[Ducati] what's in a word (very NDC...Kevin's on a jag)

[kevink38 at comcast.net]

I took some time to listen to Nicky's and Valentino's after race speeches. The highest level word that Nicky used was either "dedicated" or "fortunate,"both of which are somewhere around a 5th or 6th grade level vocabulary. Valentino's highest word was "polemic," which probably comes in somewhere around 11th or 12th grade.
Now, this is not a commentary on Nicky's relative intelligence or wisdom or greatness as a rider. It's a commentary on how we, the richest and most powerful country in the world, can't manage to educate our children past a 5th grade vocabulary (think this doesn't affect their ability to reason and analyze? think again!). "We speak plain," is substituted for "we're semi-literate."
There's a lot more to it than this. Rossi and Hayden are different people, with different backgrounds and opportunities. So, I present another piece of evidence. My friend had an intelligent and informed conversation in Paris a few months ago, with an 11 year old, about the United States governmentl. How many 11 year olds in the United States could carry on any sort of conversation about the government of any other country in the world?
I like Nicky, and I love to listen to various U.S. accents, which are often confused for illiteracy or stupidity (among my favorite accents are Florida and Baltimore), but I wish someone in his childhood had placed a little more value on education.
EOR (end of rant)
--
Kevin Kachadourian 
96 900 SP
85 650 Alazzurra (old dog still bites)