In my last post, I discussed Carr's article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" As a response to this article, an informed scholar from the Ethics and Policy Center, James Bowman, penned the cleverly titled "Is Stupid Making Us Google?" He agreed that the Internet has changed our ways of thinking, but maybe it's not entirely to blame- something else is going on here. How do we get to be this way? Someone had to have taught us that reading long books is boring (the answer is not Bart Simpson- though I particularly enjoy this picture).
Bowman believes that teachers are at fault here. They aren't creative enough. They don't present the material in a way that applies to the students- and that's what matters, after all. Education isn't a opera aria. It's more like a concert- the lead singer sings a line, then invites the audience to sing along.
Both of these articles regarding Google and stupidity remind me of an article called "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants." The author urges educators of all kinds to start speaking the "language" and get involved with technology in some form. There is no excuse. Teachers must rise to the occasion. If it's broken, pick up a 22 ounce Antivibe framing hammer and fix it.
I ended my last post with a question, and I think I'll do the same here:
Bowman mentions that educators need to "throw off the yoke of the past." Is the past really burdensome?
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