The following blog post features generalizations that are my observations about students from 10 years ago to students today. I am in no way saying that all students fall into my observations, so, if this does not describe you, EXCELLENT and congratulations; you are on the right track.
Yes, I know. My Hubby and I are slight news fanatics. We have the CBC Manitoba website as our home page when we open the internet. For us it is nice to see what is happening in Winnipeg while we are away here in Egypt. Everyday, when we open the internet we get news blurbs from home. It helps us feel connected.
Today the headline was, "Are Manitoban's More Stupid" Of course I had to investigate this story a little further because I just knew that it had to do with Manitoba Education; and, being an educator, I get a little curious. To read the article and see the statistics Click Here
The article displays results from studies conducted in 2009 that demonstrate a decline in Reading, Mathematics and Science. It also takes in to consideration drop out rates and student retention rates. The stats should be considered alarming to anyone; especially teachers. The most significant decline is in Reading, putting Manitoba near the bottom when compared to other provinces.
I found it interesting that this research is comparing students now to students ten years ago. Ten years ago, I was still a student in the Manitoba public school system. I graduated, with honors, from my highschool. I have never had a problem with my studies, my marks were good, I managed in math and I could read anything put in front of me and make sense of it. Science I found fascinating.
When I compare myself (and my classmates) to students today, there is one alarming difference.
Every student has a smart phone. If they do not have a smart phone, they want one desperately. Even here in Egypt, a developing country with high levels of poverty, most people have smart phones. The irony of this is, that as phones get smarter, our student population seems to be...(clearing my throat here), heading in the opposite direction.
I am not by any means knocking any of the smart technology because I myself have an iPad and use it regularly, and, I would probably enjoy having an iPhone as well. However, with the advances in technology comes more dependence on our fun little tools.
Imagine this dialogue with a student from ten years ago.
When is the last time you were on google? Maybe this morning.
When is the last time you were on Facebook? Face what?
How about Twitter? Are you talking about a bird?
How often do you use the internet for your homework? Maybe a couple times a week.
When you do not understand something in class, what do you do? I ask the teacher for help.
When you need to do research for a project, do you go to the library, or to your computer. Library first, then, when I get home, I check the internet.
Now, imagine this dialogue with a student today.
When is the last time you were on google? 2 minutes ago.
When is the last time you were on Facebook? I am on Facebook now.
How about Twitter? I will be there in 2 minutes.
How often do you use the internet for your homework? Everyday.
When you do not understand something in class, what do you do? I go to YouTube and find a video.
When you need to research for a project, do you go to the library, or to your computer. I use my phone and find my answers, who needs a computer?
The major difference is the technology that students have access to. When I was in highschool, very few people had cell phones. The students that had cell phones were carrying around fairly large phones still. (Man, this makes me sound old!) But, the reality is, that a lot has changed in the past ten years and the education system has not always done the best job keeping up with it. This is largely because teachers are creatures of habit and changing the way we do things can be time consuming. The most troubling thing however is that the education system has not done enough to embrace the significant changes in technology to the advantage of the student.
I believe that the access to technology has numbed the minds of young people. They absentmindedly sit and stare at computer screens and televisions. They do not stimulate their minds with the fascinating books that I indulged in when I was in school (Old Man And The Sea in grade 11 is NOT included as one of the fascinating books I read). Schools have adapted the teaching of Shakespeare to include a "No Fear Shakespeare" text which translates the original version into modern day language (we use it at our EAL school and I think is brilliant). However, in a school, where students are fluent in English, their minds need to be challenged with the eloquence of Shakespeare. They find modern day literature and language everywhere else they look! I think there is nothing wrong with including the No Fear variety in class to aid understanding, but, really, where is the challenge? I remember reading original versions of Shakespeare in grade 9 and loving the challenge of discerning what old Willy was trying to communicate. Challenging students is the key to making them grow! Without challenge minds grow tired and weary of maintaining and simply start to slip away to the mundane jargon they are familiar with.
