OMG (Cthulhu) that is so depressing :-(

When I was in elementary school, there was a picture of the president and vice-president on the wall of every classroom. Of course, they were cave drawings then.

Keep in mind, they're taking the best. Or is it worst?

But still...

If parents paid a fortune for their kids' Le Cordon Bleu training but sent them there unable to scramble an egg, we'd know where the problem was.

An American college student in 2016 who can't recognize the vice-president in a photo is the result of shitty parenting.

I can't blame anyone for not knowing what Joe Biden looks like. The president rarely lets him appear in public for fear Biden will open his mouth.

The Democrats should have nominated Kim Kardashian and Snookie.

Proud to say my kids know who the current vice-president is, as well as elect. Had to be sure I wasn't a piss poor parent.

This is why so many on the left want voting mandatory, and why it should not be. Especially bad for the political science major.

Notice the "Occupy Democrats" byline?

When I'm at the doctor's office, I always get grilled with "When is your birthday?", even by the same people I saw last time.
I've begun grilling them back with "What happened on November 22, 1963?" and "What happened on December 7, 1941?"
They're always totally stumped.

This is the result of teaching students to "learn to learn" instead of giving them a library of facts with which they can navigate the world.

These future waitresses and coffee barristas are already lost in the real world. Not that knowing when Pearl Harbor was attacked or when Kennedy was shot will turn them into engineers or doctors. Knowing those things will, however, give them perspective. So, when a president claims his big spending initiatives saved us from the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression, they won't fall for it.

Whenever I see videos like these I am always left to wonder what the response from most 50-60 year old people would be in terms of recognizing a photo of Walter Mondale.

I think I am going to start carrying a photo of him with me just so I can act all smug and superior when almost none of them have the slightest clue who the picture is of.

Similarly I will ask the same folks if they recognize a photo of Harry Truman... which is the equivalent of asking a 19 year old about a photo of Reagan, a president who was out of office a decade before they were born.

People have a nasty habit of normalizing the set of facts they know as the standard of intelligence.

I'd much rather people understand basic facts about the natural world than being able to rattle off a list of presidents. The first has practical value in day to day life whereas the other might simply help you to answer a question in trivial pursuit (or a surprise video quiz).

It's not an either-or, Artemis.

Not all the questions were about recognizing portraits. There were questions about the Civil War, the Revolution, and other topics related to American history and civics - which, while not of "practical value in day to day life," are of value for more than answering a question in Trivial Pursuit - knowledge relevant to citizens voting for their government.

It was interesting when the parent stepped in and answered all the questions correctly. Though when asked to name a single senator, she said "my senator is Claire McCaskill." Missouri, like all states, gets 2 senators voted in by the entire population. I guess Roy Blunt is some other Missourians' senator.

Radwaste Says:

"It's not an either-or, Artemis."

I never said it was.

You have a nasty habit of creating straw man arguments to criticize.

Since my point seems to have gone over your head I will clarify.

I have seen many many videos over the years that seek to criticize the young as being uneducated or ignorant when I don't believe this is an age specific thing.

Furthermore, these videos are almost always focused upon cultural specific knowledge as opposed to more universal principles.

For once I would love to see a video that asks the following type of questions of young and old alike and see what people have to say:

"How much weight will someone gain if they eat a pound of butter?"