This will be the final post for November. On Dec 1 there will be a new set of articles.
Growing up Digital: Wired for Distraction: A great piece on the influence technology will have on your generation. What do you think? Do you see this as an issue in your life? In the lives of your friends? Could this be a good article for The Voice to cover?
Teaching for America: An excellent opinion piece about the state of education (particularly teachers) in the US. The hottest opinion in this piece has to do with teacher pay and recruiting. What are your thoughts? What do you think of Friedman's opinions?
Can't Pick a College Major? Create One: Another great piece on the state of education at the college level. Have any of you thought about tailoring your college major? Is this the way of the future? Are the days of a standard liberal arts degree over? Share your thoughts?
13 comments:
I found the article on the new generation of technology to be very interesting as I personally can relate to it. Similar to what was said in the article I often have trouble keeping focused on school work and not on facebook or texting. Facebook is addicting as so much of the time I find my self not doing anything on it but merely I am just on it. I do believe that as technology becomes engrained into the minds of every teenager in this country it is becoming a prevalent issue.
I also read the article on college student who are now beginning to create their own independant major. I found this very interesting because it shows how much power students now hold over what they learn and study in college. I wonder though what colleges are allowing this and what aren't? I also wonder if there is any downside to this? But overall I think it sounds great that no longer students are tied down to the conventional majors but rather they are thinking outside the box.
"Pick Your Own Major"
I found the idea of creating your own major to be a little iffy at first. i doubted its legitimacy because, as stated in the article, it's an "eye-roller." I can understand parent concerns of kids straying from an organized career path, one that makes money! I think that the people and successful experiences that they talked about in the article were successful because those individual people were goal oriented and had a strong desire for a specific career. Those are the kinds of people who will get their act together to design their own major and make a profit off of it. It's true that someone hiring may not trust the "designed major" as quickly as they would trust a classic, respected major, but it could spark interest and make this person take a second look at that application. There are pros and cons, but I just don't think I would have the guts to do that myself.
"Growing yo Digital: Wired for Distraction"
This article (and the short complimentary video) was pretty unsettling. I know that there are kids in high school who do treat their cell phones like kids and are attached to facebook, video games, and other sources of technology. It is unsettling because I am afraid of the future of this generation. I feel like kids spend more time on facebook or youtube than they do outside. The article mentioned that this constant source of digital information has made kids unable to have a longer attention span, and it can link to the high stats of kids with A.D.D.
Also, when I went to mountain school, I was completely cut off from multiple sources of digital media like facebook, cell phones, you tube, etc. This was kind of strange at first but it allowed me to pay attention to things that are much more important to me and allow my intellectual experience to be much deeper. All of my classmates agreed and told the teachers to continue the enforcement of no cell phones and no internet in the dorms because if there was this access, nothing would get done.
Growing up Digital:
The amount of time those students spend with technology astounds me. I don't think that it's physically possible to send that many text messages a month, or to spend 8 hours sitting in front of a computer screen editing 3 seconds of film. Your eyes get tired after a while. This article also just looks at extreme cases, although, to be fair, that does make it more interesting. I personally don't text at all, and I rarely log onto Facebook, but I know that it is a problem for some people. I think it would be interesting to look at this in terms of MA.
Teaching for America:
The author raises some interesting points. I think that his ideas about an incremental pay system based on student performance might work, but I just don't think that it's a viable option unless we revamp the entire system, as per his idea of a "West Point for teachers."
Create a College Major:
Wow, is this interesting. I never knew that this was an option until now, but I will definitely be giving this some thought in a few years. I don't think that it's the entire future of majors, but tailored majors should definitely have a place in all colleges due to the fact that they provide students with the ability to choose a course in a subject that they feel passionate about.
Teaching for America:
The author of this article makes a good point about the state of education of America, and the statistics he presented were equally alarming and depressing. Our system clearly needs work; as a student I'm aware of the considerable variation in how much information I absorb and retain, depending on the teacher's ability to handle the class and get his/her students interested in the topic at hand. However, programs to give educators and schools incentive to achieve need to be designed in a way that doesn't merely reward schools that are already successful, leaving lower-achieving schools in the dust.
Tailored Majors:
This sounds like a great option for students who already know, without question, precisely what they want to do in the future. It's important for students to be able to be passionate about, and therefore fully engaged in their education. If a school's existing programs can't inspire its students, they should be allowed to create programs that do. On the other hand, what seems like a great idea now could prove life-ruining if you find yourself graduating from four years of hard work with a useless degree.
"Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction"
I was honestly surprised when I read some of the facts in the article, such as the kids who spend an average of four hours playing video games a night. I didn't think there were kids like that out there. While I agree that technology has had a negative affect in many ways on our generation, I don't really think it's affected my attention span personally. I did find myself relating to many of the habits the kids had, though, like having reading assignments take twice as long because I'll be texting while reading. The greatest affect technology has had, in my opinion, is that it allows kids to be 'absent' in life. It gives the chance to escape into a different world that will not bring you success and happiness for the most part. Face to face conversations are better than ones over a text message because there is very little personality and emotion in a text, and a real life conversation is a lot more real. Choosing technology over real life actions, like that example, leads to losing social and life skills. I think we should definitely cover this issue, more on a deep level than just a superficial 'how painful is it without having your iphone' level. It's very controversial.
