<p>but back then, I remember THINKING about my name and forms and such</p>
<p>and yes, I do believe many kids today may be very smart, but often don’t have critical thinking skills, logical thought processes, and much of that is ignored in schools</p>
<p>CGM, I respectfully disagree. I think the greater proportion <em>do</em> have a lot of solid common sense. Often I think they do a lot better at navigating in the world of adults than those of us of parental age did, way back when.</p>
<p>For those that don’t, it pretty much comes down to one of two reasons: Their parents didn’t bother teaching them, or they really, really weren’t listening. (And maybe a third - it just hasn’t sunk in yet.)</p>
<p>You can’t teach common sense itself, but you certainly can talk to kids about what kinds of information should be closely guarded, how the college process works (including timing), and so on. </p>
<p>Still, I’m sure if one of mine had done some of the things you mention in your post (particularly writing SSN on a postcard), I’d be mad too.</p>
<p>I find that kids today are so much more aware, savvy, street-smart, worldly-wise, and knowledgeable about most matters than any of my peers were at that age.</p>
<p>My older daughter has a lot more common sense than my colleagues at work. She was able to Fed Ex a package to me over night to a very important meeting when she was only 14 - made a decision to choose the 9 am delivery vs before noon delivery. She did it without being told. </p>
<p>When she got too many traffic tickets, she got her own lawyer to bail her out for free. Not that many adults could do that.</p>
<p>So I do disagree. They are a lot more savvy than we were.</p>
<p>As soon as I got my drivers liscense, my dad started writing me out of less important classes in order to sit in on meetings that he did not trust to other employees</p>
<p>I was going to post something similiar like this. I don’t think many college age students have street smarts. It is one thing to have a high gpa and be book smart, but having street smarts is another thing. It is amazing hearing people talk about how they maxed out all their credit cards. It is actually really scary when I think of it. Most people my age don’t know how to handle money. Many think I made $400, so I will spend $400. I think people nowaday’s don’t know how to save. We live in a more materialistic world than in the past, so everyone thinks they have to keep up with the Jones’. Students think that if my friend has an iPod, I have a to have an iPod. Also, I don’t think young people have a realistic sense of what things cost. They just do to one store and buy the item and they don’t do any comparison shopping.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, it is not just young people who lack street smarts. This is why the average person has $5,000 in credit card debt.</p>
<p>I’m crediting the lack of common sense to brain maturity, which scientists keep pushing further back into the mid-20’s. The frontal lobe just isn’t fully functioning yet! I’m not making excuses, just pointing out biology.</p>
<p>The flip side of the “no sense” coin may be the explosive creativity, exuberance, “outside the box” thinking that teenagers are known for.</p>