschool when she was only 12 or somewhere younger. No wonder older people are wiser.

[JediBoricua]

"When 900 years old you get..."

:lol



Quick geography question: Which country has the funniest capital name?

[JonathanLB]

Coruscant!

[CMJ]

:lol LMAO! :lol

[Jedi Master Carr]

LOL, I am not sure about that one, I would have to give that some thought, I know it wouldn't be a European capital, none of them sound very funny, I will probably know it when somebody says it though. And Thanks Jedieb, my knowledge of African geography is okay though I only know the southern and Northern countries, forget about the Central nations, they change names more often than Prince.

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

About JMK's show, "Talking To Americans", yes i can believe it. Jay Leno has a segment on his late night show sometimes called "Man on the street", where he asks everyday people simple questions. Some are about celebrities, news items, etc. Just listening to them blows me away! It never fails to amaze me how these people managed to graduate!

I still think one of the worst things that our state did was to abolish school spankings. Not so much for the physical aspect of it but forthe mentality that it kept in check. There have been times when Ive had a kid say to me, "you cant touch me and if you do, my parents will sue you!" And this was when I was trying to pull him away from another boy during a fight!

I blame the parents and the local school administrations for allowing this level of non-learning to continue.

Bring out the paddles!! >D

[Sanis Prent]

I agree...I kicked this kid's butt and took his toy space shuttle when I was in 2nd grade, and I got paddled for it. Its not fun, but hey, it works.

[James Prent]

Agreed! Of course, no crazy teachers should be allowed to touch the paddles. :p Only sane ones.

[Darth Viscera]

Nice trolling thread you have here. Shall I be the bigger man, or shall I roll out my "Shockingly stupid Foreigners" spiel? I warn you, I already have 3 or so very good paragraphs formed in my head.

[JonathanLB]

Excuse me? I'm an American... I have always been an American. Despite our country's problems, ahem, like some people locating the country on a map for instance, I still happen to be glad that I am a U.S. citizen, if for no other reason than we normally get movies first! :)

I would very much like to hear your "Shockingly Stupid Foreigners" spiel, haha, if it is interesting. I say let us hear it.

I felt this article was hilarious and I had to post it for the forum to read, sorry if you didn't find it as interesting/shocking/humorous as I did.

I think in the last few months, though, I am beginning to understand more why people from foreign nations do not think that highly of the U.S. sometimes. I think it is largely not our faults, as in us the citizens, it is more the faults of those idiotic politicians in Washington and their foreign policies that interfere with other peoples' right to be free and deal with their own matters. I do not want to get into politics because it's a heated subject and as much as possible I want to avoid controversy. I am just saying that I think we, the U.S. citizens, should understand that other countries have legitimate complaints with us meddling in the affairs of other nations. That's not the point of this thread, though. It's just probably another reason why people from other countries think, "Those stupid U.S. bumpkins."

Of course, it's not fair to generalize. Most people from the United States are not stupid, war-hungry hicks, if you talk to them in person. They are reasonable, nice people, I think. It goes with that saying I happen to like -- "A person is smart. PEOPLE are stupid." It just makes the point that a group of people may seem one way, but if you meet one person from that group you may find yourself thinking you have more in common with him/her than you thought.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Zatania Duvall
No wonder older people are wiser.


Wisdom and learned knowledge are two very different things. Older people are generally considered "wiser" because of greater life experiences.


While the public education system in the US does have some major problems, ones that seem to never be addressed, I must agree that an equally large, if not greater, problem is an all too common lack of parental involvement in the education of their children. Simple things like making sure a child keeps on task for homework, addressing potential learning concerns with teachers, encouraging and aiding extra-curricular activities, and setting a positive example for one's children to follow. Far too many parents treat the public education system as a taxpayer-funded daycare service.


As for the original topic... I'm not surprised by the numbers. I've seen many surveys in that same mold that have yielded similar results. And, I too have witnessed the amazing display of stupidity of the "Jaywalking" segment on The Tonight Show. The only thing that continues to perplex me is why I have yet to encounter any of these supposedly ubiquitous morons myself. Perhaps it's a testament to the company that I keep. Or perhaps I'm just lucky.