The other issue with technology and social networking sites, is that students have become very good at expressing themselves in 150 characters or less. This does not allow one to elaborate on any key thought. They use text language to express themselves and can simplify every thought down to the smallest common idea. There are benefits to this in some circles, but, not in education. Try getting a student, that keeps their ideas and thoughts so small, to express themselves in an essay is difficult. Or, how about spelling? Texting language is permeating essays I read all the time. If I could get one dollar for every time I read words like, gonna and wanna in formal writing, I would be very wealthy. But, until this year, some students of mine told me that, "well, no one told me that was not a real word". I just about dropped my lunch when I heard that.
While there are many downsides to technology, I do believe that it can enhance young minds. But, the young minds need to be taught how to use technology in a different way. If I asked one of my students what a computer was for today, they would tell me it is for the internet. If I asked one of my classmates ten years ago, they would have said to write assignments. Before the days or social networking, computers were for completing work, assignments and email and researching. But now, the computer offers this whole fake reality for teenagers. Hours are lost following friends on Facebook and Twitter, looking a pictures of other people, fabricating relationships that may not really even exist. This false reality captivates teens because they feel like they are a part of something, they may actually have no part in at all. It is a dangerous place for teens to be, and therefore, technology needs to be taught; despite the fact that we think our students today are technologically savvy.
Is there a link between technology and the drop in Reading ability? Of course there is. Sure, students are reading what is on the internet, but, they are reading basic language. Seldom do students visit sites that would challenge their vocabulary, and, if they found a word they did not understand, they may just pass over it without further investigation.
Wow, this blog post has gone an entirely different direction than I anticipated. It is going to have to be in a couple of installments. Today, technology and reading. Tomorrow, mathematics. Wednesday, Science and Thursday, drop out rates. Prepare yourself for an education analysis from my perspective.
And, my Hubby was thrilled to point out, that, while I am nagging on the use of technology and social networking, I have been sitting here writing this blog post for the past 30 minutes. Productive use of time...I think so.
Yes, I know. My Hubby and I are slight news fanatics. We have the CBC Manitoba website as our home page when we open the internet. For us it is nice to see what is happening in Winnipeg while we are away here in Egypt. Everyday, when we open the internet we get news blurbs from home. It helps us feel connected.
Today the headline was, "Are Manitoban's More Stupid" Of course I had to investigate this story a little further because I just knew that it had to do with Manitoba Education; and, being an educator, I get a little curious. To read the article and see the statistics Click Here
The article displays results from studies conducted in 2009 that demonstrate a decline in Reading, Mathematics and Science. It also takes in to consideration drop out rates and student retention rates. The stats should be considered alarming to anyone; especially teachers. The most significant decline is in Reading, putting Manitoba near the bottom when compared to other provinces.
I found it interesting that this research is comparing students now to students ten years ago. Ten years ago, I was still a student in the Manitoba public school system. I graduated, with honors, from my highschool. I have never had a problem with my studies, my marks were good, I managed in math and I could read anything put in front of me and make sense of it. Science I found fascinating.
When I compare myself (and my classmates) to students today, there is one alarming difference.
Every student has a smart phone. If they do not have a smart phone, they want one desperately. Even here in Egypt, a developing country with high levels of poverty, most people have smart phones. The irony of this is, that as phones get smarter, our student population seems to be...(clearing my throat here), heading in the opposite direction.
I am not by any means knocking any of the smart technology because I myself have an iPad and use it regularly, and, I would probably enjoy having an iPhone as well. However, with the advances in technology comes more dependence on our fun little tools.
Imagine this dialogue with a student from ten years ago.
When is the last time you were on google? Maybe this morning.
When is the last time you were on Facebook? Face what?
How about Twitter? Are you talking about a bird?
How often do you use the internet for your homework? Maybe a couple times a week.
