Do you worry about the youth of today?

[AVB]

My son, 16, is a bright lad. 10 A/A* GCSE’s, studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics at A Level. He went to the fridge the other day and got the milk out. Next thing I hear him say is “how do you open the carton”. It had a screw cap on it which he had managed to remove but then it also had one of those plastic ‘ring pulls’ on it which he had never seen before. He stood staring at it not having a clue. Now I am nowhere as bright as him but at his age I am sure I could open a carton, change a plug, understand the workings of a two stroke/four stroke engine, light a fire, use an electric drill etc. I don’t think my father taught me these things as he was pretty ‘hands off’ so I must have learnt it at school. 

[strimmer_13]

I work with a guy in his 30s like that. Not a drop of common sense or any practical skills, but done well in uni. I'm not a genius, but I haven't had to rely on other people wiping my *** for me and get on with it 

[Yellow Bear]

16 minutes ago, AVB said:

My son, 16, is a bright lad. 10 A/A* GCSE’s, studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics at A Level. He went to the fridge the other day and got the milk out. Next thing I hear him say is “how do you open the carton”. It had a screw cap on it which he had managed to remove but then it also had one of those plastic ‘ring pulls’ on it which he had never seen before. He stood staring at it not having a clue. Now I am nowhere as bright as him but at his age I am sure I could open a carton, change a plug, understand the workings of a two stroke/four stroke engine, light a fire, use an electric drill etc. I don’t think my father taught me these things as he was pretty ‘hands off’ so I must have learnt it at school. 

You may not like it but sadly some of the blame lies with parents and Grand parents as well as schools.  Yes a lot are absolutely useless and have been for the last 15 or so years to my knowledge.  At worst I use to get work experience bods/ apprentices that had to be shown how to make a cup of tea or coffee even.

[Walker570]

30 minutes ago, AVB said:

My son, 16, is a bright lad. 10 A/A* GCSE’s, studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics at A Level. He went to the fridge the other day and got the milk out. Next thing I hear him say is “how do you open the carton”. It had a screw cap on it which he had managed to remove but then it also had one of those plastic ‘ring pulls’ on it which he had never seen before. He stood staring at it not having a clue. Now I am nowhere as bright as him but at his age I am sure I could open a carton, change a plug, understand the workings of a two stroke/four stroke engine, light a fire, use an electric drill etc. I don’t think my father taught me these things as he was pretty ‘hands off’ so I must have learnt it at school. 

Yup, I know many grown ups with about the same ability. You are correct in one way, kids are no longer taught such things, e.g wood/metalwork, cookery at school so some of the blame lies there and again not pointing the finger but at parents.  I went to an old fashioned Grammar School and was seriously peved because the Secondary next door had metal working facilities, lathes and all that but we only did woodwork. Fortunately I had a Grandfather who taught me many things which I even use today.

It's a bit like that old old joke where the mathematician was constipated so worked it out with a pencil.

[Lampwick]

My sisters girls didn’t know what an orchard was at 16!!! “Why should they” was my sisters response??? 
The older one is a teacher now, love her too bits but, good god!! All she knows is what she was taught to teach. Never watches the news, current affairs or documentaries and no common sense along with most of her peers. 
There appears to be a lack of interest in developing inspiring, motivating, enquiring, challenging teachers/people. Its all tick boxes. 

Edited November 17, 2020 by Lampwick

[grrclark]

What you have described is an affliction that particularly affects boys.  During late stages of adolescence the synapses in the male brain in particular re-wire themselves with the output that they become prone to utter practical stupidity and idiotic decision making, although academic intelligence is unaffected.  The good news is that the brain re-wires itself correctly again and normal human function is restored.

[JTaylor91]

I know somebody like that, phd in maths from Oxford but wouldn’t know which end to hold a screwdriver. I’ve always been pretty handy but wasn’t taught any of it in school or by my parents, I just tinkered with things when I was young and learnt along the way. Still learning now.

[JDog]

That cannot be the first carton of milk he has encountered surely?

You may have spoilt the boy by doing everything for him.

