High Self-Esteem, Low Test Scores

by Burt Prelutsky - July 7th, 2008 - Townhall.com

There are new studies and new polls that strongly suggest that we are breeding increasingly stupid kids here in America. Like our tasteless tomatoes, they merely look good and healthy.

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What makes the situation even more pathetic is that these kids, for the most part, have a terrifically high opinion of themselves. To be fair, nothing much has ever been asked of them, let alone demanded, and yet they are constantly being told how special they are.

I agree that our kids are less knowledgeable and more arrogant than earlier generations. However I reject the idea that the current generation is any less intelligent. They have simply been denied a good education due to the focus of education unions on what is good for teachers instead of what is good for our kids. That has to change. If we return to the idea of expecting kids to do well and requiring them to work hard for success, the current generation will do as well as we have always done throughout our history.