3 Comments
Comment By: Gabez
I’m no expert, but… I think completely different skills are taught today, and thus a test from 1976 wouldn’t neccesarily be appropiate for today’s youth.
Understanding is emphasised more, as is teamwork and free-thinking. Why memorise Latin declensions when you can learn about Ziki, the disabled hindu lady who’s having an abortian?
I don’t think it’s worse, just different. It may even be better!
Comment By: Huz
The tests were in applied knowledge and intelligence, like being able to tell that if a glass vessel is filled to the brim, emptied into a second container and then filled to the brim again, both vessels contain the same amount of water. In that sense they were like the IQ test, in that results should not be effected by formal education, in theory.
Due to the nature of the test, I think the results indicate a lack of imagination and experimentation in childhood more than anything else. The above question is easily answered, after all, and even a cursory messing-around with empty shampoo bottles in the bath or something should prepare you for it.
And Tones, I think we’re all glad that we were the “last generation” not to be able to post our fan-fiction online. ;P
Comment By: stan
Monday 30th January 2006 | 01:11
This is my entire theme man. If I’m ever famous and I have a theme (like Thompson and the “death of the American dream” and Hitler and facism) it will be how I was part of the last generation of children who grew up without the internet as a viable distraction during school summer holidays. Hell, back then there were only four TV channels and they weren’t dominated by reality TV either. Sky (or “cable” as it was called back then) was only for the nouveau riche and pubs, which actually made it more sociable. I mean, there was always one person – and only one – in every group of friends who had sky, so we’d all crowd over to their house to watch the football or Frank Bruno getting massacred.
Ah.