Flo and Friends by Jenny Campbell for August 29, 2023

touché

So can I.

Also know how to drive a stick shift!

I can do all of those except math without a calculator unless it’s only a few digits.

So doing math in your head and reading an analog clock precludes watching silly videos? Good to know…

We had to do ‘mental arithmetic’ in primary school, but that was the 50s.

….and count change without a cash register.

amen sister…

So can I.

The good old days!

I can even carry on a conversation face to face, no tech, without falling apart, getting into an argument or running off screaming into the night.

An interesting aside, the skills we old folks have are only useful for pointing out skills we don’t need today. Grandma could shoe a mule; I’ve never needed to. I can do algebra, which taught me thinking skills, so while I rarely use it, I use the thinking skill. Yes, I still have clocks with hands; they are the least accurate of my clocks. I have to reset them to my phone’s clock regularly, not really helpful.

AMEN,LADIES!

I think the one most important thing that seems to be going away is critical thinking. The ability to examine TWO (or more) sides of an issue BEFORE making a decision.

Isn’t TikTok supposed to be a Chinese spy program, or is that just a rumor?

The problem with schools today is not what they are teaching, it is what they are not teaching.

And, I know this is a foreign concept for you, we can communicate with each other in person.

My grandma knew how to butcher cows and chickens, bake bread from scratch, make homemade wine and jam, sew her own clothing, crochet anything, and owned/ managed a rural small-town grocery store for 50+ years. Those are all ‘probably’ better skills to know than making a dance video for TikTok. But hey… each generation has their own skills that they feel are important.

Me too! and though I don’t currently have a standard shift, I do know how to drive one.

Half the skills you all mention are completely irrelevant to modern life. And aside from that, kids learn what they’re taught. They certainly didn’t create their own schools’ curriculums. They didn’t raise themselves. Did they? The older generations create the younger, so maybe put some blame where it actually belongs sometimes.