Chapters 7 & 8: Reflections

As I read through this book, I continue to wrestle with whether or not I agree with the ideas that Postman is presenting.  In chapter 7, I would dare to say he is stretching ideas a little too far when he says humans are computers and computers are human.  When we talk about computers having a virus, it doesn’t mean they are like humans; I think it is more a way for humans to simply understand what is going on and talk about it in terms of what we are dealing with.  When we say we can’t work because the computers are down, we are not saying that they have human characteristics of being able to make mistakes or get ill like Postman suggests.  We are simply saying that they are not working.  It’s a fact.

Along with considering the human vs. machine debate, this chapter also made me consider the use of calculators in my classroom.  Because of the increasing technology that computers do provide, there are many forms of calculators and other machines that do calculations that we really don’t need to do any of it by ourselves.  This leads many people to think that we should just let students start using calculators at an early age because the skill of calculating long division or multiplying by hand is becoming obsolete.  In my math classrooms (grades 6-8), I make students do most calculations without calculators.  I start to shift that thought when they get to Pre-Algebra and Algebra where they should really have those skills grounded and the goal is to now work on a different skill set.  I had some parents and even some teachers that didn’t agree with me – we have calculators so we should use them.  What do you all think?  Should students still learn how to multiply and divide whole numbers, decimals, and fractions without calculators?  Or is that something that really won’t be important in the future?

Another topic that stirred thoughts in my head related to Postman’s view that questioning and language are forms of technology as well, for the fact that they have assumptions that direct our thoughts and give shape to the world.  As a teacher, asking good questions is a skill I continue to work on.  I want to be able to ask questions that promote thinking and challenge students to apply what they are learning.  When disciplining students, I try to ask questions that direct them to understand the problem at hand.  So in a way it is true that questions are powerful and can get people to believe one way or the other. 

A final thought I want to mention of the many ideas that Postman put forth in these chapters is the idea of polling as a technology.  He suggests that “the definition of a ‘good’ television show has become purely and simply a matter of having high ratings.”  Later he suggests, “Popular literature now depends more than ever on the wishes of the audience, not the creativity of the artist.” (p. 136)  To what extent does this apply to our schools today?  What makes education good?  Does it depend on the audience?  Could we say, “Education now depends more than ever on the wishes of the parents, not the creativity of the teacher?”  Teaching in a Christian school for the past 9 years, I have definitely struggled with some of the ideas in here, but I am interested to hear your thoughts first!