Children in 1979 vs 2011

[crazy canuck]

Fair enough.  But at some point decision-makers have to realize that 90-100% of everything on a resume is crap, too, right?

They do.  There is all kinds of discussion going on about what to do about it.  Maybe as the demographic shift continues there will be less competition to get into schools (more spaces for less kids) and the problem will take care of itself.

[mongers]

To be fair resume padding has been going on for a long time; I've worked for two childrens charities, whose activities and awards invariable end up on CV/resumes. 

Not to get into the specifics of the jobs and what each award entails, take for instance Phil the Greeks outfit, whom I may or may not have worked for, for years if you've wanted to get into an Oxbridge college and have the relevant grads, having your DofE Gold award has been something that'll help tip you over the edge towards being offered a place in return for a fairly modest outlay of time, effort and money.

Which is why it's still as popular today, especially amongst the AB social classes.

[crazy canuck]

until i turned 7ish  in '95 and was spirited away to bahrain, my childhood was pretty normal. i strolled the neighborhoods playing with friends and visited the park unsupervised a number of times. either my parents weren't typical, or this change in parenting has been more recent than the early-mid nineties

Not sure about the early-mid nineties - I was paying attention to other things then.  I did notice it when I had my own kids in the late nineties.

[MadImmortalMan]

Fair enough.  But at some point decision-makers have to realize that 90-100% of everything on a resume is crap, too, right?

They do.  There is all kinds of discussion going on about what to do about it.  Maybe as the demographic shift continues there will be less competition to get into schools (more spaces for less kids) and the problem will take care of itself.

What kind if shift would have to happen in society so that a degree is not required for the majority of good jobs anymore? Or crazy credentials of other types. I've got a long list of acronyms after my name in IT certs and they're mostly bullshit tests I took walking in cold. They didn't make me better at my job.

[Ed Anger]

From April (posted in my thread in the back)

Ran into my first helicopter parent today. Had office hours today, and one of my students wanted to discuss her grade on the test. A high 'B' (86). In walked her and her sorta(maybe) MILF-y mom. They wanted me to bump her test grade up above 90. The possibility of her precious child not getting an 'A' could affect her GPA and have an effect when she transfers to big person university in 2 years.

SIGH. IT WAS AN OPEN BOOK TEST.

Anyways, I refused. The said they would go over my head to the Business Dean. I said go ahead. GOOD DAY MA'AM.

All this, and no oral sex out of the MILF-y mom? 

I am a paragon of virtue.

[alfred russel]

Resume padding is a signal though: if two students have similar marks, and one spent his time padding a resume, and the second didn't, the latter is going to be a higher risk applicant. Sure that candidate may have spent his time on a worthy pursuit, but may have also spent his time vegging out in front of a video game. All you really know is the first cared enough about attending a good school to spend a bunch of time building a resume, and the second didn't.

[jimmy olsen]

Here's the UK's nuclear blast advice, "Protect and Survive". Do take a moment to watch this extract, it's incredibly creepy. The related links have the remainder of the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXx5Y2Fr2bk

As far as I'm aware it was never broadcast in earnest, though this leaflet was published in 1980:

http://scyfilove.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Nuclear-War-Survival-Guide-British-Government.pdf

Cool find Brazen.

So, no one knows anything about Soviet Civil Defense? Ide?

[CountDeMoney]

From April (posted in my thread in the back)

Ran into my first helicopter parent today. Had office hours today, and one of my students wanted to discuss her grade on the test. A high 'B' (86). In walked her and her sorta(maybe) MILF-y mom. They wanted me to bump her test grade up above 90. The possibility of her precious child not getting an 'A' could affect her GPA and have an effect when she transfers to big person university in 2 years.

SIGH. IT WAS AN OPEN BOOK TEST.

Anyways, I refused. The said they would go over my head to the Business Dean. I said go ahead. GOOD DAY MA'AM.

All this, and no oral sex out of the MILF-y mom? 

I am a paragon of virtue.

This is why I can't teach.  I just can't.

[Ideologue]

Resume padding is a signal though: if two students have similar marks, and one spent his time padding a resume, and the second didn't, the latter is going to be a higher risk applicant. Sure that candidate may have spent his time on a worthy pursuit, but may have also spent his time vegging out in front of a video game. All you really know is the first cared enough about attending a good school to spend a bunch of time building a resume, and the second didn't.

