Thursday, November 11, 2010
Questions on The Deepening Page
Carr talks about the Deepening Page and this idea that over time "silent reading" became imbedded in our way of acquiring knowledge or exercising our minds. It was a way that the mind could grow and imagine and focus withoutout being distracted. "The nature of education and scholarship changed, as universities began to stress private reading as an essential complement to to classroom lectures". However, Carr also talks about how naturally our brains, just as many other mammals on this planet, are naturally wired to be predispositioned to shift our gaze, and hence oyr attention, from one object to another, and that the new media embraces this natural shifting of attention that our brain favors. My question is, do you think that our education system ultimately has adapted to this change in media and technology or not? Also, do you think that our education system adapting to a change in media and technology and straying from the idea of "silence reading" and lecture based education is a good thing?
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I think that the "silent reading" is a good thing in any school and it needs to be kept. But at the same time the schools need to adapt to the change in media and technology and to the new brain patterns that are emerging and effecting learning patterns. I believe that a healthy balance between old and new needs to take place. While I believe that some schools have done this, not enough recognize that change needs to take place. But I believe that this will change over time as the older, and more stuck in the past, teachers move out and the newer, pro change, teachers move in. However, this could result in a shift in the balance towards all media and technology, which wouldn't be a good balance either. It's a lose lose situation.
ReplyDeleteI think that our education system is starting to adapt to this style of thinking. Rather than having big classes with students being lectured at, absorbing and regurgitating massive amounts of information with no discussion (which is what reading a book is like), classes are more based around discussion and new ideas are brought up and debated and used as a diving board for new discussions. I don't think that anyone would disagree that this is a more fruitful form of learning, and it's one that more accurately fits the paradigm of "shifting attention from one topic to another" as Carr describes.
ReplyDeleteWith the rise in technological entertainment, kids expect more and more to be constantly stimulated. When they get bored with their computer, they play on their Wii. When they get bored with their Wii, they turn on their PlayStation to play Call of Duty. When they’re bored with that, they move on to something else. It’s a constant cycle of change. By no stretch of the imagination can one deny that media and technology has changed drastically in the past few decades; however, I find it unfortunate that our education system appears to have adapted, and in turn perpetuated such changes in the way we think. While I am no longer regularly in a grade school classroom, I do wonder how much time, if any, is allotted to what my teachers referred to as Sustained Silent Reading (SSR). Although I see the importance of adapting to different and changing ways of learning, I still think it is important for all students to be given the opportunity to learn and practice how to allow their minds to be imaginative and take in entire concepts instead of bits and pieces, hoping to get an accurate and comprehensive understanding.
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