And, to answer Yog's question, I also can differentiate between Sweden, Norway and Denmark on a map. A good thing, as I have ancestral ties to Norway. :)

[Darth Viscera]

Well, just be more sensitive to the feelings of other people next time before you go on about how stupid americans are. I'm an American, and I couldn't be more proud of it. America is my absolute faith. I can't imagine I could say anything stronger than that.

I just grow weary of mostly ignorant people bashing America. As we speak, there are probably another million Europeans marching in protest of our country. All the mindless hatred towards our country really adds up, you know. It's absolutely overwhelming.

[AmazonBabe]

I'm as American as the next Yankee down the line. And I live in CA and yes, I KNOW where CA and the Pacific Ocean are on a map. :lol

But it really is scarey how a large percentage of this country is so uneducated. I mean, if this generation is as bad as the survey showed, then how will the next generation be? Or the next after that? Or after that?

Maybe this is all leading to the end of the world? o_O


(Ok, ok... I'll stop being so morbid. :p)

[Zatania Duvall]

I dont agree fully with spanking in school. When I was living in Louisiana, they were trying to teach us how to add in kindergarden already, which wasn't working MAINLY because of the teacher and her horrid paddle. We lived in fear of that thing because she'd paddle for no reason. If you got a question wrong or took too long to answer, she'd put you over her knee. The woman was crazy, but everyone was afraid to say anything so we didn't. I don't know what happened to her, but I hope she's burning in hell. I think thats probably the reason why I'm so bad at math now, because back then I was both afraid to answer and not to answer, so of course I got everything wrong. I was already hearing the paddle against my butt so I couldn't think of any answers.

But, if teachers dont go overboard like that woman did, then I think spanking should be brought back. Kids now a days are total brats. And have bigger potty mouths than my mother, my brother, and myself combined. Nothing like hearing a three year old ask you if you like (insert the vulgar word for a woman's genitals here). Its just sick what parents let their kids get away with.

[Brielle Acaana]

I dont think any kids of Jr High age should be cussing but its so rampant now that should I send a kid to the office for cursing, half the school would be in there...literally!

So, in an attempt to curb what I can with what 'powers' I hold, Ive told the kids the TWO words I had best not EVER hear are.......
the 'F' word and G** D***. I'll nail'em in a heartbeat and they know it! Of course, being kids, in the beginning they had to try and see if they could get away with it and after the first few spent thier next lunch hours in detention, they got the message that I meant what I said. Its very rare I hear either of those particular curses tossed about now.

I know its not much but our hands are figuratively tied so I do the best I can :\

(I think everyone knows Im Daiq, right?)

[JediBoricua]

The funniest capital name is....The capital of Burkina Faso: OUGUAGADOGOU

Believe it or not, it is a true name. Go find a map and look for it, the country is on the Ivory Coast (West Africa).


But Coruscant was a close second place!

:lol

[Jedieb]

And Thanks Jedieb, my knowledge of African geography is okay though I only know the southern and Northern countries, forget about the Central nations, they change names more often than Prince.

:lol

When I was a kid my parents use to drive me crazy whenever we had parent/teacher conferences. They would make such a big deal out of the whole thing. They made sure they showered and changed after work. My mother would always make us a few minutes late because she had to look just right. Without knowing it, they were teaching my sister and I that school was important. Our teachers commanded enough respect from my parents that they wanted to make a good impression upon them. Now as a teacher, I have parents show up to school wearing Quiet Riot t-shirts and ripped jeans. One day I had a parent come by in the afternoon because she had a question about the Chess club. She popped her head in the door and addressed me by saying; "Hey, are you the Chess dude?" Mind you, this was in front of a full class of students.

Everything begins at home. My sister and I were the first kids on my father's side of the family to graduate from college in large part because of the way my parents respected education. (He came from a family of 11 siblings that gave me close to 50 cousins.) It wasn't just double talk either. It's not enough to say that school is "important." You have to back it up. If you tell your kids that reading is important but they never see you pick up a book then eventually they'll realize you're full of crap.