Growing up Digital: Wired for Distraction
I found this article interesting because I can definitely relate to it. I always switch between windows every few minutes because I can't pay attention for long enough to get much done which usually extends my workload by at least half an hour a night. While I don't come anywhere close to playing video games ten hours per week and haven't stayed up past twelve on a school night this semester, I think I can sympathize with Vishal because I know that technology can be a hard thing to get away from.
I can really relate to this article because as I have been looking at colleges I sometimes feel frustrated and constrained with the list of college majors offered. And to be honest, it can impact whether I will apply to the school or not. I think the concept of self- designed majors can for the most part only be positive. I understand concern from parents, and do recognize that some abuse the freedoms of a self designed major, but think that when entering the workplace a self- designed major can only show that a student is motivated, hard working, and sure about what they are interested in. I don't think that a "self- designed" major should become what a majority of college student choose because it is helpful to have structure and direction given to you by an institution that has been educating people for a while, but it is nice to have the option.
I get where he's coming from on the "acheivement determines salary" idea but for some reason it doesn't seem right. There is always going to be disparity between counties and districts economically and students are not going to have the same support from home. There are some things that a good teacher cannot change and will therefore be at a disadvantage with his proposed idea. His idea will only encourage the better teachers to get jobs in the already high achieving school districts and leave the lower achieving districts with teachers who have given up on them.
Growing up Digital: Wired for Distraction
As I read this article, I realized that this past Thanksgiving break I have spent numerous hours texting, on the computer, and watching movies. The amount of time kids these days spend using technology is almost horrifying, and it was represented truthfully in this article. I enjoyed the fact that the writer focused on Vishal and Woodside, which specified the very broad and general topic of teen technology. It became more personal for the reader. I don't think that technology is "wired in our genes," as one of the teachers was quoted as saying, but rather a manifestation of the societal changes that came with the invention of cellphones, TV, and Facebook. Overall, I think technology may be the most prevalent topic that is associated with today's youth. It's also one I think that we should address in our paper more often.
Can't Pick a College Major? Create One
I enjoyed reading this piece. Mostly because the topic was one that was interesting; as I start thinking more about college and what I want to do with my future, majors come into mind. I was acutely aware that one could "invent" his/her own major, but hadn't heard much about it in the past. It was good information to know that more than 900 colleges offer this freedom, and it makes me think more about what I will major in in college. I think for people that know exactly what they want to do with their career, creating their own majors is a great route. However, I question whether or not all students should participate in traditional classes and programs. The article raises questions about the future of college education, but as far as I can see, major programs will more or less stay the same. There will always be people who would rather have the institute decide what it will teach them, and others who take a more individualistic approach.
"Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction"
I found this article very relatable. Technology is such a prevalent aspect of today's society. Although it has many upsides, it clearly has downsides as well. I agree with the fact that technology has an addictive nature, and once you sign on Facebook, start watching TV, or begin texting it is difficult to stop. I often find myself lacking in self-control, like Vishal, when it comes to technology. However, I have yet to find my attention span shorten. Even though technology creates a culture of immediacy, I find that that leads to me being more impatient instead of a shortened attention span. The two are similar, but I find myself wanting something to be done immediately rather than needing to change activities regularly.
"Teaching for America"
I found this to be a fascinating article and I am struck by some of the statistics. For example, 25% of US high school students drop out or fail to graduate on time. The US education system clearly needs a lot of improvement. However, I don't agree with Arne Duncan's "Race to the Top" idea. Money should be going to states that need help not states that already have "innovative reforms." The other reform idea, about only taking teachers from the top one-third of their graduating college class, I'm not sure I agree with either. Although the fact that other well-educated countries employ this system is encouraging, schools should not refuse to hire someone just because they were not in the top one-third. It could be a factor into hiring them, but schools have to take into account other determinants. These might include, where the person went to college, where they grew up, their ability to reach out and inspire kids, etc. Although, Duncan raises good ideas in this article, I'm not sure they are the best solutions to fixing the state of education in America.
"Pick Your Own Major"
I really enjoyed this piece. It was straightforward and to the point. It got me thinking about whether I would consider this option in a couple of years. I think that students should only create their own major when they are positive and passionate about their created major. I feel as though some students who are unsure of what they want to major in creating their own major could be catastrophic because they wouldn't have the necessary instruction to steer them in the right direction. However, I think that there are some individuals who would really benefit from this option.
"Growing up Digital: Wired for Distraction"
I really enjoyed this article. It is something that I can relate to as a teenager. Although I cannot relate to the desire to spend 10 hours a week playing video games I was astounded by some of the statistics given in this article. I was not aware that it was to this extent. I think that technology interfering with students' work is a prevalent issue in today's society. Although I feel as though at MA there is a balance of work and distractions, the idea of next generations being even more of a technology era is worrisome and crazy to think about.
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