Today's Teenagers Don't Know How To Mail A Letter?

Maybe this is a unique instance or an attempt at humor (or maybe not) but it does show how technological savvy teenagers can be but at the same time they never learn a simple thing like how to mail a letter:

http://readwrite.com/2013/05/27/my-...ail-a-letter

I took my stepson bowling for the first time when he was 9. He couldn't tie his bowling shoes. Velcro made him forget how.

I'm trying to get my nephew interested in stamps. Stamps are a pretty abstract concept for a kid that is 10 years old. He's trying. I'm trying. Ugh.

I learned mailing a letter at school. We had to write a letter to our parents and later the teacher took us to the post office to send it. It was a secret to our parents. When mine received they loved the surprise!

Somebody has to teach the "how to" to children/teenagers. But they need to practice. If not they will forget just like many things that we read in internet or have learned at school.

I agree with brisingamen. Obviously his father never taught him how to do it properly. People are much like computers in that regard . . . GIGO.

For the most part all of this is now ancient history, we just haven't caught on yet. We are like the guy that stocked up on buggy whips in 1900 because the price was right. How to correctly spell and clearly write is proper etiquette that never should go out of style no matter how communication is made. The dad that wrote the article really was given a lot of tough feedback. smauggie, GIGO is an axiom that will live forever because it is so true!

I was teaching art about ten years ago in Northern Alberta at a high school. I attempted a project to have my students design their own postage stamps and was met with blank stares. Over half of the class had no idea what a stamp was.

Exactly, the schools have forgot to teach some of the basic things today. We also had a checkbook balancing class and in general a banking class to figure interest, loans and mortgages that was part of math class. These were just some of the basics that are foreign to kids today.

My 6 year old daughter even knows how to write a proper letter! Whats this world coming to?

It seems maybe his father may also have learned something from the elementary schools pointers eh? Whilst informing his son about the correct location of the return address he sad-and I quote "Now put the return address on the top right." The RIGHT?? how bout the upper left? Probably just a type-O but I caught it.

Furthermore addressing correctly a letter is very used today. I could say it's even more used than in the past. Not because of personal letters - those are disappearing as we all know. But the amount of global trades between people increased the volume of packages being sent and received worldwide. Every time I go to the post office I observe people and they send packages, boxes and business envelopes. Many. To send packages you also need to know how to address them. It's elementary. And it's easy. Probably the clerks had to become the new "teachers".

Here's a copy of the Dad's instrction regarding the return address:

So far so good: "Now put the return address on the top left." I said. "Print clearly, please."

Looks like Dad got that part right. But, the story does highlight the importance of passing informtion on to the newer generations if the skills of the older generation are to be continued. I learned some of these skills in school, but I'm not convinced that the school system should be solely responsible for all education. Home ec, shop, phys ed, and choir used to be in the curriculum, but sadly most of these basic and useful skills been dropped. Parents must pick up the slack or their kids will never have the smarts to leave the nest and try things on their own while having some feeling that they will succeed (not only in life but in surviving.)

Okay, I'm off the soapbox.

I learned a lot of stuff in school, like math, letters as well, telling time, etc. They've gotten rid of so much in schools, it makes one wonder why they need to expand the year and kids still flunk out.

At any rate, it's not just kids, I'm finding adults in most businesses can't write a letter, and I'm sending a 5th request to a credit reporting agency where, in the letter, they formatted their own address wrong.

I have listened to a cubicle mate making phone calls regarding student loans and doctor's appointments for her sons, who have both graduated college. During one such call, I randomly e-mailed my mother and thanked her for "making" me handle my own business in college, etc. How is someone supposed to function when UberMom does everything for them?




Do NOT get me started... "teaching to the test" makes my blood boil.

Come on folks. The only people to blame here are the parents. Schools cannot teach everything especially today when there is so much to be taught. In our community parents are very involved in the daily running of the schools and are expected to teach at home, after all that's part of the responsibility of having children. My wife is at school volunteering a part of several days per week. Beyond that, parents should be expected to teach their children how to cope with everyday life, such as addressing letters, telling time, tying their shoes, basic economics and mathematics and even reading, before 1st grade and throughout elementary school.

The lesson to be learned from this article is that parents are too lax and uninvolved in their children's lives and schools are not a replacement for a good upbringing.

For those of you who are US Collectors: All the more reason for us to buy the new stamps, I assume. As time goes on, less people will be using the mail, and more people will be using electronic means. That means less stamps will be printed! Of course, stamp prices will go up, since less people are using the mail, and the size of the USPS will decrease (in theory, but we all know how government bureaucracies operate)! Again,I think we will eventually see a time when the value of postally used stamps will, in most cases, be higher than MOGNH stamps! What do you guys think?

For many recent issues the used stamps sell for much more the mint price.