Very OT/ ....and she said, "Truman who??" - Page 2

NoelSeven · ‎03-09-2010

On 2/20/2015 lovescats said: I know where the card catalog computers are at my library. A lot of people at my library are volunteers.

Yes, I think it has to be that way nowadays. It's kind of a good thing, too... giving back to the community.

A Thrill Of Hope The Weary World Rejoices

Snowpuppy · ‎03-09-2010

On 2/20/2015 hckynut said: Ever seen "on the street" ask: Who is/was Harry Truman? I have seen this on more tha 1 college campus and have seen many blank looks. I flunked History 3 times so I guess ain't so dumb after all compared to some of the young'ens.

Actually, this is pretty sad. I wonder what an American History class is like today?

I was chatting with an older co worker about the PBS series on the Roosevelts. Much before my time but I could hold an intelligent conversation. Another co worker overheard us talking about Eleanor Roosevelt and she asked "WHO"? ${#emotions_dlg.blink}$

tansy · ‎01-02-2011

Maybe OT; maybe not.

I feel that I received an excellent, well-balanced public education in the 50s and 60s even though classes were crowded with the baby boomers. My sons went to public schools in the 70s and 80s and we felt we needed to supplement what they were being taught. It seems like the quality of our educational system has been on a downward spiral to the detriment of the country. Education needs to be a priority again if we are to be a productive, innovative nation.

Okay...I'm done ${#emotions_dlg.unsure}$

adelle38 · ‎03-09-2010

On 2/20/2015 Snowpuppy said:
On 2/20/2015 hckynut said: Ever seen "on the street" ask: Who is/was Harry Truman? I have seen this on more tha 1 college campus and have seen many blank looks. I flunked History 3 times so I guess ain't so dumb after all compared to some of the young'ens.

Actually, this is pretty sad. I wonder what an American History class is like today?

I was chatting with an older co worker about the PBS series on the Roosevelts. Much before my time but I could hold an intelligent conversation. Another co worker overheard us talking about Eleanor Roosevelt and she asked "WHO"? ${#emotions_dlg.blink}$

If anyone watched the CNN anchor Presidents quiz Monday night, you would know how sad things really are. These were news people and couldn't answer basic questions pertaining to 20th century Presidents. One question multiple choice question was which President was in the Navy :1. Ronald Reagan 2. Jimmy Carter 3. US Grant 4. Dwight Eisenhower. She guessed Eisenhower. ${#emotions_dlg.blink}$

It's always a victory for me when I remember why I entered a room.

MaggieToo · ‎03-09-2010

On 2/20/2015 adelle38 said:
On 2/20/2015 Snowpuppy said:
On 2/20/2015 hckynut said: Ever seen "on the street" ask: Who is/was Harry Truman? I have seen this on more tha 1 college campus and have seen many blank looks. I flunked History 3 times so I guess ain't so dumb after all compared to some of the young'ens.

Actually, this is pretty sad. I wonder what an American History class is like today?

I was chatting with an older co worker about the PBS series on the Roosevelts. Much before my time but I could hold an intelligent conversation. Another co worker overheard us talking about Eleanor Roosevelt and she asked "WHO"? ${#emotions_dlg.blink}$

If anyone watched the CNN anchor Presidents quiz Monday night, you would know how sad things really are. These were news people and couldn't answer basic questions pertaining to 20th century Presidents. One question multiple choice question was which President was in the Navy :1. Ronald Reagan 2. Jimmy Carter 3. US Grant 4. Dwight Eisenhower. She guessed Eisenhower. ${#emotions_dlg.blink}$

The two guys in the center had a really rough time.

insomniac · ‎03-09-2010

When I taught 10th grade literature, I always included Capote's wonderful "A Christmas Memory." My students knew who he was.

sidsmom · ‎11-25-2011

There was a recent thread where the poster's 20-something son wanted to go to college to study film, but he had never seen "Gone with the Wind". The classics by most, but the new generation has a difference set of 'classics'.

CardinalGirl · ‎03-09-2010

On 2/20/2015 Amazinggrace2 said:
On 2/20/2015 chrystaltree said:
I thought you were going to say she didn't know who Harry Truman was. That I would have found unforgivable. But, it's understandable that a 20something would not have read Truman Capote. Capote was popular and well known and an amazing writer but I wouldn't necessarily say his works were classics in the way that the works of Shakespeare and Milton are classics.

Milton who? (just kidding)

Perhaps it's revealing that a woman hired to work in a library has not even heard of him. I do know that my high school colleagues assigned his book or at the very least there was a mention of Capote as having changed the course of American literature.

Milton Berle. Duh!

Burnsite · ‎03-10-2010

The twentysomethings all love "Breakfast at Tiffanys", or those I know do. So they know who Truman Capote (who wrote the novella that inspired the movie) is. My nephew has a poster of Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) on his one big wall in his tiny just-starting-out studio in Boston.

lovescats · ‎03-10-2010

It came out in 1965. A lot of high schools don't teach it because it's too bloody. I really don't think it's a big deal even if someone works in a library doesn't know it. Everybody has different reference points in their lives