what's wrong with the ed deformers

[Hannah Bell]

"It was an Achilles heel only to this degree. Joel mastered how to listen, talk, think and work on a BlackBerry all at the same time. But you still got 100 percent of his attention but it doesn't seem that way," said Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children's Zone.


How do you have 100 percent of somebody's attention when they're talking with you, reading something on a Blackberry, thinking about how to respond about that something they just read on a Blackberry and thinking about how to respond to what you just said?

Sorry, that's more like 25% of somebody's attention.

And that's the problem with so many of these ed deformers - from Gates to Rhee to Klein.

They're social misfits with the socio-emotional skills of maladjusted adolescents.

Do we really need distracted humans with an inability to single task on something or actually be present 100% in a conversation with somebody running anything in society, let alone education policy and school systems?

Gates wants to add MORE technology to classrooms (remember, this is a guy who demanded all important interactions and communications at Microsoft be done by email rather than face-to-face.)

We don't need MORE technology in classrooms, we need LESS technology in classrooms.

We need to help develop human beings who are socially and emotionally well-adjusted, who can single task, who can be present in conversations and relationships with others, who don't need to be constantly distracted by gadgets so that they can check out emotionally from any painful or awkward feelings, who can empathize with others.

Adding Blackberries, Smart Boards, Microsoft-brand software, Twitter and other technologies to the classroom isn't going to develop those kinds of human beings.

It's going to develop more maladjusted, socio-emotional misfits like Klein, Rhee and Gates.

http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[dkf]

2. Ah because to be popular and socially adjusted is the purpose of schools?

Well now we know why we are falling behind. Love those priorities.

Sounds like the "mean girls" crowd picking on the "nerds".

[Hannah Bell]

3. no, obviously the purpose of schools is to turn out loners who can't form relationships with others

& are easy prey for the corporatist predators.

[dkf]

5. Loners who revolutionize the world?

Was Einstein so well adjusted and socially adroit?

[Hannah Bell]

6. einstein had lots of friends and was both socially & politically active.

[dkf]

9. Actually he did much of his learning outside school.

And often played hooky. I doubt that led to much social interaction in school.

He was asked to leave high school because he undermined other students respect for the teacher.

[Hannah Bell]

15. actually, that's a bunch of crap. you've got to stop reading ignorant winger crap.

[elehhhhna]

16. The multitasker's atrocious ly bad manners alone would cause me to fire him.

Just sayin'.

Oh look I'm on the blackberry and taking calls and emailing and pretendin to listed to you all at once. Unless this jackwagon was managing the Katrina response at the time, he'd be G.O.N.E. Arrogance is not an appropriate educational goal OR value.

[seabeyond]

10. it is a bullshit myth we are falling behind, firstly. and interaction and social behavior

is absolutely a part of school experience. one of the reasons many chose not to homeschool.

[Robb]

4. DU worked a lot better when it was face-to-face, too.

Perhaps we should make certain our children are familiar with the abacus, so they're prepared for work in the Persian Empire?

[Hannah Bell]

7. doesn't it hurt to chew all that straw?

[Robb]

8. I'm choking on the irony of an anti-technology blog post, if that's what you mean.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. And I think we should do both

We can criticize technology in the classrooms that have it but if we want to prepare kids for life in the 21st century, you teach them to use and understand technology. We also have an obligation to teach them to be social beings and to interact appropriately.

As it is today, we have a few classrooms with technology and a larger majority without. I know teachers who are using shower curtains for screens and outdated overhead projectors. What other industry still depends on overhead projectors? LOL

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

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[MineralMan]

13. We're all doomed, eh? Yes, indeed. Doomed, I tell you.

Feh!

[MineralMan]

14. She wrote, after reading this on a blog, then posting it on an

Internet forum. Oh, yes, technology will be the end of us, fer shure. Unrecced.