Paddling
It'll never, ever, ever, EVER, come back. We're living in a society in which parents actually have the stones to sue schools because little Johnny was given an F on his first semester report card. Never mind that Johnny is a spaz that can't sit still and makes constant trips to the principal's office, it's got to be the school's fault. In this kind of environment, you'll never see corporal punishment return to schools. In most respects, that's probably not a bad thing. A lot of behavior problems get pummeled at home, and it doesn't make a difference. I was given a good sandal or belt on the behind all the time, but I've decided not to spank my kids. My wife doesn't believe in it so I compromised. I think we made the right decision. My son cries when he's sent to Time Out or whenever I peel paint off the walls and yell at him. That's effective enough, I don't need to smack or spank him. Truth be told, if I did spank him I'd be doing it in anger 9 times out of 10. That's not a good lesson to teach him. Also, he'd eventually notice that his sister would receive far fewer beatings than him. For the life of me, I can't even imagine laying a hand on my Little Princess!

She's a spitfire too. She'll pinch or punch her bigger and older brother. I'd like to think that he doesn't hit her back because we've taught him that hitting isn't acceptable by not hitting him. Hopefully she'll grow out of the habit. If she doesn't, sooner or later he's gonna drop her like a bad habit!

My kids will take it for granted that school is important and that college will be part of their future because we'll structure their lives that way. Far too many of my students do not have that structure. They have to succeed in spite of their parents, and that's too much to ask of most people. If a Mother tells her 8 kids to lie to school officials repeatedly, they learn not to respect authority figures. If she brings them in late to school 4 consecutive days with excuses like; "He missed the bus or he couldn't find his shoe." then the kids learn that school isn't important. Throw in the fact that she's flirting with going back to prison and you have a series of low expectations that those 8, I repeat EIGHT! kids will never escape.

[Sanis Prent]

The number of spankings my sister got vs the number I got was something like on a 20 to 1 ratio. She was a hellion. My favorite game was finding a way for her to get herself in trouble, and having my dad spank her. It was funny.

[Jedieb]

Spankings from my Mom were kind of funny. Spankings from my Dad scared the crap our of us!

[JMK]

My dad used a mini plastic hockey stick. My God, the memories....

[Jedieb]

A hockey stick! If you were really bad, did he give you a slap shot? :)

[JMK]

No, he'd just blast me with the stick on the rear. There was some serious whip in that stick! After awhile it actually started bending from the repeated impact!

[Jedieb]

That's one way to get a good bend to your stick.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I am against corpal punishment in schools, I think it sets a bad example. I also don't think it does any good. If the kid isn't displined at home by his/her parents, spanking him at school probably wouldn't do any good.

[Sanis Prent]

My dad had a nice wide rawhide belt

[JonathanLB]

Studies have actually proven that spanking isn't an efficient means of discipline and in fact has long-term consequences (negative) in many children. Time-outs are much more effective because you remove the kid from the environment, ignore them, and they cannot continue their behavior. Spanking them sends a more mixed message, especially if you don't re-inforce the positive behaviors and instead just punish the negative. All that is just from my Psych book in this class I'm taking now, but there is definitely a lot of evidence against spankings.

Not to mention that teachers shouldn't have the right to touch kids whatsoever. If even once they touch a kid in a negative way, they should be fired and never teach again, in my opinion. I had this 7th grade teacher (this is pretty recent by comparison, it's not like I was in 2nd grade) who hit both me and a friend in the stomach as hard as he could for no real reason whatsoever. We were in this circle and he said, "Raise your right hand," and we both raised our left hands, so did a lot of other people, and he joked around with the other kids, but when he came over to us he just inexplicably slugged us in the stomach. I threatened to sue, but it was the start of the year, so I didn't want to ruin an entire year with a teacher I had to have anyway, and it ended up being a good year in his class. We got along fine, I had the 2nd best grade in that class, but still, it was very unacceptable behavior.

I've had teachers kid around with me and just sorta lightly hit me in the shoulder like a friend would, but in those cases it was just obviously playful, and in this case it took my breath away.

[Zatania Duvall]

I got spanked before I turned ten, then my mom just didn't have the heart to do it anymore(that or her back got to hurting her so bad that she couldn't. She's disabled so she can't do a lot of things). My little brother and I got spanked by a cooking spoon instead of a paddle. By then we had outsmarted her and figured out how to make it NOT hurt. LMAO Instead of giving her the biggest spoon that was thick wood, we'd give her the big plastic spoon with the tiny holes in it for resistence. That still stung but not as much as the wood. We'd also make sure to wear three pairs of underwear. lmao I didn't get spanked that much though. I can only remember four occassions when I had ticked my mother off enough to get spanked. I just managed to help my brother come up with the ideas of getting around the spanking since he got spanked on an almost daily basis. Why I did that I will never know, cuz he still deserves to be smacked across the dang face(he's about as obnoxious as Ton Green, only 150 heavier. My brother could be a football player if he wanted).

