The general decline in standards today

[celestial]

This Hospitality course I'm doing is boring as. Not only do we have to repeat the same answers several times, but the teacher talks to us like we're still in reception...

Oh well, you get what you pay for I guess... The course is free...

 

[Gregg Axley]

Man, those nuns could hit!

Probably go to Nun camp to learn that.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

When I went to my Son's 'Kindergarten Graduation'..I knew I had made the right choice. Parents were gathered in the classroom for the simple festivities. At the end the teacher thankfully prayed that she was so blessed to teach these kids..and cried. She genuinely was going to miss them as they moved on. Each year it was very similar. Nothing unusual for a teacher to tell a grade schooler that she loved and appreciated them. Older kids always took time with and helped the younger kids in that environment. At my Son's HS graduation as valedictorian..he spoke of the great responsibility and joy of being able to be patient and caring with underclassmates..and how important it was that even the little ones should have them to look up to. That's when I shed a tear and could barely contain it. Quite different from public school that my older Daughters attended. There Senior speeches seemed to be pulled out of the air to only honor their successful and sound intellectual for the day while the thugs still hovered in the background. I may sound harsh...but the difference was worlds apart. Along with the rules..discipline..demerits..merits..at my Son's school was incorporated also an honesty and true caring of each student that was handed down. One of the best decisions I ever made.
HD

 

[jamespowers]

When I went to my Son's 'Kindergarten Graduation'..I knew I had made the right choice. Parents were gathered in the classroom for the simple festivities. At the end the teacher thankfully prayed that she was so blessed to teach these kids..and cried. She genuinely was going to miss them as they moved on. Each year it was very similar. Nothing unusual for a teacher to tell a grade schooler that she loved and appreciated them. Older kids always took time with and helped the younger kids in that environment. At my Son's HS graduation as valedictorian..he spoke of the great responsibility and joy of being able to be patient and caring with underclassmates..and how important it was that even the little ones should have them to look up to. That's when I shed a tear and could barely contain it. Quite different from public school that my older Daughters attended. There Senior speeches seemed to be pulled out of the air to only honor their successful and sound intellectual for the day while the thugs still hovered in the background. I may sound harsh...but the difference was worlds apart. Along with the rules..discipline..demerits..merits..at my Son's school was incorporated also an honesty and true caring of each student that was handed down. One of the best decisions I ever made.
HD

And you can't put a price on that.

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

GAWD that brings back memories. I graduated from HS before 1980, we had a calm, quiet, NICE graduation ceremony. No cheering, no high fives, no doing the wave, etc. For one thing, it was too hot in the gym.

The NEXT graduation I attended was in 1998 for a nephew. Before the ceremony, the principal made a list of the things that the crowd wasn't supposed to do, and where the officers on duty to arrest them were standing. When some of the kids crossed the stage, their cheering section would blow air horns, dance, scream, and generally raise hell. I couldn't help but wonder why they seemed to think that graduation was sooooo unlikely for their child? Was he the first in their family ever? Was he one thousandth of a grade point from flunking out? I've seen less emotion for a touchdown.

Later

 

[jamespowers]

When some of the kids crossed the stage, their cheering section would blow air horns, dance, scream, and generally raise hell. I couldn't help but wonder why they seemed to think that graduation was sooooo unlikely for their child? Was he the first in their family ever? Was he one thousandth of a grade point from flunking out? I've seen less emotion for a touchdown.

Later

The short answer is YES.

 

[LizzieMaine]

This is all symptomatic of the greater problem -- the "extremification" of culture. It isn't enough just to do something, it has to be done in a flamboyant, bombastic, "extreme" manner.

This was all forcibly thrust in my face last night when I took the night off from work to watch the first game of the World Series. I don't watch modern-day television much, and modern-day commercial television hardly at all, so I knew I was in for a pain, but even that knowledge didn't prepare me for how loud, bombastic, flamboyant, extreme, and just plain stupid the commercials were.

As a broadcasting historian and a baseball fan, I've watched every surviving World Series telecast dating back to the earliest surviving ones from 1952, and have listened to every surviving World Series radiocast back to 1934. I know what a ball game should sound like, and I know what commercials in a ball game should sound like. There's no need for explosions, there's no need for blasting rap or heavy metal music, there's no need for moronic frat boys blowing up robots, there's no need for half-dressed women, and there's no need whatever for "extreme."

I really hope the Sox take the series in four, because I don't think I can stand a week of this.

 

[jamespowers]

This is all symptomatic of the greater problem -- the "extremification" of culture. It isn't enough just to do something, it has to be done in a flamboyant, bombastic, "extreme" manner.

This was all forcibly thrust in my face last night when I took the night off from work to watch the first game of the World Series. I don't watch modern-day television much, and modern-day commercial television hardly at all, so I knew I was in for a pain, but even that knowledge didn't prepare me for how loud, bombastic, flamboyant, extreme, and just plain stupid the commercials were.

As a broadcasting historian and a baseball fan, I've watched every surviving World Series telecast dating back to the earliest surviving ones from 1952, and have listened to every surviving World Series radiocast back to 1934. I know what a ball game should sound like, and I know what commercials in a ball game should sound like. There's no need for explosions, there's no need for blasting rap or heavy metal music, there's no need for moronic frat boys blowing up robots, there's no need for half-dressed women, and there's no need whatever for "extreme."

I really hope the Sox take the series in four, because I don't think I can stand a week of this.

:rofl: The World Series is on? Hmmmmm....must have missed it.

 

[scottyrocks]

Probably go to Nun camp to learn that.

Or reform school.