I dunno.  Really, what does a willingness to do charitable work, or play football, have to do with any job, that isn't at a charity, or involve football?  Relevant experience I can give a pass (internships, and the like), but how do the moon-person activities Mongers was referring to make you a better candidate for, I dunno, being a doctor, than playing Halo with your pals, or preferring solitary hobbies, like drawing?

And yeah, I'm still pissed that two out of three of my attempts to pad my resume failed.

[Razgovory]

Cool find Brazen.

So, no one knows anything about Soviet Civil Defense? Ide?
[/quote]

If anyone would, it would be Dguller.  I think it mostly consisted of hiding in the subway.

[Ideologue]

I don't know anything about Soviet civil defense, nope.  I could probably say that the safest Soviet/Russian city to be in, in the event of a nuclear war involving the USSR/Russia, would be Moscow, since I believe it was on the withhold list due to the political leadership capable of ending a nuclear war being there.  Also, it was the only site in the country permitted ABM defense by the treaty.  They used (use?) the ABM-1 Galosh, which was nuclear itself, so it may actually have been effective.

[dps]

I don't know anything about Soviet civil defense, nope.  I could probably say that the safest Soviet/Russian city to be in, in the event of a nuclear war involving the USSR/Russia, would be Moscow, since I believe it was on the withhold list due to the political leadership capable of ending a nuclear war being there.  Also, it was the only site in the country permitted ABM defense by the treaty.  They used (use?) the ABM-1 Galosh, which was nuclear itself, so it may actually have been effective.

I thought that they were allowed 2 ABM sites?

[Ideologue]

I don't know anything about Soviet civil defense, nope.  I could probably say that the safest Soviet/Russian city to be in, in the event of a nuclear war involving the USSR/Russia, would be Moscow, since I believe it was on the withhold list due to the political leadership capable of ending a nuclear war being there.  Also, it was the only site in the country permitted ABM defense by the treaty.  They used (use?) the ABM-1 Galosh, which was nuclear itself, so it may actually have been effective.

I thought that they were allowed 2 ABM sites?

By the original text of the treaty, but the 74 protocol limited it to only one for either side.

Article I

1. Each Party shall be limited at any one time to a single area of the two provided in Article III of the Treaty for deployment of anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems or their components and accordingly shall not exercise its right to deploy an ABM system or its components in the second of the two ABM system deployment areas permitted by Article III of the Treaty, except as an exchange of one permitted area for the other in accordance with Article II of this Protocol.

2. Accordingly, except as permitted by Article II of this Protocol: the United States of America shall not deploy an ABM system or its components in the area centered on its capital, as permitted by Article III(a) of the Treaty, and the Soviet Union shall not deploy an ABM system or its components in the deployment area of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silo launchers as permitted by Article III(b) of the Treaty.

Actually, the Russians may have expanded their ABMs by now--I mean, I doubt it, it's Russia--but afaik the ABM Treaty is presently void.

[CountDeMoney]

but afaik the ABM Treaty is presently void.

It is.  For quite some time now. 

[merithyn]

Last I checked, having parents concerned about and active in their children's education is often cited as a good thing, something that is often described as important to childhood educational success. 

As with everything, this can be taken too far, and of course some do. But which kid is better off - the one whose parents care not at all about their education, or the one whose parents care too much? The latter may indeed end up spoiled or entitled, but the risks to the former are even worse. 

As in all things, moderation is key. Being involved in your child's education up to - and possibly through - 8th grade is being a good parent. After that, your job is to teach your children how to handle things on their own. At least, that's what I believe, and it seems to be working fine for my crew, just as it did for my parents.

There were spoiled kids no-one could stand in the '60s and '70s as well. This is not something unique to the next generation. Indeed, if you listen to your parents ... but of course our parents were deluded old fashioned fuddy-duddies. Not like us at all.

No doubt. The question isn't whether there were spoiled kids. The question is in the sheer numbers of them. They were unusual enough when I was a kid that they were pointed out among our friends. My kids, on the other hand, are the ones being pointed out for having actual chores, having to cook dinner, and actually being allowed to go out and play without me tagging along. That, to me, is the tell.