Anyone experiencing a COVID gap loss of institutional knowledge?

[Armymutt]

We attended the Railroading MB weekend at the NC Transportation Museum this past weekend.  On Saturday night, there was an all camp fire.  I noticed that almost all of the skits were terrible.  Not funny at all.  The kids were laughing, but, as one ASM noted, "so was the audience watching 'Ass' in Idiocracy".  Did we lose the idea that skits had a punchline?  I thought it was just our guys, but almost every troop who performed had something that was about as funny as kids saying "six, seven".  At this point, I'd be happy to see a kid run on stage declaring a small leafy branch to be the infant tree.  It's not just skits, but most of the other stuff is in the Handbook, if they ever actually open it.  

[skeptic]

Not sure it has anything to do with the Covid interruptions.  Did they have to have any skits approved first?  The newest attitude on such things is, from my recent experience, one of overly zealous concern with something maybe hurting feelings or hinting at stuff once just part of normal life interactions.  Especially NO possible inuendo or suggestion of body functions, animal or human.  In some instances we no longer are supposed to sing the old Region Twelve song, for example, as one of the early versions, and the ones most of us recollect has nakedness suggested.  The old standby trainge elephant skit is not acceptible, nor the dumb two scouts arguing about belts, but not noting that is the topic, noting length.  The JCPenney skit is no longer generlly allowed, nor the one with fish(suckers) hanging on a line.  The really sad thing is that they are exposed to far worse daily on TV and in public where the four letter word is now so common few even notice.  And TV programs often have so many beeps in them that it is simply tiresome.  Just my thoughts, but I am of the lost generation when we still were innocents and still were neighborhood families.  

 

[InquisitiveScouter]

There is a downward trend in literacy in the US.

Most kids aren't reading any more.

I have noticed this in troop settings.  Scouts (and adults) just aren't reading things, like the Scout Handbook.  When asked for instruction on a skill, I first ask the Scout to read that section of the Scout Handbook.  Most are opening their books to that section for the very first time (even though the page numbers are listed on their requirements.)

In my perception, Scouts demonstrate lower and lower reading ability over the last decade.  I often have to help 12, 13, 14, & 15 year olds with words in the book. I believe electronic devices and internet content are the greatest contributor to the decline; poor parenting and reliance on substandard school systems are the second greatest contributor.  (My wife and I believed that it was our responsibility to teach our children to read, among other things, and so they did exceptionally well in school.  Also, we limited their access to electronics and gave them books to read to occupy their time.)

COVID may have accelerated this trend.

Here are some 2025 stats listed from the national Literacy Institute  https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/2024-2025-literacy-statistics

• On average, 79% of U.S. adults nationwide are literate in 2024.

• 21% of adults in the US are illiterate in 2024.

• 54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (20% are below 5th-grade level). [this is astounding to me; that's about 130 million adults reading below 6th grade level]

• Low levels of literacy costs the US up to 2.2 trillion per year.

• 34% of adults lacking literacy proficiency were born outside the US.

• Massachusetts was the state with the highest rate of child literacy.

• New Mexico was the state with the lowest child literacy rate.

• New Hampshire was the state with the highest percentage of adults considered literate.

• The state with the lowest adult literacy rate was California.

Where does the US rank in literacy? [worldwide]

The US ranks 36th in literacy.

Edited 4 hours ago by InquisitiveScouter

[Armymutt]

45 minutes ago, skeptic said:

Not sure it has anything to do with the Covid interruptions.  Did they have to have any skits approved first?  The newest attitude on such things is, from my recent experience, one of overly zealous concern with something maybe hurting feelings or hinting at stuff once just part of normal life interactions.  Especially NO possible inuendo or suggestion of body functions, animal or human.  In some instances we no longer are supposed to sing the old Region Twelve song, for example, as one of the early versions, and the ones most of us recollect has nakedness suggested.  The old standby trainge elephant skit is not acceptible, nor the dumb two scouts arguing about belts, but not noting that is the topic, noting length.  The JCPenney skit is no longer generlly allowed, nor the one with fish(suckers) hanging on a line.  The really sad thing is that they are exposed to far worse daily on TV and in public where the four letter word is now so common few even notice.  And TV programs often have so many beeps in them that it is simply tiresome.  Just my thoughts, but I am of the lost generation when we still were innocents and still were neighborhood families.  

 

They do the same dumb skit they have done for the last 4 years that I have known these kids.  One introduces himself as POTUS and his body guard is Chuck Norris.  He gets kidnapped and the kidnapper is revealed to be his body guard.  The body guard's boss is revealed to be someone else.  That's literally the whole skit.  It's about as funny as it reads.  I've tried to introduce them to the old ones, which apparently will seem new to the kids today.  For example, the filming scene where they go through many iterations until reaching perfection, only to find they ran out of film.  The new socks where the last one needs i pair a month.  

[skeptic]

We always saw and heard amusement with the "Kings (important) Papers.  Again, no longer deemed "appropriate".  

 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by skeptic
spelling

[Eagle94-A1]

16 minutes ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

• 54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (20% are below 5th-grade level). [this is astounding to me; that's about 130 million adults reading below 6th grade level]

That stat has been around for decades. It is the reason why newspapers have  the 5th grade reading levels since at least the 1980s.

If you really want to see the decline of writing, read diaries from the 1800s and earlier. Some of the  8th grade drop outs write more complex and with more vocabulary than college grads today.

 

[DuctTape]

2 hours ago, Armymutt said:

  For example, the filming scene where they go through many iterations until reaching perfection, only to find they ran out of film. 

We always called this one "purple pancakes" as the scene was a chef preparing purple pancakes.