Two thirds of high school seniors in 2006 were not able to explain an old photo of a theatre with a sign over the door reading, ‘Colored Entrance’ (The Dumbest Generation? Don’t Be Dumb). My generation spends more time using technology then we do reading. The average 15-24 year old spends less than 10 minutes a day reading (The Dumbest Generation? Don’t Be Dumb). Adult literacy is at a decline also. My generation cannot explain very important times in history. This is not only stupidity on our part; it’s an obvious failure of school systems around the country.

If more then half of the high school seniors at a school in 2006 weren’t able to describe what a colored entrance was, how are we supposed to support America’s economy in the future? If we continue this way and don’t make an effort to regain our independence as the next generation, we won’t be able to. I think that if we can overcome this we would be able to accomplish anything. My generation is waiting for the door to success to be opened for us; this is what makes us dumb. People aren’t going to do everything for us.

My generation is very dependant on technology. On average we spend less than 10 minutes reading per day and usually when we are reading it’s a magazine or internet sites (The Dumbest Generation? Don’t be Dumb). But is the always changing world around us making this acceptable? The answer is yes. Although I believe we are the dumbest generation, I think that it’s being trained into us to be able to use a cell phone or a laptop. How are you supposed to distance yourself from the technological world when it surrounds us? Can we really unplug? What if you miss that important email from work about the meeting tomorrow? Or that text from your best friend saying they aren’t going to be at school? I think that we are the dumbest generation but we were pushed into our stupidity. We just chose not to rebel.

4 out of 10 girls will become pregnant before they are 20 years old. (Teen Pregnancy Statistics) Is teen pregnancy on the rise? No, actually the numbers are decreasing. But the statistics are still too high. Overall teen pregnancy rate has declined 19% since 1997 (Teen Pregnancy). Not very good odds, are they? Not only is this bad for the young mothers and their new baby, the government is spending almost 40 billion dollars just to help the mothers pay for hospital costs (Teen Pregnancy). On average the United States spends about 14.7 billion dollars on space exploration (Answers.com). We spend almost 3 times that amount on pregnant teens.

I believe that the school system has failed. I am part of the dumbest generation. We are not able to identify obvious signs from history. The average 15-24 year old spends less than 10 minutes a day reading. Even adult literacy levels have been fading from its once high standard. The United States spends more money on pregnant teens then we do on explorations into space.