I found these chapters very thought provoking. I really enjoyed chapter 5. To be honest, at first, I was a bit confused, but in the end I was able to make sense of it. There were several things that hit me. I had never really thought about the "control of information" that happens each day, in the classroom, in the home, really in the world! I have to say that I am thankful for the information controlling that my parents did for me when I was little. I was a very sensitive child, and I know that some things (on the news etc.) would have really been disturbing to me! (In fact, some things that I see on the news now still are disturbing to me!) However, I do recognize that it is harder to control the information these days. When I was little, I could not go "google" things, there was no you tube etc. Controlling information is tough to do anymore, and I believe that some of our kids are losing their innocence because of this.
The second interesting point to me was what Postman had to say about experts. The points that Postman made were ones that I had never thought about before. For instance, when he said that now, people are only worried about doing their part of the bureaucracy- not worried about what impact that may have on the rest of the world. It seems that "experts" may have contributed to the self-centeredness in our world. Postman also mentions that it is not possible for their to experts in education or child-rearing. My question, however, is how long will it be until we, as teachers, are expected to be experts in education? I think the ball is already rolling that way- the new SB191 (I think that is the new teacher observation one?), states that teachers need to be experts and master the subjects we teach. That is strong language for those of us who teach elementary, and in that teach all of the subjects!
I thought that Postman really raised some questions in these chapters and made me think deeply about the effect that technology and experts (along with selfishness) has had on our society.
I agree Kelsie. I teach all the subjects to 5th grade and I find it hard to feel like an expert in Science, Social Studies, Math, LA, and Bible. I definitely am not! So, when I don't know something I am honest about that. I also find myself checking with the information on google when I am in doubt. I guess that I feel that the availability of technology allows both my students and myself access to quick "expert" facts, as long as they are accurate. What an interesting era we have to teach in:)
ReplyDeleteThe conrol of information is a concern for me, too, Kelsie. As a teacher, I feel like I am doing some work, but not enough, with helping my students discern reliable information. We go through the standard lessons of how to tell if a site is reliable and citing sources. I have also tried to help them discern what they hear from others who have accessed information. When a student comes to class with an interesting fact or piece of information, I ask where they read or heard the information, and encourage my students to ask each other in order to give credit to it. I don't mean for my kids to be ciritical of each other, but don't want them to believe everything they hear.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, I am concerned with the information my kids are accessing that their parents are not closely monitoring. I am guessing the parents are overwhelmed, like we sometimes are, by the volume and speed at which our students gain information, true or false. I am wondering what we can do as teachers to assist our students' parents in the area of discernment/control of information the kids access?