The Husband and the Daughter don’t read my blog- they figure they live it first hand, so why should they read about it. But my daughter does ask me what I wrote about that day, and we discuss it. When I told her about Friday’s post, and how I portrayed it- she said she wanted to read it. After she read it she told me that a) there was a typo in the first sentence, and b) she thought I didn’t explain myself properly. She felt I was coming from a position of anger. Was I? I asked her why it was bad, and she explained that when you’re angry, the only thing that comes across is that you’re a little crazy, but your point doesn’t always make it. So I’m going to give you what I hope is a clear mission statement, and then I’m going to expound.
I like technology. I have no doubt that technology has made things easier. I have no doubt that technology has made things better. I love my computer, the internet and my smart phone. I even like audio books. I am not a luddite, and I make use of many tech gadgets and apps and whatever.
Here’s the problem as I see it. Though tech is great, we have to watch that we are not overdoing it. Everything should be done in moderation. To rely on technology to a degree that we are literally always holding a tech device is not good. To replace traditional learning methods entirely is not good. I feel that you need to understand the process before you can proceed.
I really started to fear for our society after reading 2 books- “The Circle” by Dave Eggers, and “Feed” by MT Anderson. I am now going to give some details about each book and why it scared me- if you don’t like spoilers continue to the next paragraph. In “Feed”, children are no longer taught to read and to write- these arts are considered ancient. People have chips implanted in their brains that tell them everything, enabling them to telepathically send messages to others. Think this sounds great? Think about if you never used words- how do you think you would speak? Do you think you could form sentences? Do you think you would personally know more that about 100 words? Do you think any great scientific advances will be made if no one can think about what might be possible? If no one has imagination? In “the Circle”, people are so busy liking things and participating in social media, they no longer experience life. Why actually travel- you really only need one person to travel, and they wear a body camera and send you back pictures- you don’t need to leave your couch to climb a mountain- but you can like and comment. Oh- and privacy is a thing of the past- there are no secrets in the circle- every knows everything about everybody. The possibility of these things scare me. The fact that I think they are entirely possible scares me.
But am I wrong?
I don’t say those words very often, so pay heed.
I was out with friends yesterday, and began discussing why I thought students should not be using audio books for school lessons. My friend said “Why not?” Do we need to read and write? If tech can do something better, shouldn’t it? This is how we advance, by using technology. You’re old. You don’t want to change.”
Ok- I admit. It was the “you’re old” part that got me. Am I becoming a crotchety old lady who is going to go around saying “In my day, we actually looked at words on a page……”
Let’s look at my title today: Call me Chicken Little. I think I’m clever, playing on a combination of two different literary works- I think I’m using my base knowledge. But does it matter if most people don’t get what I am referring to?
Do we need to read and write and do basic math skills?
I’m going with a big resounding –Yes we do, because it helps us learn and think. I don’t think we can advance by forgetting the basics. I think not knowing the basics will only bring us backwards. So please, call me Chicken Little.
But am I wrong?
Am I crazy? (about this- let’s limit the crazy to one thing at a time)
What do you all think? Should we try to tame the tech monster? Do we need to? Is it too late? I’ve had many discussions about this with many other bloggers the past few days- and I think we really need to think about this. Before the sky falls.
Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50 