After reading Bauerlein's book for my final project, it almost made me scared--of my generation.
While it was very enlightening, Bauerlein tends to rant about our generation. He's got some good research in that book--he looks at studies of kids' vocabulary, study habits, television-watching habits, test scores--but he jumps to conclusions too quickly.
He starts out the book with stories of kids who are over-achievers--they loose sleep at night because they want to succeed, or their parents want them to succeed. For the rest of the book, he ignores these kinds of people and talks about the kids who spent most of their time watching television and wasting time on the internet.
The young generation of Americans is sleeping through a time when they have the access to the most information. They are modern-day "Rip Van Winkles."
I disagree with Bauerlein. True, most kids don't read as many books as previous generations, but that does not make them dumber. They are merely exposed to a different kind of media through which they obtain information. Frankly, I think that because the internet is so new, people just don't quite what to do with it. Older folks are afraid of it, young kids don't know how to use it in a way that would help them make the most of their education.
Great book--lousy conclusion.
