Professor Mark Bauerlein of Emory University in Atlanta has recently published a book entitled The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30). In it, he makes the case that Generation Y has been “stupefied” by technology, spending time on Facebook instead of reading books.
Hmmm. I remember spending time watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island and Hogan’s Heroes instead of reading books. (more…)
Recently I met a young man who worked his way through college by cranking out research papers for an online term-paper store. The company sells “model” research papers, many made to order, so my young acquaintance might find himself writing about quantum mechanics one week and Stalin’s concentration camps the next. The job gave him lots of practice writing on short deadlines. He also picked up quite a bit of knowledge in many different fields. And of course, he got paid for helping someone else with more money than skill or discipline pass a course at some college.
He contributed to plagiarism, right? (more…)
This blog entry addresses a certain type of teacher, usually found in elementary schools, whose behavior startles and/or disturbs me. These teachers are fixated on order and getting things done—as soon as possible. They have their lesson plans completed months ahead of time and make copies of worksheets months in advance as well. Near the end of the school year, they are already getting ready for the next year with their fall lesson plans and copies of worksheets to go with them. (more…)
(Reprinted by permission from www.LesterSmith.com.)
Bullying is a fairly common topic in education nowadays. Frightened by the events at Columbine and such, many schools have set a zero-tolerance policy. The US Department of Health and Human Services has a Web site devoted to prevention of bullying. Experts from law enforcement and social work offer advice on how to deal with the problem.
That’s all great. I support it enthusiastically.
My purpose here, however, is to focus on “social bullying,” the threat of exclusion from a group, and ask, “What is it about human beings that leads them, within a social setting, to pick on the weak?”
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Isn’t it ironic that we asked students to develop argumentative essays, problem-solution essays, and literary analyses because we believe they promote higher levels of thinking? When, in fact, by making these assignments, we may be doing just the opposite. (more…)
I have a confession to make.
The main reason I’m by nature a poet rather than a fiction writer is that I just can’t stand the day-in/day-out slog at one long project. My moods swing too often from self-confidence-bordering-on-foolhardiness to despair-at-ever-amounting-to-anything. On good days, I feel a genius in my words; on bad days, it’s all just so much dust. Undoubtedly I take myself too seriously, but on the other hand, Zen placidity produces little art, and certainly none of any length. So I devote myself to verse, to blog entries, to Twitter posts, and to writing or editing chapters in instructional materials. I’ve learned that these are the tasks I can wrap my head around and produce some writing. (more…)
“The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them.”
—Michel de Montaigne
My wife has taught first and second grade for many years, and she is about as dedicated as they come. Each evening after we eat, she heads into her office to prepare for the next day. She’ll first pull out her lesson book to see what she has tentatively scheduled for the next day. She sits there, totally focused and probably thinking: Will these plans still work? Are the kids ready for this material, or do they need more review? She will do this for math, science, and/or social studies. I don’t know how long this all takes her, but it is awfully quiet in her office for a long time. (more…)
As you know, standards and assessment (you can’t have one without the other) has become the most important subject in education today. Reports and articles cover the subject from all angles: If one report tells us that testing improves classroom performance, another one will tell us that it makes little difference. If still another report tells us real improvement starts with rigorous national standards, one more will say “Prove it.” I’m not sure what to think—and I’m beginning not to care. I’m clearly suffering from assessment ennui. (more…)
“In the future,” Andy Warhol said, “everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” We’ve all chuckled at the cynicism of this witticism about the fleeting nature of fame. But I’d suggest that Warhol saw only the empty shoreline of an ocean of possibility behind that statement. In focusing on the fickleness of public attention, his truism misses the wealth of a new “ambient awareness.” (more…)
Sometimes in his excitement at performing tricks, my little Chihuahua forgets how to speak. His mouth opens, but no sound comes out. The tension is just too great. I have to command him to “hush” so that he can find his bark.
Often I feel something similar in sitting down to write. Given the cacophony of voices competing for attention, the bookshelves already full of texts, and the explosion of words and images that is the Internet, what could any individual have to add of any worth? (more…)
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