Carr says it all in one of his first paragraphs. He says “research that once required days in the stacks of periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes (Carr).” What Carr is saying that with honestly a couple minutes you can have all the information you need with just a couple clicks of a mouse. Therefore do we really need libraries, paper books, and well paper overall? Yes. I am a strong believer in doing things the “old way.” A school for digital natives would be composed of half technology classes and half paper and pencil classes.
“For those two-thirds of grade-school kids, if for no one else, it’s high time we redesigned American education (Heffernan).” Heffernan does have a point. A little before that quote he was talking about how kids that are in school are learning about jobs that don’t even exist yet. Therefore it’s important for digital natives to be introduced to technology and teach them the basics. Once the basics are in their head then the teacher can move on to more complicated aspects of technology. Kids do need to learn about their era that they are in. Therefore it is imperative that they have the chance to learn about digital technologies in a classroom setting not just at home when blogging to their friends.
According to Carr he has a hard time focusing on blogging or even writing, which of course he blames on the internet. I don’t disagree with that. I too get distracted by the internet. Therefore, classrooms should be taught old school. Grade kids all the way up to high school kids need to have a pencil and notebook paper out on their desks for a least half the day. They need to take notes with the pencil and turn in hand written papers on lined notebook paper. Kids need to learn one how to spell since once they use technology it practically does it for them. Also, kids need to keep their basic writing skills in tack.
To be a little biased SOLs should not be given to students to take. If a student doesn’t try hard enough to pass the class but then passes the SOLs with flying colors and ends up passing the class because of it isn’t fair for the kid who failed the SOL but passed the class. SOLs shouldn’t be taken because it’s all about the teacher you get. If a teacher was really good at teaching then you’d be fine. A student who was unlucky and gets a bad teacher than you wouldn’t do too well. That’s not the kids fault. Also, SOLs don’t prepare the student for anything of the future. It just tests on the bare minimum. It also contains teachers into only teaching the structure of the SOL. What good does that do in the future, when according to Heffernan everything’s going to change anyway? SOLs lack the questions about technology and limit teachers what good does that do in this century?
Even though this world is turning into a digital world, teachers are still needed to be there for students. One it gives the students and teacher face to face communication. Which we all know we need since social networking is becoming huge in our world. Also, students can ask the teacher questions and have them answered right away. Teachers also can describe things better and students can pay attention more. If the class is done through online then the student can easily be distracted. Therefore a classroom with a teacher standing up lecturing is the best thing that our world can keep these days.
The world today is changing all around us. Classrooms do need to make a change. The change though has to be a mixture of digital technology and old school pen and paper. Students need to learn the basics of both of these things. If pen and paper get taken away then students may not have the basic knowledge of how to write grammatically correct without a computer present. Basic classes still need to be taught along with technological classes. It needs to be equal. I do agree with Heffernan when he says “the new classroom should teach the huge array of complex skills that come under the heading of digital literacy (Heffernan).” We do need to teach the future about digital technology. Yet I also agree with Carr’s statement “the last thing these companies want is to encourage leisurely reading or slow, concentrated though (Carr).” Carr is right too we don’t have to think very deeply anymore because the internet does it for us. What good is that? Therefore, finding a common ground would be most beneficial for the 21st century classrooms.
Bibliography
Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The Atlantic July-Aug. 2008. Web. 5 Sept.2011. <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/>.
Heffernan, Virginia. "Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade." New York TImes 7 Aug. 2011. Print.
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