Quote:
Originally posted by MattK
Another reason the world needs FIRST
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Today's youth are generally stupid and ignorant. They need more common sense these days.
Of course, the root of the problem would be the parents. Parents need to expose themselves to the real world when they are young, not shelter them from it. My parents exposed me, and I turned out perfectly fine. Too many times have I seen "A" grade school people that can't do anything that requires common sense. Sometimes, people just need to take a step back and think things through, before they act on them.
For example. In physics this past year we had to design and build a small device that would transverse a length of wire (on an incline) by using no human force. Being the fastest got you extra credit. The emphasis wasn't necessarily on building a fast device, but building one that worked and then being able to calculate gear ratios and velocity. I found that many of the generally "smarter" people were complaining about this project. When I mean smart, these were the "4.0" people of the senior class. Their GPA's ended up being hurt by this class. He wasn't strict about it or anything, he even provided us with motors and batteries (although I opted to go to Radioshack and pick up a 9,000 RPM hobby motor and geared it down (10:1 I think) using a K'Nex kit; we were the fastest group). I came up with many other ideas that would transverse the wire using cardboard, superglue, and the (slow) motors provided. We opted for the K'Nex route simply because we had the tools available.
School isn't about being able to digest information and then being able to regurgitate it on a test. It's about learning and understanding. These "smart" students did poorly in this class becuase they tried to learn physics and without trying to understand it.
This is why FIRST is important. FIRST teaches kids about understanding things, and not merely learning them. Although not all kids are changed by FIRST (this past weekend I had a kid try to tell me that hooking an alternator to the bot would generate unlimited energy), generally a lot of them are. It is important to not only learn how things work, but understand why they work. Usually, one must go to the basics (action-reaction) to understand many of the mechanical aspects. The electrical aspects requires a little bit more knowledge, but isn't a whole lot more complex.
Of course, everything I said wouldn't apply to the children in your article, simply because they are far too young to understand the consequences of their actions. However, I would hold anyone at the 6th grade or above accountable, because they should be well aware of right and wrong. Knowing what drugs are, is a different matter.