Dumbing down?

(We are in Sturbridge, MA. Terrible cell signal, I hope this gets on)
I make notes when I think I have an idea for a blog. I noticed a survey where high School kids were asked to name two of the great lakes, and a good percentage could not, and could not identify where they were.
Some could not give the Revolutionary war combative nations.
I hear cursive writing will no longer be taught in school.
Now I ask, are those items important to the existence of this country?  I ask because I honestly do not know.

I see my girl and Shirl worring about ‘secretarial skills’ they were taught, but are ignored in the world today.  English is a very confusing language, I see Your, you’re and yore confused all the time in young written conversations. Then there is There, Their and They’re, butchered by college grads.

But I must ask myself, how important is this? I do not know.  As a high School Drop out myself, I sure cannot judge. In the BIG SCREEN of life, is it a deal killer.

Something in me says YES, but the other part of me ( that is lost on modern technology), knows my grand kids can teach me a lot. Yes  my Great grand kids could teach me a lot (If I would let them).

I actually think some of these kids can do more words a minute with their thumbs, than our typist used to with both hands. (they combine typing and short hand, I guess like a court recorder)
Then I say, maybe it is me who is dumb in a NEW world. Who knew that one day, when a phone rang three people would not run to it to see if it was for them; that someone would reach into their pocket, look at it, know it was Bill or Carolyn five states over, and they would call them back later.

Yes, the younger generation has dumbed down from my standards, BUT I am DUMB IN their generation. I am A square peg looking at nothing but round holes.

I sat once on the trail in a rain, shielded from the rain by a poncho, looking at a phone on ‘Camera’ and not knowing how to get it off so I could text my Sherry. A young lady was nice enough to touch the right spot and say, “There you are sir.”

(and the one that says it all!)
I sat there thinking, I have been called a genius by my generation, and cannot even handle a smarter than me phone! WHO IS DUMB?
DO NOT EVEN ASK ME.
Nite Shipslog
PS:

I can hear the attendant in the nursing home now, “Come on sir, time to take your meds and go to beddy bye!”
There are times being assigned the job of handling world affairs is tough!

<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
And I will say to the attendant “kid, if you only knew the fun I had in my 1948 Chevy……She was maroon and……ZZZZZZZZZZZ”