RE: Do Schooling Models Need An Overhaul?
There's certainly an extended childhood going on.
I read a piece about the death of cheap teenager babysitting.
It appears the old standby of responsible teens making some pocket money by giving parents a night out is pretty much over.
You'd think with mobile social media; phones and the like, it would be even more ubiquitous.
If a teen can do as much socialising on the couch at my place as they can on the couch at their parent's why wouldn't they want to?
Ultimately it seems there are fewer kids around with young siblings, so they don't have those 'parenting' skills.
Also, until they're finished school, I think parents are more reluctant to heap any sort of financial responsibility on them.
Compare that to 100 years ago, when 13 year olds were lying about their age so they could be sent to the Western front.
Wouldn't it be interesting to know if there was an exact point in time (or exact time frame) where this ended, or if it was just one of those slow meandering occurrences that one day we awoke to and realised that it had happened.
Good times make for soft people. Automation brought so much to so many for so little, we don't need to work so hard.
So we retire earlier, work fewer days of the year, shorter hours; letting our kids remain unproductive longer is just another consequence of that.
(It being wealth, not laws, which ended widespread child labour)
When the harsh realities of life aren't so harsh any more, responsibilities can be shirked a little longer, and then a little longer...
Suddenly you have guys in their 30's still living with their parents; no savings, no prospects, no pressing need to change anything, because food is cheaper than it's ever been and internet porn keeps the loneliness at bay.
Did you know that 200 years ago 95% of people were farmers; while today 95% of people aren't farmers?
Nah, didn't know that. Ultimately, it boils down to the automation you mentioned earlier. We now need fewer farmers to yield a similar or larger amount.