[Alumni-chat] Lord of the Flies

[bdevine (bdevine at antioch-college.edu)]

>Don't get me wrong.  I am not blaming the students.  I don't even have much contact with current students but the students from the past 10 or 20 years who are most vocal on the chats appear, with a few exceptions, politically naive, poorly educated with inadequate analytical and writing skills (which may be a function of the technology) and lack an understanding of both the business and academic worlds.  I am very bothered by the fact that they do not appear to be independent thinkers and seem to be easily led due to their susceptibility to politically leftist rhetoric.
Deb,

Really?  Who or what posts specifically demonstrate the pattern you describe of being "politically naive, poorly educated, with inadequate and writing skills...and a lack of understanding of both the business and academic worlds?"  Are there examples you can cite?  Do you mean "In my opinion", is there a deeper analysis, or are there perhaps measures of these criteria?    

If anyone is interested, I have a half dozen first-year papers from this past spring that I can send you electronically.  They are among the most sophisticated I've seen, and they'll knock the socks off any stereotypes about "the students of today".  

Bob