Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Response to Bauerlein
Bauerlein's final paragraph asserts that we may have sacrificed imagination and reflection on the altar of technology. He has presented solid data that highlights the inadequacy of the current education system. In fact, a Zogby Poll International conducted for Princeton National Association of Scholars conducted in 2002, presents some damaging evidence that students graduating college in 2002 were about as knowledgeable as students who graduated high school in the 1950s.
My disagreement with the author is that he seems to be blaming technology, when technology is simply a tool being used by us. I think the sacrificial alter is really constructed with our love of relevancy and immediacy. Depth is sacrificed for fun and ease because students will respond "better" to those. We need to understand that "no pain-no gain" applies to academics as well as athletics.
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Great last line and analogy. No pain, no gain - but will we even make the time for students to practice and "sweat it out" as in athletics. How long will we allow our students to do mental push-ups? As teachers we drive the process. The buck often stops with us.
ReplyDeleteSo, it seems like we need to be sure that we have challenged our students to think, persevere and dig deep within a concept or topic prior to the step that integrates technology...
ReplyDeleteOnce again, we are confronted with finding that perfect balance between technology and more traditional methods of teaching.