The Dumbest Generation

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Permalink Reply by Ian Grove-Stephensen on May 25, 2008 at 10:36am

If there is one person we should all listen to carefully, it is someone who intelligently argues against the thing we most want to believe. I'm looking forward to making time for your podcast.

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Permalink Reply by Terry Smith on May 25, 2008 at 8:36pm

Perhaps there is the need for a renewed assurance to teachers who feel threatened by all the technology. To work on the reminder to teachers (and to the kids) that although there is a huge focus on their lives, the “me me me” part which was called the indulgence by Bauerlein, needs a refocus. Kids have a responsibility to do well (not just on government standardized tests), to share, to work together because like all kids before them. It *is* their world as they grow and one day become the group of *adults* raising another generation of kids who use (fill in the blank) for the majority of their entertainment and education. So, Bauerlein does speak a philosophy that many people do currently believe - what’s the best way to show that there might not be as much to worry about as they think?

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Permalink Reply by Tom Welch on December 23, 2008 at 4:06am

Hi Terry, take a look at my other comments about Tapscott's new book which shows that there is reason for great hope when considering this generation.

As far as the "me, me, me part" you talked about, I'd say that relates more to some/many teachers of my generation who feel threatened by technology. They are frightened by the loss of status (font of knowlege, sagest person in the classroom) and unprepared from experience to deal with shifting from a focus on schooling to a focus on learning.

I have come to the conclusion that many teachers seem to be converts to technology now, thanks to the injection of SmartBoards (etc.) into their classroom. These are a great way to reinforce a teacher-centered environment in the face of pesky technology that would lead to learners learning anything, anytime as opposed to students whose responsibility is to ingest what the teacher decides is appropriate for their "student diet". My rules for a classroom with a SmartBoard would be: "1. SmartBoards should be in use at least 50% of the time and 2. No teachers may touch them!"

Couldn't kids over indluge in techno "junk food" in unhealthy way? Well, sure! Take a look at obesity figures for our country in the physical realm. One of our major responsibilities as adults is to help learners determine wise choices and maintain a balanced, healthy intellectual life. But that's a far cry from implementing a predetermined curriculum map!

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Permalink Reply by Tim Holt on May 26, 2008 at 7:31am

Indigo,
you probably need to DL Quicktime which works on both Mac and PC. www.apple.com/quicktime

All of my podcasts are also on the Itunes music store, so if you have an iPod, you can play the podcast.

Tim

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Permalink Reply by ddeubel on May 26, 2008 at 9:22am

Tim,

Thanks for this.

Still, I do think this is Allan Bloom all over again and I'm really dead set against all the Aristotelian traditionalists telling us we have to stuff ourselves with classics. On the other hand, I'm dead against all the post modernist, critical theorists and their - anything goes, it's about accommodating students....

Education if it is anything IS the middle ground. It is a filtering to arrive at some type of stasis within all the various uncertainty (which is knowledge itself).

But I love engaged discussion, even if it is just the old arguement that swings in on the pendulum to say we are getting dumber....../Sounds like someone at 11:58 saying there is no time left!

Kids are smart in every generation - kids are dumb in every generation. It isn't about WHAT but what you do with it -- HOW.......Heraclitus pointed this out long before there were authors rising up every generation crying the sky is falling.....

David
http://eflclassroom.ning.com

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Hill on July 10, 2008 at 3:45am

The site's in routine maintenance at the moment, I'll come back later because this sounds interesting....
Lisa in Oz

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Permalink Reply by Tom Welch on December 23, 2008 at 3:52am

I appreciated Ian's comment (May 25) about making sure that we listen thoughtfully to "someone who intelligently argues against the thing we most want to believe." Good advice.

If you want to read a thoughtful reply to Dumbest Generation, then pick up Don Tapscott's book, Grown Up Digital. It's a followup to Growing Up Digital where he predicted a dozen years ago that there would be huge impacts resulting from kids who were growing up as digital natives.

Tapscott establishes a strong case for hope when you look at this generation!

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Permalink Reply by Kev on January 3, 2009 at 5:25pm

I haven't yet listened but I certainly will. Our AVID students in Southern California are doing their region-wide writing competition on an excerpt from this text. When we did the opening discussion as teachers I almost had to leave the room. The things stated so matter-of-factly about how "dumb" today's kids are simply astonished me.

"Kids don't know anything, they just know how to use Google!"

First of all, this came from a teacher so, turn that finger pointing inward. Secondly, a kid who knows how to use Google knows more than any human being EVER could. Jesus got it right 2000 years ago when speaking of teaching a man to fish. We no longer need to be the fish, The kids have a whole dang ocean pumped directly into their rooms! I'm very interested to hear how the author himself explains it.

For a opposing view I highly recommend "Everything Bad is Good For You." I definitely enjoyed reading that one. I'm currently reading "What Video Games have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy" and it too seems to be following a similar path.

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