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Yep, I'm definitely ineligible to sign up for the military right now based on weight and fitness. Working to change that though. I have a clean record and got a great score on the ASVAB... I have a 3.7 in college for christ's sake haha.
Don't worry OP, not all youth are in such a state. My sister's a shining example... fit as a fiddle, smart as a whip, and a good citizen.
The first stage moves from bondage to spiritual faith. The second from spiritual faith to great courage. The third stage moves from great courage to liberty. The fourth stage moves from liberty to abundance. The fifth stage moves from abundance to selfishness. The sixth stage moves from selfishness to complacency. The seventh stage moves from complacency to apathy. The eighth stage moves from apathy to moral decay. The ninth stage moves from moral decay to dependence. And the tenth and last stage moves from dependence to bondage.
These are the ten stages through which the great civilizations have gone. Notice the progression from bondage to liberty back to bondage. The first generation throws off the shackles of bondage only to have a later generation through apathy and indifference allow itself to once again be enslaved.
I think there are three important steps that would help "turn the tide." First, we need laws that grant parental leave. With the exception of a few states, the United States is one of the few countries in the world that does not guarantee parents --usually mothers but sometimes fathers as well -- paid leave to spend time with newborn children. In some cases paid parental leave lasts for one year. Second, we should offer high quality pre-school for all children. Strong evidence shows that quality schooling early in life sets the foundation for later educational achievement. Finally, public education should be funded equitably at least within states but ideally across the nation. Northern European nations have taken all of these steps and the national economies of this region are still some of the strongest in the world. Northern Europe also ranks high on nearly every measure of wellness and personal happiness.
I submit that Texas should lead the United States into the future by becoming more like Northern Europe. I know this would require a major political and cultural shift in the state, but this might be what's necessary to address major changes already underway.
Just playing devil's advocate:
Norway is the only Northern European country with a higher per-capita GDP than The US and that is only because Norway controls embarrassing oil riches.
All of these countries are small with little racial strife and acrimony. Although this appears to be changing.
The US has footed a great portion of each country's defense burden since WWII.
Some of these countries have near world's worst levels of alcoholism.
As Dallas is a majority minority city this topic rings critical here IMO.....
Just skimmed thorough a Council on Foreign Relations paper about education in The US.
Grab a barf bag you'll need one maybe two.
75% of young American adults are ineligible for military service due to:
A). Being too fat
B). Criminal records
C). But mostly for being too dumb to pass our military's laughably easy educational thresholds and or testing.
Our black and Latino youth are disproportionately responsible for the state of failure listed above.
Regarding the military ASVAB test..........
As part of a psychology class in college I took a version of the ASVAB, trust me it's easy. The ISEE test that local 8th graders take for admittance into private high schools is orders of magnitude more difficult. And we have legions of HS grads and GED holders who cannot pass the ASVAB.
The CFR paper more or less concludes that the embarrassing state of educational failure by our youth is nothing short of a national security problem. I've maintained as much for years.
Generally, we are fostering a persistent educationally segregated underclass.
So how do we turn the tide?
Start by dismantling the public school system and turn it over to private enterprise.
Yep, I'm definitely ineligible to sign up for the military right now based on weight and fitness. Working to change that though. I have a clean record and got a great score on the ASVAB... I have a 3.7 in college for christ's sake haha.
Don't worry OP, not all youth are in such a state. My sister's a shining example... fit as a fiddle, smart as a whip, and a good citizen.
Obviously, I'm not claiming, nor is the CFR, that all youth are failures - just far too many.
Excellent! Maybe this will make our leaders be more choosy about wars we fight rather than the collection of pointless debacles since 1945. If we would quit spending so much bringing 'democracy' to other countries' citizens, maybe we could have some money to educate our own citizens.
Sure, it would have been better to allow the Soviets free dominion over the rest of the world. Good thinking.
As Dallas is a majority minority city this topic rings critical here IMO.....
Just skimmed thorough a Council on Foreign Relations paper about education in The US.
Grab a barf bag you'll need one maybe two.
75% of young American adults are ineligible for military service due to:
A). Being too fat
B). Criminal records
C). But mostly for being too dumb to pass our military's laughably easy educational thresholds and or testing.
Our black and Latino youth are disproportionately responsible for the state of failure listed above.
Regarding the military ASVAB test..........
As part of a psychology class in college I took a version of the ASVAB, trust me it's easy. The ISEE test that local 8th graders take for admittance into private high schools is orders of magnitude more difficult. And we have legions of HS grads and GED holders who cannot pass the ASVAB.
The CFR paper more or less concludes that the embarrassing state of educational failure by our youth is nothing short of a national security problem. I've maintained as much for years.
Generally, we are fostering a persistent educationally segregated underclass.
So how do we turn the tide?
LOL, what a crock.
My nephew graduated top 2% in his class. Joined the Navy and is in Nuke school.
My niece will play for Navy starting in 2013, she's hoping to be an aviator.
My youngest nephew will start his Senior year next year, and is being heavily recruited by most of the Ivy League and ALL three military academies, as well as the top SEC & Pac10 schools...for an academic scholarship. He's already turned down offers from UT Austin, A&M, Notre Dame and Florida for athletics.
Are there problems? Sure. But to generalize and attempt to blase' an entire generation, is pure bunk.
My nephew graduated top 2% in his class. Joined the Navy and is in Nuke school.
My niece will play for Navy starting in 2013, she's hoping to be an aviator.
My youngest nephew will start his Senior year next year, and is being heavily recruited by most of the Ivy League and ALL three military academies, as well as the top SEC & Pac10 schools...for an academic scholarship. He's already turned down offers from UT Austin, A&M, Notre Dame and Florida for athletics.
Are there problems? Sure. But to generalize and attempt to blase' an entire generation, is pure bunk.
Forgive me, but I can tell you are not used to thinking about statistical aggregates.
I have a son with a 4.0 in bio-pre-med who just crushed the MCAT test and is filling out apps to most of the top 10 med schools in the US likely he'll end up at Washington University or Harvard. I personally know seven kids at military academies.
Guess what, none of that has any statistical bearing on my opening post. What matters is that legions of our young people are too dumb to get into the military or hold decent civilian jobs.
America will be fine. Have a little faith in the next generation.
Also I think its funny how everybody on the internet has smart kids.
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