This article appeared in Yahoo today. Apparently the kids are falling for the same drivel their parents are.

>>>OGDEN, Utah (AP) - Y2K. Whatever.

That sums up the results of ``Y2Kids,'' a national survey of 1,449 children that found 72 percent think adults are overreacting to the Year 2000 computer glitch.

Muri Croft, a 12-year-old at Club Heights Elementary school, pointed to stockpiling of food as an example of adults going over the top.

``They spend thousands of dollars on this food that they're never going to use,'' Croft said.

Still, most of the 8- to 18-year-olds surveyed by Junior Achievement, a national business education organization, agree that the Y2K bug may bring some problems.

More than half think the Internet and banking computers will malfunction. And 44 percent who participated in the survey, conducted in early December, are worried about credit cards working properly.

But 17-year-old Kevin Knutson isn't concerned.

``Anybody that really needed to get anything taken care of has already taken care of it,'' said Knutson, a student at Bonneville High School. ``The biggest problems will be with stuff like freaks and cults.'' <<<

-- Irving (irvingf@myremarq.com), December 25, 1999

Answers

Teenagers are the most conformist creatures on the planet. Very, very few of them ever think for themselves at all. Most of them just follow the herd, mindlessly going along with whatever the popular "cool" kids are doing.

It's not surprising that they swallow whatever crap the press is spewing out.

And what a waste all those computer skills turn out to be...!

-- they can surf but (they@cant.think), December 25, 1999.

Would our children have greater insight if they were educated like this?

"Our school, like all the others, had no logo, mascot, advisors, counselors, nurses, and resource officers; no cafeterias, vending machines, copy machines, clubs, newspapers, sports teams, coaches or bands. We had no teachers aides or tutors. If we needed assistance with our schoolwork we had to hire our own tutors after school. There were no loudspeakers, telephones, movie projectors or sound equipment to distract us. We had no invited speakers or demonstrations, seminars or parent-teacher organizations. There were no courses in self-esteem, sex or social agendas. We did not learn how to put condoms on fingers, so we would know how to put them on something, and into something else. We were deprived and unprotected in this cruel world, but we were taught all the basics, including sciences, mathematics and foreign languages. We learned so much more, and at a much smaller cost, than what our children are taught today.

There were no school buses even though the pupils came from far and wide. They came by train, buses, on bikes or on foot. We had to pay for our own transportation and text books, and brought our own sandwiches to school as well. Some of my textbooks became gray and severely dog-eared because I studied them so intensively. Instead of learning to mix drinks, we learned French. Instead of bouncing around in tutus, we beat our brains out with algebra.

Our school taught facts, logic and no hocus-pocus of any kind. We had no distracting entertainment such as dances or assemblies in our boot camp. In other words, we were totally deprived; we learned discipline and self-reliance. But even before Little Brother and I had entered school we were the paragons of discipline, and urgently needed some hocus-pocus. Unfortunately our school did not provide us with such relief from the torments caused by our parents and their lawyers.

Like in many other countries, the German educational system has since veered off its course. It mixes in too much feel-good-about-yourself entertainment at the expense of learning. One magazine recently mentioned the shocking illiteracy levels of the German youth, and that two successive car models of Daimler Benz had failed their road tests. This article continued that: In Germany, some thirty percent of students leave school unemployable due to lack of reading, writing, and math skills.

Wait until no one wants to feed these unemployables. Then all hell will break loose. Again. * * *

There was little opportunity for socializing during school. Breaks between classes lasted five minutes, with fifteen minutes for a mid-morning sandwich and some fresh air. School was finished by noon after which the pupils returned home to eat. Most of the families ate their meals punctually at the same time everyday. This was possible because the wives stayed home and cooked, while the fathers often worked nearby and also came home to eat.

There were no organized or coached contacts between the students after school either. All intercourse between them was between individuals pursuing creative and physical activities. There was no drinking, no shopping mall loitering or TV gawking, because there were no shopping malls or televisions. Instead they visited, talked, roamed in the forests and pursued individual hobbies. They were close to their parents and were allowed to be children. To be children, girls did not paint their faces to attract boys. They did not even shave their armpits or legs, but I learned later that they could be disgustingly sexy.

There was not only no hocus-pocus in our schools, there were few, if any straight A pupils and no honor societies. We did not get publicly recognized for outstanding performance. There were no accounts in the news media of great performances of pupils; nor were there reports of them committing crimes. Our motivation was not the carrot, but the stick. We were not bribed to do well; we were punished if we didnt. Few pupils could achieve perfection in all subjects. It was an exceptional person who could excel in a wide range of academic courses, especially since we could not choose them."

-- Not Again! (seenit@ww2.com), December 25, 1999.