{"id":356,"date":"2010-12-19T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-19T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.124.95\/~redletu4\/nincompoop-nation\/"},"modified":"2010-12-19T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-19T14:00:00","slug":"nincompoop-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/nincompoop-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Nincompoop nation?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

An interesting Associated Press<\/span> story<\/span><\/a> last month highlighted what they call \u201cThe Nincompoop Generation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>

<\/span>
It seems we have on our hands two whole\u00a0decades of young people are\u00a0are highly\u00a0adept at computing, but terribly inept at everyday life.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nPhoto by <\/em>DanaBC,<\/em><\/a> used by permission<\/em>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The article talks about one poor\u00a0teen who didn\u2019t know how to use a can opener. The mom said this, <\/span>\u201cMost cans come with pull-tops these days. I see her reaching for a can that requires a can opener, and her shoulders slump and she goes for something else.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
More illustrations including the inability of kids to load ice cube trays, address\u00a0envelopes or write cursive. There is also evidence that young people vote less, have less working historical knowledge, and eshew manual labor.<\/span><\/div>\n

The much-vaunted \u201cinformation superhighway\u201d and \u201cknowledge economy\u201d has left us with a whole bunch of data and no way to use it. <\/span>
<\/span>
I\u2019ve been thinking about this article and the implications. Do we allow our children to solve problems, or do they just go to Google for all their answers?<\/span><\/span><\/span>
I\u2019m sure my parents thought that despite whatever i learned in school, I still lacked plenty of common sense. \u201cBook smart, but street dumb<\/em>\u201d was my tag.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen plenty of kids who\u00a0defy the stereotypes.<\/strong> And my kids, ahem, are no dummies. They can fix things. They can\u00a0analyze situations, and come up with\u00a0practical solutions. <\/span><\/p>\n

But I\u2019m sure that all of our automation has prevented real-life skills. Have you tried to check the plugs on 2009 Toyota? Have you opened up an appliance, only to throw it in the trash because it\u2019s a single component? Have you bought just-add-water bread mix, instead of\u00a0yeast?\u00a0\u00a0But are we really missing out? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My grandma probably made fun of the washing machine. My dad chose to use a hammer instead of a nail-gun to roof. My mother gave up her corded, rotary phone just a few years ago. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, progress isn\u2019t all bad. <\/span><\/p>\n

But our kids still\u00a0need some basic skills\u00a0to survive, don\u2019t they? Don\u2019t our kids\u00a0need to know how to sew a button, or drive a screw, or read a map? Don\u2019t they need to\u00a0know how to mix a bag of concrete, measure a cup of flour or balance a checkbook? <\/span><\/p>\n

What are the spiritual implications<\/strong>? We are already seeing a consumer church, driven by entertainment and CEO-pastors who run the business of the body. Small groups are waning. Relationships stiff and empty, longing for the chuminess of a Facebook friend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you think we will\u00a0be a nincompoop nation? Do you think we are<\/i> one now?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d be interested in your comments here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
\nRead all past issues at http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interesting Associated Press story last month highlighted what they call \u201cThe Nincompoop Generation.\u201d\u00a0It seems we have on our hands two whole\u00a0decades of young people are\u00a0are highly\u00a0adept at computing, but terribly inept at everyday life. Photo by DanaBC, used by permission The article talks about one poor\u00a0teen who didn\u2019t know how to use a can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNincompoop nation?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An interesting Associated Press story last month highlighted what they call "The Nincompoop Generation."\u00a0It seems we have on our hands two whole\u00a0decades\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/nincompoop-nation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nincompoop nation?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An interesting Associated Press story last month highlighted what they call "The Nincompoop Generation."\u00a0It seems we have on our hands two whole\u00a0decades\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/nincompoop-nation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/davidrupert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-12-19T14:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_n3tvlzeK1OE\/TQk_WLv-17I\/AAAAAAAABNQ\/2BYr1z6DdNA\/s200\/videogame.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@rupzip\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/nincompoop-nation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/nincompoop-nation\/\",\"name\":\"Nincompoop nation?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-12-19T14:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-19T14:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81\"},\"description\":\"An interesting Associated Press story last month highlighted what they call \\\"The Nincompoop Generation.\\\"\u00a0It seems we have on our hands two whole\u00a0decades\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/nincompoop-nation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/nincompoop-nation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/nincompoop-nation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nincompoop nation?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/\",\"name\":\"David Rupert\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81\",\"name\":\"David Rupert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Rupert\"},\"description\":\"I am a communication professional who has a passion for people. 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