I have been having some technical difficulties at the house, but my posts will be coming live earlier in the coming week. Sorry for the delay.
This week’s reading was very interesting to me. I found that the two authors had very different writing styles and I believe the articles were written for different reasons. In Strauss’ article he seems to be writing to persuade the reader into thinking this new generation will be the saviors of the world. One of many comments Strauss writes states, “Their life mission will not be to tear down old institutions that don’t work, but to build up new ones that do (2001, p. 7).” He really paints a picture of a super generation that is growing out from the ruble of mediocrity. I really could not connect any of the kids I teach and see on a regular basis in this article. I felt that this article was written through rose color glasses to say the least. Don’t get me wrong, I believe he had some great points, I just wish he would have put in more data that showed some of his conclusions.
On the other side of the spectrum was the article by Prensky. I believe he wrote this article to inform and educate the reader. This piece of work depicted a more realistic view of this new generation of children. Prensky was able to capture the disconnect between the adult and the students they teach. I see this struggle everyday and for that reason Prensky’s article felt very familiar to me. I hear the teacher’s complain about how distance the students are and how they can not seem to engage them at all. I have gym teachers that are unable to get the kids to take sports seriously and the kids seem almost too lazy to try anything new. Most the time you will catch almost half the class on the sidelines talking and socializing. This is of course very disheartening to the coaches and gym staff.
If you stand in the hallway at my school it seems like you can see walking zombies moping around the building. The only time I see anything different is when technology is being used in the classroom for instruction. The kids seem to perk up and get interested. Unfortunately, computers are not always a regular in every classroom. I agree with Prensky when he says there has to be a change in the way education is delivered if we are to ever get the kid’s maximum involvement. My questions would be how can we take the State’s technology initiative and change the way we deliver instruction throughout the state? Is it really feasible to believe that something this massive can happen? Do we have a choice? If change does not occur what will happen to the children that grow up in this era?
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This is a discussion about different avenues for classroom instruction. We will also discuss ways to enhance the learning environment for the students.
3 comments:
Nicky - you mentioned that the kids seem like walking zombies until they get on the computers and then they perk up. Sadly, our students get little computer time which would prepare them for the future that they will have. I think our Detroit students are seriously shortchanged. They need to be more active learners and to keep them in line their teachers often give them busy work. Copying is not learning. We have three computer labs in our school but no computer teacher. I think all of these kids should be on the computer for at least an hour a day. If I was the principal I would make it a requirement.
Nicky, you make some good points regarding the authors. I must say, I felt the same way after reading the articles. Strauss & Howe wrote that particular article on the "Millenium Generation," eight years ago. I have to think they were not connected to a large or diverse population when they wrote it, because it doesn't sound like the kids that I see everyday. The kids we work with perk up with technology also and most of the time it comes up missing. Sadly, trying to introduce them to something new means we have to "police" them and make them understand the benefits to learning something new.
What kind of technology are you talking about? computers,cell phones, hand held devices. How are they being used? I think that it is great to see the reactions of the students, students really go get excited about using the computers, hopefully the lesson are planned and not free range activities.
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