Monthly Archives: August 2007

A few hours after posting about the Beloit College Mindset list, I noticed that I had used the 2010 list. Oh, well, you probably did not know that either. Here are a few interesting things about travel and knowledge of the world from the 2011 list.

• 1. What Berlin wall?
• 15. Russia has always had a multi-party political system.
• 53. Tiananmen Square is a 2008 Olympics venue, not the scene of a massacre.

And here is one of general interest.

• 43. Being a latchkey kid has never been a big deal.

Beloit College, for several years, has posted a list of things that incoming Freshmen (class of 2011) do not know. When I was teaching I always found this interesting and helpful. Preachers, who think they are making themselves clear, might learn something from examining the full list. We frequently take for granted that our listeners understand our illustrations. Many of the items from the Beloit list are humorous, but I have chosen a few pertaining to travel.

• 1. The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the student union.
• 6. There has always been only one Germany.
• 12. Smoking has never been permitted on U.S. airlines.
• 51. Disneyland has always been in Europe and Asia.

These are thought provoking:

• 30. Non-denominational mega-churches have always been the fastest growing religious organizations in the U.S.
• 41. They have always been able to watch wars and revolutions live on television.

But still know nothing about the problem in the Middle East (or even where it is).