The Virginian-Pilot
©
Oh look. "The Class of 2009" wants me at their commencement exercises.
Every day seems to bring another invite to yet another high school graduation.
And each time I stare at a sea of flat hats I wonder the same thing: How many of these graduates are really educated?
Sure, these little eggheads may have taken a full load of AP classes, they can explain the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and speak Mandarin Chinese.
But can they drive from place to place without satellite assistance?
Consider this: At a post-commencement party last Saturday night, two footloose relatives were telling us about their recent excursion to Egypt. As they recalled some of the amazing antiquities they'd seen, they tried to recall the name of the legendary architect who'd designed one of the pyramids.
"Imhotep?" offered my college sophomore, who's never been to Egypt or even slept on Egyptian cotton sheets as far as I know.
Yet, from someplace deep in the recesses of her Very Virginia Beach brain my daughter retrieved the name of the ancient legend who's credited with everything from pyramid design to inventing Egyptian medicine.
I was impressed.
Two days later, however, I saw another side of my offspring when she and a trio of college friends were headed to Chesapeake.
"Where is this?" my daughter frowned, staring at an address scribbled on a piece of paper.
"Hold on. I have a map in my car," I said, sprinting for the door.
"Don't need it," my kid shouted. "We have Magellan!"
Ah, the GPS.
A time-saver when you're in a strange city. A silly crutch when you're at home.
Anyone who has spent time around teenagers knows the art of reading a road map is being lost.
We have high school graduates who have memorized dazzling facts about world geography but who can't find their way to the next city without a robotic voice telling them to "turn left in one-point-five miles."
Seems to me that map reading is just one of a handful of skills every kid should master before he or she gets to wear a cap and gown.
Swimming is another. Fall from a boat or get caught in a flood and you'll want to swim far more than you'll want to converse in Chinese.
Trust me.
While they're in the pool, perhaps we should teach swimmers how to survive a rip current. As we saw last weekend in Virginia Beach, knowing that you swim parallel to the shore in a strong tide saves lives.
Here's one more useful life skill: tip calculations.
When I was a waitress at the Jersey Shore, this C student (in algebra, anyway) could calculate 15 percent of any check in time to deliver a sarcastic "Thanks A LOT" to cheapskate customers before they cleared the dining room.
Anyone who has to pull out a cell phone and use the calculator tool to figure a tip - you know who you are - should voluntarily return his or her high school diploma.
Oh, by the way, congratulations to the Class of 2009.
Now use some of that commencement loot to buy yourselves road maps.
Kerry Dougherty, (757) 446-2306, kerry.dougherty@cox.net
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Before Heading to College.....
Learning to read a map, learning to swim (and we live in Virginia Beach), and learning to make correct change are only a few of the skills our graduates are lacking, and the list goes on. One could write a column every day for a year on the skills they need but don't learn. However, as many pointed out, the problem rests with the parents.
Parents constantly comment about their young children's behavior prior to going to school. "Just wait until he/she goes to school; they'll straighten him/her out real quick!" Is it any wonder that teachers are so stressed in the classroom? Obedience and respect are suppose to be taught at home, and taught when the child is young.
I understand how frustrating it is to get lost when driving in areas that are unfamiliar. I can get lost in my own back yard. But when I have to go somewhere, I always check MapQuest, print out directions and map, and take it with me. That isn't difficult to learn.
RicM
I can relate to your story. Just yesterday I went to a Rite-Aid in Chesapeake to buy some needed toiletries. My total came to $40.92. I handed the young cashier (male, looked like 18-21) $41.00. Before I handed him the money, had punched in that I gave him $45.00, so he tried to give me $4.08 back in change, seemingly without looking at what I had given him in the first place. I explained to him three times why he was wrong and that the change should have only been $0.08, which I told him to keep anyways.
I really think these kids need to take a comprehensive math test before graduating. Math is a necessary evil!
As for swimming and map reading - well, that's the parents job to teach, isn't it? Either that, or let them enlist in the military and they'll have to learn those skills...
