Fair enough. But if you say things like that, you can't be surprised when people assume you are not a fan of Obama's. And if you are apathetic, then you are NOT a fan of his. So my assumption was perfectly correct anyway!

want a cookie for your AMAZING accomplishment?

i am always surprised whenever people assume wrongly of me, aren't you?

That second sentence makes no sense. :P

neither do you :)

Everything I've said has made sense. Please explain to me which part of what I've said has not made sense.

The following sentence, however...

i am always surprised whenever people assume wrongly of me, aren't you?

...simply does not make sense. You intitially refer to me, then you refer to yourself. Aren't I what exactly?? It makes no sense. It's bad English. Are you sure you're graduating this year?

if i remember correctly, january is next year. XD

again, i have to spell things out for you. aren't you surprised. for example, "yeah i was scared, weren't you?" it's obvious that it means "weren't you scared too".

Where are you from? Is it possible that you just don't have those issues in your part of town therefore you wouldn't understand what it is like for the rest of the children out there? Would you feel the same way if Bush Jr. was giving this speech? And just because you can't vote yet doesn't mean you shouldn't care, you should still know what is going on in the world because when it is your time to vote you can make an informed decision.

haha WOW. just wow.

Umm... not sure what is funny about that series of questions? I was just hoping to get an honest answer out of you, I think you read things as attacks against you when they are just basic questions that people are going to ask you based on what you have said.

She just does what so many other youngsters tend to do when backed into a corner and they can't intelligently get themselves out of it. What you said was perfectly intelligent, she just had no way to refute it, so she played dumb. Rather well, I might add.

That second sentence makes no sense. :P

That second sentence makes no sense. :P

LOL.. you are so hilarious.

I don't know why that posted three times. That wasn't intentional!

I hope Lil Johny gets his new wheel chair.

I do hope Lil Johnny has health insurance!

I'm really beginning to think that his speech needs to be about more than just STAYING in school and FINISHING school. He needs to also emphasize the part where you actually pay attention so you learn something while in school. Proper debate techniques would be a good thing to learn. Knowing how to get your point across clearly is also a very good thing.

Haha, yes this thread is a perfect example of the fact American teens are not being taught how to express an opinion without being rude, or how to debate an issue properly. Although I guess it would be wrong to judge all American teens by just one of them!

OMG yes... people can't debate worth crap anymore. They hear what they want to hear, (read what they want) and don't think for a moment how their words impact things.

As for something else that people conveniently forget... Obama is our FIRST Black President. I've said this before, and I'll say it again. FINALLY the Black people who bitch and moan about not having a role model can shut up and say "Hey look.. maybe, just maybe if he can do something like that, maybe I can too"

IMHO, thats a huge issue in the black community... not a lot of inner city kids (which include the black community) have anyone stressing to them how important education is. And if they did - what is there to show for it? They may be in a neighbourhood with crack dealers and prostitutes.. but now, with a Black President that cop out simply won't fly anymore.

And I can think of nothing better than that.

While I can say not ALL American teens are like that, they do seem to be the exception to the rule.

I wouldn't say that... debate is an elective in most American schools, so lots of teens would rather take an elective that's easy rather than actually try to learn something that is difficult to master. It's not that it isn't being taught, it's just not chosen by the masses.

Debate as a course may be an elective, however, there are classes such as History where an occasional debate is inevitable. History is not an elective, History is a requirement. The teachers in those classes should be teaching their students early on how to effectively and intelligently debate an issue.

Unless things have changed that much in the 15 years since I've been out of high school.

Things HAVE changed. Have you looked at the requirements of teachers these days? First of all, the debates can't happen as much, due to having to keep the class completely PC, not to mention, at least here in TX, our TEKS (the learning points and requirements we have to follow) are MUCH more extensive and much more INTENSE than they used to be. I've only been out of school 10 years, and things have REALLY changed!

Then the education system is doing our children a great disservice. It was bad enough with the whole "No Child Left Behind" crap implemented. It's not wonder the rate of homeschooling families is drastically increasing.

No child left behind isn't as bad as all the STRICT requirements... not to mention, they want these kids to be older than their years. I teach Kindergarten, and the things our students are learning are probably what you and I learned in First, Second, and Third grades... a little from each. I know we want these kids to meet their full potential, but we also have to think about what is developmentally appropriate for these precious kiddos.