The Decline of Education

I am increasingly concerned about what they are not teaching our children these days.

I work with a lot of college-age students and have worked with high school students in the not-so-distant past. I see children of all ages in my store every day. For the most part, my employees are very intelligent, learn quickly and are wonderful people who will be very successful in whatever they choose to do.

However, there have been times when I have been concerned for their future.

We use a digital scale at Starbucks to weigh our coffee. On several occasions I've asked an employee to weigh out a half pound of coffee. They've looked at me and asked, "what's a half pound on the scale?" (meaning the decimal equivalent to half a pound).

I've had to bite my tongue, take a breath and say, "what's half of one?" They actually have to think about it for a minute, or I may have to probe them a little more before they can come up with the answer.

And, God forbid the register should freak out and not tell them how much change to give the customer. Nearly all of them will panic and call for me. "Their total was $6.71 and they gave me a $20, but the register flipped back to the order screen without telling me how much change to give them. What do I do?"

"Just count back up to $20," I say. However, this phrase must sound a lot like Chinese because they simply can't comprehend what I'm saying.

I don't blame them. I blame the school system. I remember in elementary school they had a specific class on how to open a bank account, fill out a check, make change, etc. These days, they take their test with calculators, do all their research on computers instead of setting foot in a library, and make their moms type their papers for them (or actually write them). It's no wonder they can't function without the aid of an electronic device.

Don't get me wrong, technology is wonderful. I use it myself every day to stay in touch, get more info. on things I'd like to know about, entertain my right brain, and get things off my mind. But you can never replace the hand to hand connection with people. Computers break, electricity goes out, cell phones don't work everywhere. It's important to keep up with the times, but first we have to teach our kids to master the basics.

And, please, parents tell your kids before they go to a job interview that ripped blue jeans and a dirty t-shirt is NOT appropriate attire. You would not believe the outfits people show up in for an interview: short-shorts and tank tops, baggy "drooper" jeans, flip flops, etc.

My favorite was the guy who gave a wonderful interview, but showed up in jeans and a t-shirt that said "Hard work won't kill me, but I don't want to take that chance." He didn't get the job.