Now I have completed the 2 chapters I needed for today and I have to admit that even though some of the things he states offends me, I have to agree with him on about 90 perfect of the things he says. There's one direct quote I'd like to bring in and its in page 32 and it states, "The 18-year-old may have a visa card, cell phone, MySpace page, part-time job, PlayStation 2, and an admission letter from State U..." I like this quote a lot because it brings me back to me because it's all the kind of things I have. I am almost embarrassed by some of the things he says though, and I honestly think that's his point. I believe he has a way of slyly insulting us all awhile telling us a lot of factual information that kind of makes me want to bury my head in shame. Another point he brings up which I thought was absolutely astonishing was the fact that college kids in the 50's and today have about the same test scores. He states that we should have much bigger ones because not only do we have more time of learning, we also have the mental capacity to do more. Our problem is, we're too lazy, and we are too busy with connecting to the world around us that honestly we're losing sight of what's really important. I believe that's why he calls us dumb because we have the ability to do anything and we CHOOSE not to. Which I do in fact believe makes us very stupid, indeed.

So I am at about page 27 of the book and have plenty to say already that I want to get out before I lose my train of thought. So far, I have discovered that this book is rather biased on the opinion that our generation is in fact the dumbest. From reading so far, I have discovered for the most part that I completely understand why Bauerlein calls us so. So far, the main topic has been placed as "we care too much about scores on tests and not enough about common knowledge." I believe this is fairly true because honestly I couldn't tell you who my mayor is or congressman or even the state representative. however, I could in fact tell you how to factor any equation you give me. This goes to show that teachers plant such things into your brain so you can be accepted by a college figuring that you  will learn that kind of stuff later on. Also, so many high school kids are worried about being in AP calc and you'll never use this unless you're a rocket scientist. However, you'll never see a class where they teach you how to do your taxes and how insurance works.