GPS distraction
Something else that needs to be addressed with the explosion of GPS devices is the driver distraction. The big glowing screen usually placed in the middle of the drivers' field of vision in a vehicle cannot help but be a major distraction; and you have to push buttons to access different features, taking more attention from the road. Next time you are on the road, especially at night, glance around and look at all the glowing screens in front of drivers' faces. People get all worked up over cellphone useage, but nobody says squat about GPS distraction, which is probably much more dangerous. Guess the GPS companies lobby harder (and with more money) than the cell companies.
UMMMMMMMM Parents.........
If your child can't read a map, tell time without a digital readout, or make change without a calculator or computer you have no one to blame but yourselves.
My child is 10 and is quite capable of doing all of the above. Regardless of where the child goes to school, the ultimate responsibility of the education of your child rests with you, the parent.
Far too many parents have abdicated that responsibility to the teachers in the schools, public or private. Neither you or a teacher is always going to be there, so it is best if you take the responsibility to see to it the child is properly educated.
Wendy's
RicM, Maybe I'm giving the cashier the benefit of the doubt (I've never been a cashier at a business before) I don't think the problem was related to making change as much as it was changing data already entered into the computer system. Remember, cashiers don't really have to compute change in most cases, the computer does it for them... and it's probably a "bad thing" if the amount of money in the register is different than what the computer says it should be. (except if it is a negligible amount, but even those can add up)
Math is math - part ii
Another thought - I don't think there's any retail store or restaurant that tracks the money based on denominations. In other words, should a register have four quarters instead of a dollar bill? What about when someone asks for change for a five? Now the register is short a five dollar bill but now has five extra dollar bills.
Math is math
Sorry, but math is math. At the end of the day when receipts are compared to monies taken in, the bottom line is that the cashier/register must balance. The "amount tendered" button is used to aid the person in ensuring accurate change is given back, not a replacement for the human computing capability.
When my daughter was hired on at a credit union, she had to take a math test where numerous cash scenarios were given and she had to provide the proper money calculations, without a calulator or cash regisiter.
MAP & TIMETABLE READING
How true. This article reminds me of pre-HRT days when all schedules of then-TRT were enclosed within one rather large folder. These were available, at least for awhile. at the Information Desk located in Lynnhaven Mall. One day I asked for the TRT folder [they were out-of-reach behind the counter], and the customer service representative complied, but with this comment "I will be glad to give you one, but please do not ask me how to read it". Until then, it never dawned upon me public transit timetables were confusing and difficult for some individuals to understand. But, I began to appreciate this quandary while studing an HRT 29 Route timetable, which advised Sunday schedules applied on major holidays. Problem was, 29 Route did not operate on Sundays, so this advisory was useless. Although it took awhile, HRT eventually corrected this error, and now the folders advise passengers to call HRT for holiday service information.
High school vs. simple math
A few months ago we stopped at Wendy’s in Emporia during a trip to Florida. Our order came to $10.12. I handed the girl a twenty and immediately began fishing for the 12 cents so I could get $10 back. Before I got the change, however, the girl - somewhere between 16 and 18 - had punched in the amount tendered as $20. When I handed her the 12 cents, I could see the meltdown occurring in her brain. She had no idea what to do! Wait – it gets better. She called her “manager” over – looked to be in her mid-20’s – and asked her for help. The manager also entered the first stages of brain meltdown! I told her the 12 cents would result in an even $10 in change. Even then they both had to think about it before the manager told the cashier the proper change would be $10.
Swimming? Riiiight...
This article thoroughly amused me. Have you driven around Hampton Roads lately? With how bad urban sprawl is, and how distracted people are on cell phones, you want to add an even worse distraction in an area where one wrong turn can get you stuck in a horrible maze of cul-de-sacs and dead end streets?
Swimming would be a great skill to teach. Would you propose we build a pool in each school, or bus students to pools that couldn't handle a fraction of the capacity needed? Perhaps teaching students bike safety or self-defense would make even more sense by the statistics.
Schools can't teach everything, they should simply set a framework of healthy mental and physical habits. Whether they succeed at that isn't shown by not using a map.