Question Answered: Why 44% don't have a clue....

[wittsend]

It seems the generation that went through the depression (my parents) had one of two responses. Either they feared another one and and lived accordingly to be prepared (Ah..., my parents), or they didn't want their kids to "suffer" and went out of their way to give their children the childhood they themselves would have wanted. Unfortunately the happy child is not necessarily a compliant child. And it tends to develop self interest at the expense of self reliance.

I taught Television Production at community college and you would be surprised at the number of 18-21 year old males who couldn't fit an adjustable wrench to a square headed bolt to move it on the lighting grid. I've had "mommy" come in and talk to me because their young adult child (already receiving a marginal grade) needed an extended Spring Break to sync up with their (divorced) father's vacation time. The one I remember most was the mother that wrote me a letter on behalf of her son. This kid had missed so many days from the very start of the semester he was being informed that he was being dropped. She said it was because his truck was broken. The mother kept referring to her son (and herself) as "we." She (I'm mean "we") talked about how he was up for a part in a film (likely one of a thousand) and how he was told he might get the part (standard industry BS) and that somehow during the wait period to get the part, act in the part and then buy a new truck he would return to the class and be a wonderful student. Where as, logically, the semester would have been long over by the time all that transpired..., if it even did. I'm not sure who I felt sorrier for (for all the wrong reasons), the mother or the son (collectively "we").

I contrast that with students who came from a challenging background be it financial, handicaps, or other hardships who were nonetheless exceptional students. Their silent work ethic put far more privileged students to shame.

[8E45E]

BINGO! I know that thought it not original to you, Jeff, nor would you claim it is, but it is nonetheless spot-on. BP

It was original to Dr. Benjamin Spock. 20 years later, he apologized for ruining an entire generations of kids!!

Craig

[Gunslinger]

It doesn't take a village to raise a child...it takes parents! It seems today that too many parents outsource child rearing to the schools or at least someone else. They want to be their child's buddy, not a parent who has to instill a sense of discipline and responsibility and let the child know his or her acceptable limits.

This really isn't anything new. Over thirty-five years ago I was a restaurant manager for a national chain. We used a great deal of high school kids as employees...some were wonderful, outstanding young citizens. Others...not so much. I remember a number couldn't even spell the name of their high school...and these were not immigrants but American born. My area supervisor said "Kids today don't get discipline at home or at school. They're going to learn discipline and responsibility here or they won't work here.

[Packard53]

A fellow Vietnam Vet and I talked over the weekend how things were in this country during the Vietnam War. I am 68 years old and can remember a great many people of my generation held protests against the Vietnam War, burned the American Flag, disrespected Vets. Spit on Vietnam Vets called us baby killers. Many men my age during that time became professional students in college to get deferments so they wouldn't have to serve our country. Others getting their parents to bribe local draft boards in order to get little spoiled Johnny out of serving in the military during that time.

Hell one regular poster in here that is my age boasted how he was pumping gas while going to college during the Vietnam War and was so dam proud of it. The people of this country tthat didn't serve during that time want to sweep under the rug the fact that many Vietnam Vets died slow horrid deaths because of being exposed to Agent Orange.

People of my generation forget that they made many mistakes in judgement after graduating from high school and treated Vets back then like pieces of ****. Now they complain about the young generation of today.

I served on a local school for about 6 years and witnessed many fine young kids graduating and stepping up to the plate to pull their own way in this world with out the help of their parents many coming from broken homes with only one parent.

John S.

[t walgamuth]

I took the college deferment and when I graduated in 72 when I got out it was pretty well done over there.

I was against the war and did not want to fight but I never marched and never criticized the fellows who went over and served. I just felt they got mistreated by our government.

I certainly could never understand the kids who spit on and called vets baby killers. You soldiers were just as much victims as the innocent vietnam kids who were killed as peripheral collateral damage.

[Packard53]

I took the college deferment and when I graduated in 72 when I got out it was pretty well done over there.

I was against the war and did not want to fight but I never marched and never criticized the fellows who went over and served. I just felt they got mistreated by our government.

I certainly could never understand the kids who spit on and called vets baby killers. You soldiers were just as much victims as the innocent vietnam kids who were killed as peripheral collateral damage.

Thank You for your thought full kind and honest post. Men of my generation also broke the laws of this country and ran like cowards to Canada to avoid the draft. That's another fact that tends to be swept under the rug by men of o my generation.

John S.

[BobPalma]

A good and relevant article:

http://www.nextavenue.org/8-lessons-we-learned-our-first-jobs/

[ddub]

A good and relevant article:

http://www.nextavenue.org/8-lessons-...ur-first-jobs/

Good site, thanks for the tip.

[8E45E]

People of my generation forget that they made many mistakes in judgement after graduating from high school and treated Vets back then like pieces of ****. Now they complain about the young generation of today.

What you are saying ONLY applies to those of a certain age group within a certain time period within a certain country.

As far as age group, I believe this thread focuses on those under 16 that held down job who would have been in middle school at the time and too young to be enlisted.

The time slot would have been from 1964 to 1975 (someone can correct me on these dates if they are wrong) when the Viet Nam war was on, and many here were either too young or too old to be called upon by Uncle Sam to serve in the conflict; not to mention, several participants here on the Forum don't live in the United States of America.

As far a I know, I don't recall any program(s) which involved those under 18 to assist in the Viet Nam war effort in any way. That was a huge contrast to the second world war where younger ones whose fathers were in the service were encouraged to organize neighborhood scrap drives, grow Victory Gardens, etc., and then could state they were involved in the war effort on the home front.

Craig

[Packard53]

Craig: First of all the study done was of 8 million young kids between the ages of 13 through 19 years of age. One of the posters who shall remain unnamed near the end of his post stated roughly (Having not certain rudimentary skills in a couple of years that if reality gets to close for comfort in college will demand a safe space to study), That set of some thing inside of me bringing back some old memories from that time. During the Vietnam War many men in this country used college as a safe space to get out of the draft or as a excuse to for not enlisting in the military because reality was getting to close for comfort for them. The person who started this thread is around my age so he knows what I am talking about concerning those times. I feel that he shouldn't be so critical about the youth of today.

John S.

[Scott]

I know lots of industrious kids with ambition. If anything, I think there's more drive in them now than 40 years ago. I remember how easy it was to get a job as a teenager in the 70s and nowadays it's a crapshoot. That's based on my kids' experiences. Not awful, but not easy, either.

[Bill Pressler]

I was born in '58, and even in our small town, I was able to secure good-paying summer work at R. D. Werner Co., a ladder and extrusion manufacturing firm in my hometown. Sadly, my girls could not make the same money I made (not even adjusting for inflation) in a summer over 30 years later. Those good-paying jobs were largely gone.

And yes, Werner's had many women employed when I worked there in the late seventies.