THE DUMBING DOWN of AMERICA
“You either rise up and cross the bar, or you lower the bar to cross it.”
Essentially, there are two ways in life to have success:
1. You get better, you compete and you excel.
2. You tear down your competition, you bring them down to your level.
In nearly every discipline in America we are dumbing down rather than rising up.
Basketball, the game I love, is no exception. The NBA is a show. It is theatre at its best. Rules change to help the offense score more points.
Scores like 71 to 70 in the NBA scare the owners. I am a fan of LeBron but let me ask, “If LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time, why does he get three steps and not two like other players?”
Anytime you see a dunk coming, watch how many steps the dunker gets, and how other players often get out of the way.
Education has been dumbed down. Expectations are so low, breathing gets a passing grade in some schools. I estimate 80% of kids in school have a motivation problem and no “want to.”
At the University of Idaho, my freshman class was greeted by these words from the president:
“Welcome, I have good news and bad news. First the good news, 50% of you will move on to next year, the rest of you will be gone.”
Today, it is all about retention. Universities boast about high retention scores. It is considered success.
Parents dumb down expectations of their children.
Too often, parents are more concerned about their child’s happiness, than their attitude and their behavior.
It is “What does my kid have to do to get an A in your class?” Instead of “What are they learning to be successful?”
Today, educators bemoan the fact kids have changed so much and not for the good.
My experience in 45 years of youth education screams aloud, “Kids have not changed! Expectations have changed!“
I back this up with these facts. At NBC camps we set the bar high. We expect positive attitudes. We expect hard work. We expect respect for each other. “Want to” is king at NBC.
You either get with the program or you can go home. Seldom, very rarely, does a student go home.
Dumb up, not dumb down is a good way to say it. You get what you expect to get. You make your own destiny.
Paul, the amazing Apostle said, “Be not deceived. You reap what you sow.”