Nowadays, my mom doesn't punish my brother at all, and I know he'll turn out to be a bum in life. Seeing her let my other siblings get away with things and cry about how they've ruined their lives is punishment enough for me, even if I haven't done anything. My mom is what you call "The cool mom", the mom that doesn't turn you in to your parents if she catches you smoking, the mom that will let you throw an all night party, the mom that knows exactly what band you're talking about. But in my eyes, it's her downfall. I'll never be like her cuz I have seen the results in my two brothers and my older sister(my one sister and I are the only normal ones).

[Jedieb]

Ah, the cool parent... I can't judge your Mom, because I don't know her. All I can say is what I try to do with my children. I love my kids, but I'm not their buddy, I'm their Father. The two are not the same. Your buddy is the guy dares you chug Yagermeister, then laughs at you while you're puking your guts out. Your Dad is the one who comes to pick you up 3 hours later because you're still in no condition to drive. If he's "cool" he praises you for having the sense to call him instead of driving, but he still grounds you for a month. I'm not a buddy, I'm a Dad. I'm SUPPOSE to be a hardass. When the kids want to get over they know to head for their mother. That's the way it should be, at least for me. :smokin

[BUFFJEDI]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
I am against corpal punishment in schools, I think it sets a bad example. I also don't think it does any good. If the kid isn't displined at home by his/her parents, spanking him at school probably wouldn't do any good. I don't know Master Carr. The problem we have now aday's is that kid's think they can get away with murder at school(for real) I think they should be allowed to paddle the he11 out of students. First I would say (from what I have seen) 98% of parents do no punish there kids.If they were I assure you would not see as much disrepectfull lot of kid's as you do now. Kids walk around with the attitude YOU can't touch me or my parent's will sue, so kiss my ars. That's an attitude they will carry into the real world and it's oing to f them up. I had my share of being a bad kid in school. BUT i assure you if I didn't get my ars beat every now and then I would have been MUCH!!! worse. It took awhile But I learned for action there is an equal(he11 forgot how it wentO_o ) anyway You get my drift. I assure you when/If I have kids I will march into the school office hand them a letter stating If my child misbehave's paddle that Ars!!! Call me and they will get the same at home ONLY worse.Now I'm not saying ABUSE them BUT let them know YOU freak up, You pay. It's not happing today. ANd that's why the state of teenage pregnancy is up 40% that's why school violence is up 69% . But of course Parents think that there precious little Jimmy/Mary NEVER does anything wrong:x :x Start young and NIP it in the BUD, Nip it NIP it.Course that will not assure a 100% that it will help all, But it's a start .

[Lady Vader]

I think I got spanked maybe once in my childhood, and then my parents decided it just wasn't a good thing.

I just remembered one time my mom tried slapping me when I was about 13 or 16, and I blocked it with one arm and grabbed her arm in a vice grip with my free hand. I actually saw fear flash across her face before she pulled away and left. She never tried that again. :lol

[JMK]

My mom got pissed at me when I was 17, slapped me in the face and broke her wrist. True story.

[BUFFJEDI]

Note to everyone: Never mess with Lady Vader!!!


I really should say , that spankings and such are not for everyone. I think that there are those who DO get the punishment they need through simple groundings, just thought I'd throw that in.

[BUFFJEDI]

Originally posted by JMK
My mom got pissed at me when I was 17, slapped me in the face and broke her wrist. True story. alway's knew you had a hard head:lol ;)

[Admiral Lebron]

This one guy attacked my A+ teacher one time. And lemme tell ya this, my A+ teacher is about 6'2, 220. Back in the 80's he was national champion for full contact karate back to back. ('82/'83 I think), with six years of grappling as well. Now this kid attacked him, and my teacher warned him. And the kid went one, trying to hurt him, so he like applied pressure and my teacher nearly broke him in half. It was cool to watch. He told his parents and his parents said he probably deserved it.

