Comments on: Teen brains http://www.joannejacobs.com/2007/02/teen-brains/ Thinking and Linking by Joanne Jacobs Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:02:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Julia K http://www.joannejacobs.com/2007/02/teen-brains/#comment-31720 Julia K Tue, 27 Feb 2007 23:03:51 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/2007/02/26/teen-brains/#comment-31720 KateCoe: And your point is? Which positive qualities, in particular, are you attributing to the consumption of video game entertainment products? The countries you name also have very competitive university entrance exams, which mercilessly shut out the unprepared from future study. They also have the cram school culture, which extend the hours devoted to schoolwork. They also have cultures which value education and hard work. (I have assumed that you meant South Korea when you listed "Korea".) KateCoe: And your point is? Which positive qualities, in particular, are you attributing to the consumption of video game entertainment products?

The countries you name also have very competitive university entrance exams, which mercilessly shut out the unprepared from future study. They also have the cram school culture, which extend the hours devoted to schoolwork. They also have cultures which value education and hard work. (I have assumed that you meant South Korea when you listed “Korea”.)

]]> By: Indigo Warrior http://www.joannejacobs.com/2007/02/teen-brains/#comment-31719 Indigo Warrior Tue, 27 Feb 2007 23:03:14 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/2007/02/26/teen-brains/#comment-31719 Julia K: <I>If I had to choose skills for future workers, gaming skills and IM skills (whatever those may be) would not make the list. I have heard suburban moms utter the absolute conviction that the video game obsessed teenagers of today will rule the world of tomorrow.</I> I would personally promote role-playing game skills and demote video game skills. Julia K:
If I had to choose skills for future workers, gaming skills and IM skills (whatever those may be) would not make the list. I have heard suburban moms utter the absolute conviction that the video game obsessed teenagers of today will rule the world of tomorrow.

I would personally promote role-playing game skills and demote video game skills.

]]> By: Indigo Warrior http://www.joannejacobs.com/2007/02/teen-brains/#comment-31718 Indigo Warrior Tue, 27 Feb 2007 23:01:44 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/2007/02/26/teen-brains/#comment-31718 I think what GradSchoolMom meant was that the <B>specific</B> career advice of parents and older generations is not always that useful. Blacksmith? Wheelwright? Civil servant? Salaryman? And the future is impossible to predict and often goes in directions unforeseen by experts. For example, I really should have spend more time typing, and public speaking - and less time hanging from the ceiling in anticipation of a life on a zero-gee L5 space colony. Hard work and determination, and the like will always be useful. And following your dream and natural talents, which will require a good deal of hard work, etc. I think what GradSchoolMom meant was that the specific career advice of parents and older generations is not always that useful. Blacksmith? Wheelwright? Civil servant? Salaryman? And the future is impossible to predict and often goes in directions unforeseen by experts. For example, I really should have spend more time typing, and public speaking – and less time hanging from the ceiling in anticipation of a life on a zero-gee L5 space colony.

Hard work and determination, and the like will always be useful. And following your dream and natural talents, which will require a good deal of hard work, etc.

]]> By: KateCoe http://www.joannejacobs.com/2007/02/teen-brains/#comment-31717 KateCoe Tue, 27 Feb 2007 22:31:15 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/2007/02/26/teen-brains/#comment-31717 Julia--Korea is the most video game obsessed nation on earth, followed by Japan, and China is closing in. Who do you think makes video games? Julia–Korea is the most video game obsessed nation on earth, followed by Japan, and China is closing in. Who do you think makes video games?

]]> By: Julia K http://www.joannejacobs.com/2007/02/teen-brains/#comment-31716 Julia K Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:41:33 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/2007/02/26/teen-brains/#comment-31716 If I had to choose skills for future workers, gaming skills and IM skills (whatever those may be) would not make the list. I have heard suburban moms utter the absolute conviction that the video game obsessed teenagers of today will rule the world of tomorrow. Sorry. That's a pipe dream. If they're lucky, they'll be night watchmen for the labs headed by immigrants from Asia. I believe that current electronic entertainment is culling the ranks of the workers of tomorrow, in a Darwinian way. Those who have the discipline to build the academic skills they'll need, which include literacy, numeracy, and the willingness to work hard, will do fine. If I had to choose skills for future workers, gaming skills and IM skills (whatever those may be) would not make the list. I have heard suburban moms utter the absolute conviction that the video game obsessed teenagers of today will rule the world of tomorrow.

Sorry. That’s a pipe dream. If they’re lucky, they’ll be night watchmen for the labs headed by immigrants from Asia.

I believe that current electronic entertainment is culling the ranks of the workers of tomorrow, in a Darwinian way. Those who have the discipline to build the academic skills they’ll need, which include literacy, numeracy, and the willingness to work hard, will do fine.

