# Things they didn't teach us older people. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 9, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396 "2012-05-09T15:20:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/1 "2012-05-09T15:20:50Z")
List what seems the young of today learned that didn’t get learned by us older folks. I was taught to tie a neck tie, not tie a doo rag. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/2 "2012-05-09T15:44:20Z")
I was taught to write, not to text. Also: How to dial a phone Not to spin the dial on the TV (lest it break) How to read a map, rather than use a GPS ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/3 "2012-05-09T15:49:20Z")
Typing. (Man, I could make a list of 100 things that I learned that kids today don’t learn.) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/4 "2012-05-09T16:39:40Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Typing. > > (Man, I could make a list of 100 things that I learned that kids today don’t learn.) That’s the opposite of this thread, and heard a lot around here. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/5 "2012-05-09T16:40:18Z")
I was taught to make copies using carbon paper, and to use White Out for correcting typos. And Xerox machine copy paper came on a roll, not by the ream. And I was taught that it would be necessary for me to walk to the places that I wanted to go. And I routinely walked, alone, more than a mile to and from school every day though one of the poorest and most dangerous suburbs of Chicago (Harvey) nobody gave a second thought to it. ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/6 "2012-05-09T16:50:32Z")
Reading comprehension? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/7 "2012-05-09T16:52:15Z")
I was taught police officers, priests, coaches, male teachers and Scout leaders were authority figures to be respected and trusted, not perverts just waiting to take advantage of me. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/8 "2012-05-09T16:52:53Z")
I wasn’t taught to use a smart phone. It wasn’t obvious how to do it the first time I tried. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/9 "2012-05-09T16:57:43Z")
I was not taught computer stuff. I had to learn it on my own. In high school, we were developing the first computer classes, and we were kinda winging it since no one (not even the teachers) knew what we were doing. Now they have proper computer classes in high school where they even teach you how to make web pages (web pages didn’t even exist when I went to high school). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/10 "2012-05-09T17:04:43Z")
How to deal with bullies. We had to figure it out on our own. My method involved fisticuffs. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/11 "2012-05-09T17:18:19Z")
That people are more important and principles are less so; that feelings are more important than facts when dealing with others (Why yes, I do aspire to become a grumpy old man!) What a PC is actually doing with your data. I was exposed to programming in BASIC, but I had to pick up concepts like volatile and nonvolatile memory, local vs remote storage and directory trees. These are all simple things to learn, but my mom still can’t get the idea that “we put her Word document into this folder.” ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@LilyoftheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheField)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/12 "2012-05-09T17:41:40Z")
I was never taught how to use a smartphone - which is why I have a basic ‘dumb’ cell phone. I was never taught how to use a skateboard - and roller skates are not the same thing at all… I did not grow up learning the basic ins and outs of most remote controls (yes, we actually had to get up and walk across the room just to change the channel!) - and after many years, still often find myself baffled… I was never taught about ‘keyless entry’ - and now that I have a car with this feature, it still takes me longer to use the keyfob locker/unlocker than to just do it manually…yeah, I know - I’m an idiot… I learned how to change a tire - the idea of calling ‘roadside assistance’ still seems foreign and a bit ‘wrong’ to me! (although, I’ll admit, dialing a number is a lot easier than changing a tire!) I never learned how to start a power mower - I grew up using a ‘grass cutter’ not a ‘lawn mower’! Much quieter and doesn’t require as much upper body strength to get it started! Whenever I manage to get my power mower started, I still think of it as a fluke… I never really developed the hand/eye coordination required of most action type video games. I was never taught that failing to get your pets neutered was a moral failing - when I was a kid, occasionally your cat had kittens or your dog had puppies - but this was actually considered normal! (I did manage to learn this as an adult, and most of my pets have been neutered - but I’m still a little astonished at how its become a sin not to do so!) I was never taught (and I’m still not convinced) that its possible to be healthy without eating meat! (except on fridays… 😛 ) I never learned how to use the internet to ‘cheat’ on tests… I still don’t know how to change the line on my weedwhacker - and I’m pretty sure that its not that hard… Operating a computer is something that I had to learn as an adult - and I’m still not able to ‘add hardware’! If I need to add a printer, a monitor, keyboard, mouse or whatever to my 'puter - I have to call for help! (I’m pretty sure this is just laziness - it can’t be that hard to figure out!) Yeah…most of this is probably why they have those PS announcements - ‘Never stop learning!’ ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/13 "2012-05-09T17:55:08Z")
How to measure using the American Standard system. I was one of the lucky Carter-era elementary school kids who only learned the Metric System. I still have no idea how many cups are in a pint or pints in quart, or what rationale might behind it all to help me remember. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/14 "2012-05-09T18:07:47Z")
I was never taught how to be old. So I am not. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/15 "2012-05-09T18:24:20Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > I was not taught computer stuff. I had to learn it on my own. In high school, we were developing the first computer classes, and we were kinda winging it since no one (not even the teachers) knew what we were doing. Now they have proper computer classes in high school where they even teach you how to make web pages (web pages didn’t even exist when I went to high school). Let me guess - you’re about 45 years old? That was the same at my high school - there were a handful of die-hard nerds who took computer classes, but the rest of us didn’t have a clue about that new-fangled technology. I did, however, learn to type in high school, fortunately. There was (if I recall correctly) one guy in our typing classes - he was ahead of the curve! Oh yeah - if you were a guy, you probably weren’t taught to type. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/16 "2012-05-09T19:06:17Z")
> [@LionelHutz405](#): > > Reading comprehension? tee hee Actual stuff my son has been or is being taught in school that I was not: Power Point Digital Photograph Computer Graphics Stuff he seems to have been born knowing that eludes me: Text speak what ALL the buttons on his game controller do ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/17 "2012-05-09T19:18:31Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > … > > Oh yeah - if you were a guy, you probably weren’t taught to type. 🙂 True story. I wanted to take typing in grade 10 as a “bird” course. You know, an easy one with little homework. My mum wouldn’t let me. “What will you ever use typing for?” She let me take art instead. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/18 "2012-05-09T19:30:19Z")
I wasn’t taught how to burn a disk or skype or tweet or download (and use) an ap. Thank goodness I have my kids to teach me. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/19 "2012-05-09T20:20:05Z")
> [@Foxy40](#): > > I wasn’t taught how to burn a disk or skype or tweet or download (and use) an ap. Thank goodness I have my kids to teach me. Heh, My aunt bought a new phone at the weekend, my mum taught her the basics of using it, but had to ask me to set up some of the features. Anything I wasn’t sure about, I asked my kid. I wasn’t taught website maintenance, or any computer systems. Usually I get handed a partial (“we’re still developing this”) manual and work it out as I go. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396/20 "2012-05-09T21:10:52Z")
I’m 60, so I’m not old enough to know what you old people are talking about. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-didnt-teach-us-older-people/621396.md?page=2)