Is the Internet creating a new generation of young morons? During the past few years, some writers and educators have been trumpeting that stance. I believe the Internet can indeed foster greater ignorance, but it is not the main cause. If we're to avoid producing teenage dolts, educators and parents must do a much better job teaching kids how to utilize electronic tools.
Baurelein writes that, not only are Gen Y-ers and Z-ers pathetic ignoramuses and narcissists, but they also don't care that they are. He argues that kids spend too much time conversing and texting on cellular phones, staring at social networking Websites, watching television, playing video games, etc. -- often simultaneously. As a result, they have neither the time nor the inclination to read books (uh, all the way through) and to learn historical concepts.
Bauerlein has a point. I know some smart adults who spend so much time on the Internet clicking from page to page and reading only a few sentences of each page, that they are finding it more "intellectually" difficult to concentrate for long periods on a book or an article. Many of us are, in a sense, becoming infected with Internet-generated Attention Deficit Disorder.
The Internet, by its very nature, encourages us to electronically scamper around the world via hyperlinks. Also, the way we read -- peering at computer screens -- isn't conducive (for most of us) to reading long articles at one sitting. The wireless Internet is even worse: Who wants to spend much time reading the postage-stamp-sized screens of most cellular phones?
ThinkerNet columnist Andrew Keen generated a firestorm of controversy when he published The Cult of the Amateur, which takes much of the Internet's content to task and blames it for a multitude of sins. Although I don't agree with many of Keen's conclusions, most of the Internet is indeed slop.
Don't blame the kids Just because a great percentage of the Internet is useless doesn't mean there isn’t an enormous amount of relevant, valuable information. As I've written, I'm a huge fan of the Internet because it's not simply enjoyable, but also using it makes me smarter. However, I have the skills to analyze Web information.
Parents and teachers have always complained about "the younger generation." And yes, the Internet and electronic gizmos do indeed offer a panoply of distractions. But children aren't born stupider. Students’ problems aren’t about the Internet per se. The problem is that for years, too many parents and teachers have been clueless about teaching the effective use of electronic tools.
The solution? From the time kids enter school, teachers must help them understand the benefits and problems of the Internet. The ramifications of the digital world must be an integral part of every class. Students must be taught the limitations and capabilities of the wired and wireless Internet.
Teachers must evaluate their methods, such as overreliance on rote learning, in light of the ability to search facts on the Internet, and they should stress analysis of information rather than memorization.
Teachers must consider how multitasking can be used to further education. The ability to juggle multiple tasks isn't inherently bad. Students need to learn when multitasking can be beneficial and when it can't. Teachers also need to employ the tools of the Internet, such as audio and video podcasts, to provide new learning resources to children at younger ages than college or high school.
No, today’s kids aren’t “the dumbest generation.” That term is better applied to adults.
You probably were an underachiever because you couldn't remember things. There are memory exercises you could try if you search the Internet. The Internet is a great learning tool, you know!
Glad you like the article. Thanks very much., Stephen.
All of the world should have all my viewpoints! What a wonderful place it would be. Everyone would be addicted to the Internet and education would dramatically change....mostly for the better.
My view is: "If it's not broken, we should try to make it even better."
Students should be pushed as much as possible (within reason!) from the time they enter school (and before, through their parents) to learn, and the Internet is a crucial part of it. Most kids love computers, just as they love exploring.
I specifically said "within reason" because going to school from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. doesn't seem reasonable to me, especially if you then have to do homework! Children are still, well, children, and there should be more to life than sleep, school, collapse in bed. And, children need their sleep.
Yes, building a company typically requires extremely long hours. But especially in the elementary school grades, kids need a life. They need socialization skills and time with their parents (assuming the parents have time for them!). They need to explore the world in multiple ways -- more than just sitting in a classroom.
If it's not broken, why fix it? - The accelerated classes/curriculum/group isn't broken. Again, I don't feel that it's the talented and/or gifted classes that need to be approached. The 'regular' classes/curriculum perhaps should adopt some of the strengths of the 'gifted' classes whether it be large scale collaborative as well as individual problem solving contests/projects or other 'privileged' benefits the gifted program has to offer. I'm proud to say that a friend from the "close knit" gifted program co-found a company that was acquired by Oracle - that's one instance where I can say I have proof that it works and is beneficial.
From my experience (an obvious observation), the less interested students holding back the enthusiastic students gains force in tandem with increase in grade level.
I heard a while ago that high schools in S.Korea required their students to attend school from 6 am til midnight. I'm hesitant on whether those type of initiatives cultivate creativity. Heck, I don't think S.Korea divides their students into categories. I do know that the 18 hour mindset has been an ingredient to success by many startup entrepreneurs and the cut and dryness of this guy (J. Calacanis) may still be for the few, the proud, and the obsessed.
There has been a huge amount of discussion among educators (and parents) about whether students should be divided into categories of intelligence. Will "less smart" (although I hesitate to use that categorization) children be more encouraged to learn and strive if they are in the same class with the smarter children? Or will the less smart be intimated and the smarter children be held back to accommodate the "group intelligence"? The debate still rages.
You are so correct -- self-esteem and believing in yourself can make a huge difference. This is one of the reasons I'm such a fan of the Internet. Kids can learn and explore even if their teachers and/or parents think they are "stupid."
The Internet truly opens a world of education, and we're really just beginning as more books are digitized and more multimedia and audio tools are available.
But it's no panacea. It's technology -- and, thus, has good and bad aspects. The Internet is tremendously distracting. And it's a zoo of different types of "information." Children need to be taught about the dynamics of the Internet, as I've written in my article and in these comments. The Internet also can widen the digital divide when children don't have computers.
Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. Think of what he could have accomplished had he graduated, as the thinking goes. Think of what you could have accomplished if you were in classes with kids who were smart!
When I went from my junior high school to high school, because of a bureaucratic error, for the first semester of high school I was placed in "all average" classes. It was an eye-opening and awful experience -- many kids who weren't especially interested in learning and thought I was somewhat strange for wanting to answer as many questions as I could. Frankly, they made it much easier to "shine" in class.
I hated it it. The next semester I was again put in the "smart"classes and was greatly relieved. I was in an atmosphere where no one thought wanting to learn was unusual; it was expected. When I was in the "average" classes, I could see how kids who weren't as snotty as I could be intimidated if they were interested in learning.
The Internet can be a great learning tool. It can help turn kids (some, at least) who aren't as interested in learning into those who are more interested.....if parents and/or teachers know how to use digital tools.
Funny, I was rejected from those classes until I was in the sixth grade. Until then I had to watch the small group of kids in that group leave my elementary school for hours in a school bus several times a week as if they were going on a field trip.
Thanks to 2 teachers that believed in me and identified the language barrier(vocabulary) as an issue and a flaw(I didn't start learning how to speak English until the 2nd grade) in the assessment.
Those "smart" classes allowed and encouraged the enthusiasm for learning also!
One of the most important things I learned in school is that self esteem and believing in yourself can make all the difference...along with discipliine and dedictation if you want merit based rewards that can follow.
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