Before reading Idiot Nation by Michael Moore I thought that when I read it that I would be enraged when I wrote this blog and that it was going to be fast and very opinionated. In class Chelsi said that it was Michael Moore and my first thought was that he is a very crude and outspoken person who goes around judging everybody. Well I was wrong about this chapter in this book. At first I will admit I thought that he was just judging everyone. However, if you read this chapter in Rereading America it is actually really true. Moore's view on the American people and the education we receive isn't very far from true.
At first Moore sounds like he is just bashing on everyone, calling them ignorant when he sounds a little ignorant himself. Moore says that American graduates from Ivy League colleges like Harvard are not as knowledgeable as they should be. He also says that college graduates don't know some "High school level of information," when Moore himself is a college drop out. Moore has not experienced what it is like to be a full-time or even part-time college student who also works full-time like I do. This is where he can be a little ignorant.
After reading Moore's chapter I feel like I agree with most of his opinions on the leaders of this country, some teachers, and the education that students and I have or are receiving. I also agree that kids are watching more television than reading and that goes for adults too. There are a lot of things that I would like to change in myself and be able to speak up when I don't agree with a teacher, parent, or anyone.
Once again...
5 years ago
I agree with you at first i thought this article was going to be something very harsh. But as I keep reading I agreed with some of the things Moore said. What I like about the article is that he is been very honest. As you mention he didn't experience what is been in college and work full time, but I personally don't think that some of the people he mention in the reading really had to work at all.
ReplyDeleteI can appreciate your take on the essay, but I disagree with the conclusion. I think that this country is filled with a lot of very intelligent people. I felt that the standard Micheal Moore used to try and ascertain the intelligence level of our nation is weak, and inaccurate. Not everyone in the nation has Micheal's education in documentaries, or knows all the same questions to the same trivia, but we're not all trying to survive in the same business. A doctor might not know how to build a dresser, but that doesn't make him stupid. The same as a farmer might not know how to use the internet, but he knows a lot about growing and the seasons.
ReplyDeleteOur education system could use some work for sure, but Micheal Moore's standard of literacy is not the measuring stick to determine our nations intelligence.
I do like the way you found the positive in the paper, and I think you had some very good comments to contribute. I look forward to chatting more in class
I completly agree with you. I think children need to read more and a whole lot less TV.There is a problem with children watching to much TV. Often parents leave it to the TV to babysit and this is where they get answers to questions rather than rely on parents for information. It is sad to leave a childs mind to the smut on TV but parents need to be responsible for that choice. Hopefully someday parents will wake up.
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