 

[Edward]

Hi

GAWD that brings back memories. I graduated from HS before 1980, we had a calm, quiet, NICE graduation ceremony. No cheering, no high fives, no doing the wave, etc. For one thing, it was too hot in the gym.

The NEXT graduation I attended was in 1998 for a nephew. Before the ceremony, the principal made a list of the things that the crowd wasn't supposed to do, and where the officers on duty to arrest them were standing. When some of the kids crossed the stage, their cheering section would blow air horns, dance, scream, and generally raise hell. I couldn't help but wonder why they seemed to think that graduation was sooooo unlikely for their child? Was he the first in their family ever? Was he one thousandth of a grade point from flunking out? I've seen less emotion for a touchdown.

Later

I've never seen anything to that extent, but certainly a lot more noise is common that was my experience when I went through it. I attend three graduation ceremonies a year - one in Beijing, two in London. The Chinese kids are noisier in general - it's a much more informal affair over there (as is the norm for these ceremonies in China) - it's only in the last couple of years (our programme is ten years old in 2014) that we've started to see a significant increase in the number of parents coming along. One would expect it to be a big deal for them, given that the vast majority of these kids will be only-children. The ceremonies in London vary considerably, as they can be very international; a chunk of our undergraduate student body and about 70-80% of the postgraduates in any given year will be from overseas. When members of the audience do get very vocal and whoop a lot, it very often is the case (especially for the undergrduates) that they are celebrating the first kid in the family to go to university. In my parents' day, afaik something less than 20% of kids in the UK went to university - it's significantly higher now, though I gather it's falling again since fees were introduced and subsequently trebled in recent years.

 

[Feraud]

Bullying isn't learned in a vacuum. I'd assume that most bullies are the children of bullies. Hence such behavior is either OK or actually rewarded. That's one of the reasons why I am always hesitant to give teachers more power in punishment... I've known a few teachers in my life that shouldn't be teaching, mainly because they were bullies.

Society is slowly coming to the realization that bullying is detrimental to the emotional development of children. When parents fail to take action we're seeing more example of responsibly authority figures stepping in.
Society tends to take it sweet time in catching up on social issues.

This is an example where standards are improving rather than declining.

 

[Zombie_61]

...The World Series is on? Hmmmmm....must have missed it.

Anyone else find it strange that the "World" Series consists only of American teams? [huh]

 

[LizzieMaine]

Anyone else find it strange that the "World" Series consists only of American teams? [huh]

On which most of the players seem to be Dominican or Japanese.

 

[DNO]

Anyone else find it strange that the "World" Series consists only of American teams? [huh]

Relax, Z....the Toronto Blue Jays have won the series...twice.

 

[Gregg Axley]

I need to watch a bit of this, since I enjoy at least 1-2 games in the season.
I'm not a baseball fanatic though, like some coworkers.
One coworker mentioned the first batter was walked in last night's game, then it went downhill from there.
To which I replied "at that point, the coach should have walked to the mound and asked the pitcher if he KNEW how the game was SUPPOSED to be played. Or was he just a Red Soxs plant the entire season?"

Yes the extremification is a good point Lizzie.
Extreme couponing, extreme sports, and extreme sandwiches made with nothing but bacon.
All very odd and time wasters indeed.

 

[jamespowers]

I need to watch a bit of this, since I enjoy at least 1-2 games in the season.
I'm not a baseball fanatic though, like some coworkers.
One coworker mentioned the first batter was walked in last night's game, then it went downhill from there.
To which I replied "at that point, the coach should have walked to the mound and asked the pitcher if he KNEW how the game was SUPPOSED to be played. Or was he just a Red Soxs plant the entire season?"

Yes the extremification is a good point Lizzie.
Extreme couponing, extreme sports, and extreme sandwiches made with nothing but bacon.
All very odd and time wasters indeed.

Hey! Hey! Leave my bacon sandwiches out of this!

 

[Gregg Axley]

I didn't intend it to be a direct clog to the arteries, but it IS an extreme sandwich.
But then again I suppose a 70oz steak could be considered here too.
I don't remember extreme eating being part of the past, but maybe I missed it.
Liberal with the drink, but conservative with the food.

 

[jamespowers]

I didn't intend it to be a direct clog to the arteries, but it IS an extreme sandwich.
But then again I suppose a 70oz steak could be considered here too.
I don't remember extreme eating being part of the past, but maybe I missed it.
Liberal with the drink, but conservative with the food.

You lived with the wrong family. My family always had plenty of both. It is only recently that we have been worried about arteries and the whole silly nonsense. Like Julia Child said: It is horrible when people are afraid of food.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I don't remember extreme eating being part of the past, but maybe I missed it.

There were famous "trenchermen" as they were called -- Diamond Jim Brady was one such -- people who were known for eating huge, extravagant meals. But ordinary people considered gluttony to be one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

It's a pity the word "glutton" went out of style.

As for giant sandwiches, I ate a Carnegie Deli pastrami sandwich in 1997, and that's as extreme as I ever want to go.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

There were famous "trenchermen" as they were called -- Diamond Jim Brady was one such -- people who were known for eating huge, extravagant meals. But ordinary people considered gluttony to be one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

It's a pity the word "glutton" went out of style.

As for giant sandwiches, I ate a Carnegie Deli pastrami sandwich in 1997, and that's as extreme as I ever want to go.

Yeah, and it's sadly ironic that today it's poor people who are more likely to be obese. I once saw a woman with a cardboard sign that said "Starving Single Mother." She looked like she could have benefitted from missing a few meals because she had to have been at least 300 lbs. :doh: