[sevensor]

I live near Big State U. The median student drops that much money on booze over two weeks (or one week if it’s an important holiday like Halloween or Saint Patrick’s day).

What I see is that the declining interest in the life of the mind that was already evident a generation earlier has accelerated, particularly during the COVID years. I see this as the reversion of a historical anomaly. In the postwar era, a number of things converged: the GI Bill allowed a lot of ambitious new blood to enter the university system, competition with the Soviets ensured generous funding, and many the finest brains of a generation of Europeans relocated to the US. This all started to come undone in the late 1960s, when the counterculture made the establishment start to question the value of the academy, the world war 2 GIs finished their educations, and the cream of 1930s Europe died off. Really, it’s surprising how long we’ve been able to sustain a decline since then.

[gurumeditations]

They’ve been sucking up international students from Asia mostly to fill in the gap just like everything else. Let superior countries raise them then bring them over with the lure of big money. It’s all the US has to offer anymore is a chance for the select few to become part of the 1%, oligarchy. 300 million normal people may as well not exist here.

[sevensor]

From what I can tell, children of foreign elites are about as serious about education as students born in the US, but they drive luxury cars, live in fancy off campus housing, and find different things to do that aren’t the assigned reading. The number of Lamborghinis in town is all out of proportion to the area’s income.

[cudgy]

I believe the prior post is referring to first generation students that receive their primary education in foreign countries.

Like I said in another post, the environment in these primary schools in the United States is just not set up for success. Their standards are low and they allow smart phones and distracting device devices in schools. Not to mention the overt focus on athletics over academics. However, the last point is not the biggest issue as that’s been a part of primary education in high school in the US for a century at least.

[sevensor]

Meh. Lazy stereotypes. Imported students can be just as dumb as home grown, US-educated students can be just as smart as foreign, and I think the distribution is about the same everywhere. I think other countries have their own malaise, I’m just not in a good a position to understand the causes.