Sunday, December 21, 2008

This Generation Was Cheated

I was at a store today and paid for my $4.71 purchase with a $5 bill. Just as the cashier rang it in I pulled 80 cents out of my purse, apologized but decided to see how she'd handle it. She looked to be about 18 or 19 and was very sweet and polite but she was lost. I told her that my change would be $1.09 because I'd quickly and easily figured it out in my head. My generation was taught how in school but her generation was taught by lazy teachers who handed their students calculators.

She was still polite and said she believed me but would have to find a calculator to make sure. I felt very sorry for her because she had been cheated out of a basic education and would probably always have trouble figuring numbers in her head. The poor girl located a calculator, punched in the numbers, and saw that she owed me $1.09.

How and why did we allow this to happen? What do we have to look forward to in the future because these same kids will become teachers to the next generation?

Merry Christmas!

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