[JMK]

alway's knew you had a hard head
I knew that was coming!
But it hasn't happened since!

[Sanis Prent]

Well...I don't have my entire future parenthood roadmap plotted out, but I can tell you a few things. I'm a believer in very occasional use of corporal punishment. Pain does work wonders, especially when you're young, and words don't have the full effect yet. I won't relish at all in spanking my kids, but...it is effective.

Also...I'm not gonna raise some kind of Gandhi who's gonna turn the other cheek in a confrontation with a bully, at the expense of compromising himself or his dignity. If my kid gets picked on, he will come up swinging, and when the teacher wants to talk to me, I'll tell them as such.

I hardly ever got into fights, because I simply am not an aggressor. That isn't to say that if it comes down to it that I will shy away. I can count the fights I've been in on a hand, and I gave them Hell in each one, even if I lost a few. Sounds harsh, but there's something to discover about yourself that you don't know unless you've been in that situation. I won't allow a son or daughter of mine to sell their dignity in exchange for sparing a few cuts and bruises. Some things are worth fighting for.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Slapping, or any form of hitting of children that is used while:

1. angry
2. under the influence of any narcotics
3. trying to demean your child

should NEVER be used. That is leaning into child abuse. When you're angry, you just start reacting. Slapping, verbal abuse, etc, all very bad.

A spank on the bottom or a flick on the ear, or hand (when they're small) ? Acceptable, because the alternative is..well what we have now. I shudder to think of the world in five or ten years, to be totally honest. :x

[Sanis Prent]

1. angry

I disagree on a matter of clarification. You can be angry and be in control. That's one thing. Angry and not in control is another entirely. Obviously, a child's disobedience is most likely going to elicit some amount of anger.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Angry and out of control is what I meant. Perhaps "furious" or "blind with rage" would have made my point clearer.

[Ceres Duvall]

lol My mom gets angry and tries to slap my older brothers when they really get her going, but since she's disabled, she can't chase after them or get up to do it. So she says "Come here. Now lean over" and she slaps them across the face. Whenever she asks me to do the same, I tell her "You think that I'm really that stupid? If you're going to smack me, then get up and work for it!" This totally passed my mind, but she only does this out of anger, not punishment. There are times when we can really get her severely PO'ed(like a few days ago my cat knocked down something and broke a ton of stuff. When she told me to throw the cat out the door I told her 'no'. The rest is history with how she asked me to go lean over near her... hell no! lol)

I've got some ideas about how I'll raise my future children. I won't hit them, but I WILL send them to their rooms to stare at a corner, and I will make sure that they do not have any fun during that time(no toys, tv, or computer). I'll also tell them to defend themselves if someone raises a hand to them. I think this method would only be truly affective at an early age. But nowadays, some kids would refuse or would make light of it because they are so used to getting away with everything.

[Dutchy]

Like a decade ago I could name ALL the US states on a blind map. Right I'd prolly have to think twice about a state or 5.

Oh, here's a lil test for y'all:

<img src=http://www.stabi.hs-bremerhaven.de/gbs2/whkmla/histatlas/europe/1995blank.gif width=500 height=500>

Where's my home country The Netherlands? :)

[Darth Viscera]

It's the country that's north of Belgium and west of Germany. Denmark is the proportionately smaller country that's north of Germany, Norway is the country that's north of Denmark and east of the U.K., Sweden is east of Norway, and Finland is east of Sweden.

Now I'm going to go into my closet, take out my globe, and see if I guessed right.

[JonathanLB]

I'm surprised that parents get mad at their kids sometimes for what I think are rather humorous reasons. I mean, if a kid sits there and copies you over and over, repeating what you say, I think that's pretty damn funny. I wouldn't let it get to me anyway, I'd just be like, "haha, well whatever, go entertain yourself." It seems so silly to be all pissed off at a kid when you are an adult and should know better than that, IMO.

[Darth Viscera]

Now I'm going to go into my closet, take out my globe, and see if I guessed right.
Yep

[Lady Vader]

Note to everyone: Never mess with Lady Vader!!!

:lol>D:lol

Naaahhh... I'm really a very nice person. Just don't get my Irish up. Or my Lebanese. Or my Spanish. ;) :p