The set of items on Beloit College’s Mindset list for 2010 that I agree with include that: few in the class know how to write in cursive, colorful lapel ribbons have always been worn to indicate support for a cause, and a purple dinosaur has always supplanted Barney Google and Barney Fife. Items from Beloit College’s Mindset list for 2010 that I disagree with include that: they (students) never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around their wrists while chatting on the phone, unless they found one in their grandparents’ closet, they have never seen a carousel of Kodachrome slides, and Czechoslovakia has never existed.
I love the first statement that few people actually know how to write in cursive. Elementary school teachers forced us to write in cursive so often that we started to hate it. They said we would have to use cursive for all writing assignments in Junior High and High School. False. I don’t remember any assignment where the teacher requiring us to turn in a paper written in cursive. Next, the colorful lapel ribbons remind me of an annual elementary event. During Red Ribbon Week, (a drug free campaign,) teachers would create a large ribbon outline in the grass for students dressed in red to stand in for our school picture. Red ribbons are for drug free lifestyles, pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness and yellow ribbons for all cancers. It is amazing how a specifically colored ribbon can demonstrate support for a cause. Finally, I agree that “Barney” alludes to the big purple dinosaur that loves me! Barney, I must admit, was my absolute favorite. I had a Barney hat, blanket and stuffed animal and would crawl up next to the TV to watch him (and would cry any time my older sister would say he wasn’t real). When reading this list I had to Google searched who Barney Google and Barney Fife because I had never heard of them.
I think that it is funny that the people who created this list don’t think students our age would remember corded phones. My house had corded phones for years. I remember talking to friends on the phone while constantly playing with the cord’s coil. I have actually disconnected the cord from the wall because I walked too far away from the wall. Also, Kodachrome slides have been a part of family gatherings for years. My mother grew up with seven brothers and sisters and they occasionally break out the slides and reminisce about whatever forgotten memory is displayed. Finally, Czechoslovakia did SOOOO exist! I’m Czech and was so upset when I learned that it had split into Czech Republic and Slovakia. Such a disappointment. Czech Republic and Slovakia just don’t have the same ring as Czechoslovakia.
This list was very entertaining and I enjoyed thinking about which ones that I don’t remember and which ones that brought back memories of growing up.
The list jotted back memories for me as well. I knew what most of them meant, and found a few to be rather comical even if I could not directly relate to them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the cursive writing because most of my teachers in elementary required us to write in cursive but as far as junior high or high school it was never heard of. We always typed our papers.
ReplyDeleteThank you sooooo much for the laugh....I hadn't ever thought about how Czechoslovakia sounds vs. how it is when it's the two separate countries. I do have to agree with you about how much there is for us to remember. I didn't watch that much Barney, but I do remember the big purple dinosaur.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I hate to admit it, I was one of those people who fell in love with Barney as a kid, so I can agree with you there. I can also agree with the corded phone item, but unlike you I never actually used the corded phone while we had one. I rarely use a phone today. And of course there is the cursive thing. I don't remember it, but there was a time in my life when I did know it.
ReplyDeleteI too used to arise early as a youngster and indulge in some watching Barney, never really understood it but nonetheless watched and I thought the list did good and bad on some stuff all in all it was eh
ReplyDeleteOh Owen. I agree with you. But, I also agree with the whole cursive talk. We learned and were required to write in cursive in elementary school and were told that we would have to continue writing in cursive in middle school and high school but that was so not true. I stopped writing in cursive starting in 5th grade and I think I forget all of it. :] oh well!
ReplyDeleteOh Barney.....I don't know if I'm more embarassed about watching Barney when I was young or collecting beanie babies. But just so you know I had two sisters so the odds weren't exactly in my favor. I also completely agree with you about Czechoslovakia, it just rolls off the tongue.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who knew who Barney Fife was before this?? And this is an intense conversation about a random topic. I myself thing that the Czech Republic sounds way cooler the Czechoslovakia. I actually had to write papers in 8th grade in cursive and I lost a lot of points from it. :(
ReplyDeleteI do find the cursive one humorous. When I was in elementrary school, I was forced to write in cursive. Even though I do write in cursive from time to time, I never was required to write in cursive through middle and highschool.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Barney used to be the hit tv show for young kids and most people watched it. I remember that we were all forced to learn cursive too, but never used it after that. Also, I have seen a phone with a cord and not in a closet.
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