Post #83593 by tiki mick 1 on Tue, Mar 30, 2004 11:18 AM

On 2004-03-30 09:55, Formikahini wrote:

*On 2004-03-30 09:15, tiki mick wrote:*However, I clearly remember the other kids around me in high school being fairly smart, and at least knowlegeable about some current events...

But a lot of the values have changed, no?

Their role models are Brittany Spears and Justin Timberlake..my generation had Bono, and Sting...I just think those differences are an ocean apart!
Well, as Tikibars said, I AM around 'em all day long (mind you, the smart ones, as it's a private high school, but with lotsa scholarship kids from potentially gang-inducing backgrounds). But I subbed for years in the public schools too, and I'm gonna have to say that the bulk of the kids are NOT as bad as, for example, "A Knight's Tale" thinks that they are. Of course there are turds in every generation, and maybe there are more now, but there are still a lot of kids who like to think and who like to be challenged.

There have always been teen idols foisted upon the kids ("You WILL love Frankie Avalon! You WILL love the Bay City Rollers! AND Kajagoogoo! and Duran Duran! (Don't forget, the latter 2 are the same time frame as Bono and Sting!)). I don't think that any of the girls in my school want to be Britney, although to be sure, they are influenced by her (lack of) clothing choices when given the chance to not wear uniforms. But the stores SHOVE this crap down their throats! They have commercials with girls wearing midriff-baring hiphuggers and tiny tops, saying "Back to School!", yet most schools have dress codes that don't allow bare midriffs!!

I'm not even a mother, but it's enough to make me scream!

So I guess I'm saying the basest Nurture over degraded Nature right now.

Hmmm... maybe we need to rename this topic, e.g. "Kids Today!", n'est pas, Inspecteur Clouseau?

(I'm actually not arguing with you here, Tikimick; I'm just thinking out loud about the possibilities.)

Well, you make some good points....I might have been exaggerating a bit...I am sure there some good and talented kids out there..you would know probably better then me! I actually have come across some good kids at some of the church retreats and Cursillo's I have attended...kids that seemed to have thier heads on straight, and know their path in life..these are kids of all colors, all backgrounds too...

But I live in a place where most of the kids I see around me have nothing, and no one to guide them...except those cultural images that reinforce materialism and disregard for the enviroment, and apathy towards the power to vote, for example, or get involved in the political process...this culture worships the Kobe Bryants of the world..the Paris Hiltons...the American Idol culture, which gives instant success to the least deserving!

But I agree, and hope that what you say is true..that there is hope for the future!

PS, Duran Duran rocks!

See, they have a larger musical heritage then Shawn Cassady, Franky avalon and bay city rollers..

Duran Duran were art-school guys..guys who knew the name of Salvador Dali...ask "nelly" or some other hip hop artist or teen pop artist about Dadaism, for example..the guys from Duran Duran would have been able to explain it perfectly well...they got thier influence from Bowie, roxy music, chic..all great bands...

Kajagoogoo was another story..but they had a great bass player, that's for sure!!!