[AVB]

12 minutes ago, Yellow Bear said:

You may not like it but sadly some of the blame lies with parents and Grand parents as well as schools.  Yes a lot are absolutely useless and have been for the last 15 or so years to my knowledge.  At worst I use to get work experience bods/ apprentices that had to be shown how to make a cup of tea or coffee even.

I am sure some of the blame does lie with me.

 

15 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

Yup, I know many grown ups with about the same ability. You are correct in one way, kids are no longer taught such things, e.g wood/metalwork, cookery at school so some of the blame lies there and again not pointing the finger but at parents.  I went to an old fashioned Grammar School and was seriously peved because the Secondary next door had metal working facilities, lathes and all that but we only did woodwork. Fortunately I had a Grandfather who taught me many things which I even use today.

It's a bit like that old old joke where the mathematician was constipated so worked it out with a pencil.

I went to a pretty naff comprehensive and we had great ‘engineering’ - lathes, milling machines, welding/brazing etc. Was great fun (not that I have a real clue nowadays). My son goes to an expensive private school. They have fantastic facilities but metalwork facilities isn’t one of them. I don’t think it’s a must they they are taught engineering but it would be good if schools could spend some time (they appear to have a lot of free time nowadays) to teach some ‘life’ skills.  The school the son of a friend of ours goes to has recently brought in ex military people to teach pupils how to iron clothes properly.  That sounds a great idea and going to be more successful than trying to teach it at home (peer pressure, more respect for teachers etc). 

 

Just now, JDog said:

That cannot be the first carton of milk he has encountered surely?

You may have spoilt the boy by doing everything for him.

Ha ha.  He had encountered milk before but not one that had a ‘ring pull’ inside. It was that that confused him. 
 

 

[chrisjpainter]

57 minutes ago, AVB said:

My son, 16, is a bright lad. 10 A/A* GCSE’s, studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics at A Level. He went to the fridge the other day and got the milk out. Next thing I hear him say is “how do you open the carton”. It had a screw cap on it which he had managed to remove but then it also had one of those plastic ‘ring pulls’ on it which he had never seen before. He stood staring at it not having a clue. Now I am nowhere as bright as him but at his age I am sure I could open a carton, change a plug, understand the workings of a two stroke/four stroke engine, light a fire, use an electric drill etc. I don’t think my father taught me these things as he was pretty ‘hands off’ so I must have learnt it at school. 

What happened next?

[Lloyd90]

Its sound more like an environmental issue... why has your boy never opened a carton of milk by 16 years of age? 

 

I don't it's a sign of intelligence or anything like that, just a lack of world experience.

My sister and her husband have one of those instant hot water taps, as do my parents, my nephew has grown up with it, hes never known anything else. When they were abroad he wanted a cup of tea and was aghast that you actually had to sit and wait for water to boil in a kettle, he didn't even know what a kettle was  

 

I really enjoy machine and wood work, but in year 9 exams the D&T Paper noted "you will get marks for colouring in"... I asked the girl next to me if I could use her colours, and the grumpy old D&T teacher who was a miserable horrible man cancelled my paper  ... so I never bothered with the subject. A shame really as I really enjoy practical things but I am mostly useless at them due to lack of experience. 

 

[Pistol p]

Yes, there are stacks of younger folk who can't and never will be able to do what I can do. And I love it. It means that I'm worth more as working person each day.

[Yellow Bear]

49 minutes ago, grrclark said:

What you have described is an affliction that particularly affects boys.  During late stages of adolescence the synapses in the male brain in particular re-wire themselves with the output that they become prone to utter practical stupidity and idiotic decision making, although academic intelligence is unaffected.  The good news is that the brain re-wires itself correctly again and normal human function is restored.

Sadly it often does not happen until 2/3 years after they have left academia.  🤣 

[Farmboy91]

1 hour ago, JTaylor91 said:

I know somebody like that, phd in maths from Oxford but wouldn’t know which end to hold a screwdriver. I’ve always been pretty handy but wasn’t taught any of it in school or by my parents, I just tinkered with things when I was young and learnt along the way. Still learning now.

