are kids getting smarter?

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I just realized then that I've never taken an IQ test!

Walk-in-the-Rain, I think I started school around the time that theory was in vogue - we were specifically told NOT to check the spellings of new words, for instance, the teacher prefered that we tried it 'our way' and got it wrong. It didn't really affect me, coz I was already reading and writing by the time I got to school. Presumably I picked it up myself somehow, since I never went to kindy and didn't really have a 'primary carer' type personwho would have taught me.

Consequently, I sometimes feel like the only person my age who can spell and navigate grammar.

(I've never done an IQ test either. Psychologist's doing one on me at the end of the month - I have this premonition I'm going to turn out to be too thick to be Aspie...)

I used to collect primers (readers) and had a few from the 1800s, some from the early 1900s, and onward. The average "1rst grade" level in the early 1900s became the average 4th or 5th grade level by the 1970s. Math is being dumbed down by constructivist curricula. However, when my daughter was in school(she is homeschooled now) I was impressed by the literacy and writing skills in her class (2nd grade). Most were ahead of her. So I'm not sure what conclusions to make about kids being smarter or not...

I heard there is about a 3 point score raise by decade at the mean IQ population score , what is an extraordinary growth!
Seems this raise is hapening since IQ text has been used to avaliate many people. (don't remember exactly but I believe this information is at S. J. Gould - the mismeasurement of man, and, in fact shows me the unbelieveble paradox that mankind used to be not very clever times ago)

That doesn't sound smarter to me. If anything, they're getting dumber. They may be able to operate gadgets I wouldn't have a clue how to use (all those buttons and doo-dads confuse me), but nobody seems to read anymore or even do anything fun.

KimJ,

In first grade, I was reading at fifth grade level, and my teacher taught real subject matter at an advanced level. This was supposedly a Special Education class (I spoke virtually no English in kindergarten), but I learned more in that class than most kids today learn in so-called mainstream classes. I agree. The subject matter is taught at the pace of a snail.

Roger Bannister, in his childhood, read books about every subject that fascinated him (archeology, medicine, literature, art), ran cross-country, biked 70 miles per week and generally lived a well-rounded life. I remember doing a wide variety of things, both academic and physical, as a child.

The way I see it, there seems to be two diverging groups of kids that diverge very early in school. The kids that are particuarly smart and excel, and go above and beyond the rest of the class, and a group of kids that linger behind and don't really learn a thing.

The interesting fact I've noticed about school these days is the methods of learning. Schools these days don't seem to really teach the kids to think on their own, and there is not a large amount of hands on activities. It seems like school lessons these days is just a bunch of rote memorization so that the kids can throw the stuff back out for standards testing. In other words, you can tell a child that 2+2=4, and he can tell you this every time without fail, but when you ask him with 3+5 is the child cannot do it. Why? because the child was not taught WHY! and never given the skills to figure it out.

You mention that kids using technology and having sexual relationships seems smarter, but I think not. Maybe more "grown up" but certainly not smarter. If they actually were smarter, they would be waiting a bit more before getting that involved so they won't have illegitimate children!

It always appalls me the total lack of basic knowlede that most people have about the most basic things. Geography, especially. Most people cannot point out on a map major countries like Japan, Australia, Germany, Britan, Saudi Arabia, etc. When it comes to history, would tell you that Benjamin Franklin was a president. Science? well, ask at random to name all 9 planets in order, and you'll get a bunch of blank stares! Most people cannot identify the name and composer of common classical music pieces either.

Now, ask them who Anna Nicole Smith was and you will get an accurate answer every time (ask me that however, and I don't have a clue, except for she's some dumb twit that the newscasters cannot seem to stop talking about!)

These days kids are so dumb and helpless they just stand around watch and laugh when someones in need. In the event of an emergency the most helpful would be put in this order.. Emergency Services > Adults > OAPs > Pets > Kids!

I was watching the TV a few days ago when an advert came on and there was these chavs playing football when suddenly they hear a crash and realising what happened they all ran to help and quickly organized themselves to help the people involved in the accident. This advert impressed me because it made me realise how incapable kids are today of doing anything like that. The advert was recruiting for the British Army so why dont schools teach some of these skills the that the army teaches????