]]> By: Walter E. Wallis http://www.joannejacobs.com/2007/02/teen-brains/#comment-31715 Walter E. Wallis Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:55:05 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/2007/02/26/teen-brains/#comment-31715 Amen, Mom. I grew up in Sacramento where the way was to get a good civil serice job and ride it off into the sunset, My Dad, a railroad man, lived for seniority. When I left a job after seven years he almost cried. I explained that for engineers, your seniority was only as good as your performance on your next project. That company and the next two I worked for no longer exist. I do wish I had learned to type, however. Amen, Mom. I grew up in Sacramento where the way was to get a good civil serice job and ride it off into the sunset, My Dad, a railroad man, lived for seniority. When I left a job after seven years he almost cried. I explained that for engineers, your seniority was only as good as your performance on your next project. That company and the next two I worked for no longer exist. I do wish I had learned to type, however.

]]> By: GradSchoolMom http://www.joannejacobs.com/2007/02/teen-brains/#comment-31714 GradSchoolMom Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:18:46 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/2007/02/26/teen-brains/#comment-31714 PHOTOCOURIER, I certainly didn't say that you should not listen to anything that your parents said. Most of the items that you mentioned are very important and I hope parents continue to give advice. However, if I had decided to listen to ALL their work advise, I would have invested my time into learning shorthand and been looking for a job after High School that offered a good pension. My parents had no idea how computerized things would become, that factories would be closing and jobs outsourced or that so many people would be "let go" after spending a long career in a stable job because the CEO embezzled their retirement funds. They would have told me that staying loyal to a company was much more important for success than learning a computer language. Technology is definitely changing how our children think and learn. I simply believe that the next generation will survive and prosper, but in a different way than we did. PHOTOCOURIER, I certainly didn’t say that you should not listen to anything that your parents said. Most of the items that you mentioned are very important and I hope parents continue to give advice. However, if I had decided to listen to ALL their work advise, I would have invested my time into learning shorthand and been looking for a job after High School that offered a good pension. My parents had no idea how computerized things would become, that factories would be closing and jobs outsourced or that so many people would be “let go” after spending a long career in a stable job because the CEO embezzled their retirement funds. They would have told me that staying loyal to a company was much more important for success than learning a computer language. Technology is definitely changing how our children think and learn. I simply believe that the next generation will survive and prosper, but in a different way than we did.

]]> By: The Parenting Buzz on Clipgator : ClipGator.com http://www.joannejacobs.com/2007/02/teen-brains/#comment-31713 The Parenting Buzz on Clipgator : ClipGator.com Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:58:16 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/2007/02/26/teen-brains/#comment-31713 [...] Joanne Jacobs reports on a recent Washington Post story which claims that multitasking (sending instant, text and electronic messages, surfing the web and listening to music while studying/doing homework) may negatively impact a teen’s ability to focus and develop analytical skills. Further research is necessary to determine whether multitasking helps (does it foster flexible thinking?), hinders (is it breeding a generation of superficial thinkers) or is harmless to a teen. [...] [...] Joanne Jacobs reports on a recent Washington Post story which claims that multitasking (sending instant, text and electronic messages, surfing the web and listening to music while studying/doing homework) may negatively impact a teen’s ability to focus and develop analytical skills. Further research is necessary to determine whether multitasking helps (does it foster flexible thinking?), hinders (is it breeding a generation of superficial thinkers) or is harmless to a teen. [...]

]]> By: SeaBird http://www.joannejacobs.com/2007/02/teen-brains/#comment-31712 SeaBird Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:08:40 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/2007/02/26/teen-brains/#comment-31712 What a great quote from Tony Woodlief....I'm going to link to it later this week. What a great quote from Tony Woodlief….I’m going to link to it later this week.

]]> By: photoncourier@yahoo.com http://www.joannejacobs.com/2007/02/teen-brains/#comment-31711 photoncourier@yahoo.com Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:25:33 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/2007/02/26/teen-brains/#comment-31711 "Imagine where you would be today if you had copied and listened to all the advice your parents gave you. They really were clueless about the skills needed for today’s world"...really? Hard work, determination, keeping a sense of humor, a love of knowledge, the ability to read, write, and speak effectively, integrity in dealing with others...there were a lot of parents imparting these skills/metaskills to their children in 1800, and they are totally relevant in almost every job I can think of today. What specifically as the "skills needed for today's world" about which you believe parents were clueless? “Imagine where you would be today if you had copied and listened to all the advice your parents gave you. They really were clueless about the skills needed for today’s world”…really? Hard work, determination, keeping a sense of humor, a love of knowledge, the ability to read, write, and speak effectively, integrity in dealing with others…there were a lot of parents imparting these skills/metaskills to their children in 1800, and they are totally relevant in almost every job I can think of today.

What specifically as the “skills needed for today’s world” about which you believe parents were clueless?

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