I'm guessing by your 91 me and you are the same age, while I must admit my old man is pretty handy and I have picked a fair but up from him alot of what I can do is self taught. 

Started on site at 15 and learnt pretty quick from there 😂

My missus on the other hand is 26 in December and genuinely baffles me sometimes with the things she comes out with.

Edited November 17, 2020 by Farmboy91

[moondoggy]

I learnt by buying a house at 17 and spending the next six years doing it up. My father died when I was 13, so I am completely self taught, mostly by reading books and trial and error. 
They are spoilt nowadays as you can find virtually anything on YouTube. I still spend a great deal of time watching videos as I am still learning at 61. 
A lot of youngsters don’t seem to have the same desire to do things with their hands, apart from texting and gaming. I used to love tinkering with tools (and still do). 
I think common sense and logical problem solving has all but died out with the youngest generations.

The education system thinks everyone should go to university and get a degree. When I was at school, it was only the super intelligent ones that did A levels and went to university. The rest of us did woodwork and metalwork, in preparation for leaving school and getting a trade.

[Dave at kelton]

1 hour ago, grrclark said:

What you have described is an affliction that particularly affects boys.  During late stages of adolescence the synapses in the male brain in particular re-wire themselves with the output that they become prone to utter practical stupidity and idiotic decision making, although academic intelligence is unaffected.  The good news is that the brain re-wires itself correctly again and normal human function is restored.

I wish this was always the case. Enough adult males awaiting the rewire and reset

[islandgun]

My then 15 yr old son when seeing an add for faux suede asked whats suede.. Young people know a huge amount of stuff nowadays none of which I understand..😀

[Yellow Bear]

10 minutes ago, moondoggy said:

When I was at school, it was only the super intelligent ones that did A levels and went to university. The rest of us did woodwork and metalwork, in preparation for leaving school and getting a trade.

I was lucky in that the school I went to made everyone do both until 14 when you chose your "route",  but you were still "encouraged" down both routes until you left be it 16 or 18.

 

[Dave at kelton]

Not really grandson is 13, works in cycle shop p/t and can strip and reassemble any modern bike. Learned how to braze and a multitude of other practical skills. First class chef since ten. Gave him a knackered fishing reel in the summer and showed him were the tools were and an hour later it isclean and in full working order.

His dad can do almost nothing practical!

Edited November 17, 2020 by Dave at kelton

[ph5172]

Thing is some young adults can’t really use cash - they have no real need with contactless cards. 
Those same ones don’t really drink hot drinks and have access to cheap Chinese electronics that are cheaper to buy than repair.   
 

They are becoming a product of their environment. 
 

the same young adult could not draw schematic diagrams by hand but could knock up 10 in the same time on a computer. 
 

they may not be able to open milk but they could program a space rocket. 

[grrclark]

47 minutes ago, Yellow Bear said:

Sadly it often does not happen until 2/3 years after they have left academia.  🤣 

 

18 minutes ago, Dave at kelton said:

I wish this was always the case. Enough adult males awaiting the rewire and reset

These are both true.

If folk are really interested there are loads of articles about the stages of cognitive development in the adolescent brain and what those changes can mean in practical behaviours.  It is really quite fascinating if you're inclined that way but dreadfully dull if you're not.

 

[B725]

When we were kids there was no computers or anything parents had no money so everything was make do and mend. It did teach you life skills as things had to last , we also made our own fun utilizing owt we could get hold of, unfortunately we now live in a throw away society .

[Westley]

2 hours ago, grrclark said:

What you have described is an affliction that particularly affects boys.  During late stages of adolescence the synapses in the male brain in particular re-wire themselves with the output that they become prone to utter practical stupidity and idiotic decision making, although academic intelligence is unaffected.  The good news is that the brain re-wires itself correctly again and normal human function is restored.

UNLESS, you get into politics  !

[team tractor]

My boy is practical at 11 years old but I was kicked out of a few schools and just went to work instead with my dad. 

im very practical but thick on paper. 
just remember we all can’t be doctors and the local bin man is just as important as the teachers in the school . We all do our bit 

[Imperfection]

Common sense isn't common anymore.