When you do not understand something in class, what do you do? I ask the teacher for help.
When you need to do research for a project, do you go to the library, or to your computer. Library first, then, when I get home, I check the internet.
Now, imagine this dialogue with a student today.
When is the last time you were on google? 2 minutes ago.
When is the last time you were on Facebook? I am on Facebook now.
How about Twitter? I will be there in 2 minutes.
How often do you use the internet for your homework? Everyday.
When you do not understand something in class, what do you do? I go to YouTube and find a video.
When you need to research for a project, do you go to the library, or to your computer. I use my phone and find my answers, who needs a computer?
The major difference is the technology that students have access to. When I was in highschool, very few people had cell phones. The students that had cell phones were carrying around fairly large phones still. (Man, this makes me sound old!) But, the reality is, that a lot has changed in the past ten years and the education system has not always done the best job keeping up with it. This is largely because teachers are creatures of habit and changing the way we do things can be time consuming. The most troubling thing however is that the education system has not done enough to embrace the significant changes in technology to the advantage of the student.
I believe that the access to technology has numbed the minds of young people. They absentmindedly sit and stare at computer screens and televisions. They do not stimulate their minds with the fascinating books that I indulged in when I was in school (Old Man And The Sea in grade 11 is NOT included as one of the fascinating books I read). Schools have adapted the teaching of Shakespeare to include a "No Fear Shakespeare" text which translates the original version into modern day language (we use it at our EAL school and I think is brilliant). However, in a school, where students are fluent in English, their minds need to be challenged with the eloquence of Shakespeare. They find modern day literature and language everywhere else they look! I think there is nothing wrong with including the No Fear variety in class to aid understanding, but, really, where is the challenge? I remember reading original versions of Shakespeare in grade 9 and loving the challenge of discerning what old Willy was trying to communicate. Challenging students is the key to making them grow! Without challenge minds grow tired and weary of maintaining and simply start to slip away to the mundane jargon they are familiar with.
The other issue with technology and social networking sites, is that students have become very good at expressing themselves in 150 characters or less. This does not allow one to elaborate on any key thought. They use text language to express themselves and can simplify every thought down to the smallest common idea. There are benefits to this in some circles, but, not in education. Try getting a student, that keeps their ideas and thoughts so small, to express themselves in an essay is difficult. Or, how about spelling? Texting language is permeating essays I read all the time. If I could get one dollar for every time I read words like, gonna and wanna in formal writing, I would be very wealthy. But, until this year, some students of mine told me that, "well, no one told me that was not a real word". I just about dropped my lunch when I heard that.
While there are many downsides to technology, I do believe that it can enhance young minds. But, the young minds need to be taught how to use technology in a different way. If I asked one of my students what a computer was for today, they would tell me it is for the internet. If I asked one of my classmates ten years ago, they would have said to write assignments. Before the days or social networking, computers were for completing work, assignments and email and researching. But now, the computer offers this whole fake reality for teenagers. Hours are lost following friends on Facebook and Twitter, looking a pictures of other people, fabricating relationships that may not really even exist. This false reality captivates teens because they feel like they are a part of something, they may actually have no part in at all. It is a dangerous place for teens to be, and therefore, technology needs to be taught; despite the fact that we think our students today are technologically savvy.
Is there a link between technology and the drop in Reading ability? Of course there is. Sure, students are reading what is on the internet, but, they are reading basic language. Seldom do students visit sites that would challenge their vocabulary, and, if they found a word they did not understand, they may just pass over it without further investigation.
Wow, this blog post has gone an entirely different direction than I anticipated. It is going to have to be in a couple of installments. Today, technology and reading. Tomorrow, mathematics. Wednesday, Science and Thursday, drop out rates. Prepare yourself for an education analysis from my perspective.
And, my Hubby was thrilled to point out, that, while I am nagging on the use of technology and social networking, I have been sitting here writing this blog post for the past 30 minutes. Productive use of time...I think so.
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