Re: the threat of the network

Salisbury21.org — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 01:12:29 -0000

The Threat of the Network

Articulate. Director of Professional Writing. Meet Alex Reid, Digital Digs, An Archeology of the Future. Great Blogger. And unfortunately, I think he is accurate in his analysis. In The Threat of the Network, Reid shares Will Richardsons recen...

Re: the threat of the network

Karen — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 16:03:59 -0000

I agree with my colleague in this venture we call ENG 506 that high school Eng. teachers see their discipline as essentially fixed-- unchanged and unchanging in any material way.
Oh, they may introduce a new "book," even a young adult novel into their classroom. They may open up the range of "projects" (sigh!) kids do on the books they read. By the way, when was the last time you did on a "project" on a book you read???? Aside from perhaps reviewing it for a journal.
They may even support some of the media work that Alex references, but still in the service of the primary objective--to teach certain canonical or, in the case of hip Eng. teachers, non-canonical texts TO kids.
When you ask an Eng. teacher what he/she is "doing" at any point in the school year, 9 times out of 10 the answer will be "The Great Gatsby," or any other book title--that is, that teacher sees students' reading of a particular book, a book deemed a classic, as the curricular objective. We continue to support a very limited notion of what it means to be literate--as reader or writer.
Or, the teacher may say, "we're doing the research paper," or writing an essay, too often that miserable 'critical lens" essay students must write on the 11th grade Regents.
There's nothing wrong with students' writing an essay prompted by a sage quotation, although of course, once again, it's about privileging "the book," but writing them for three years, several a year?! What is that about? In my experience teaching in The Writing Program at Syracuse for many years, univ. freshmen/women almost NEVER were able to cite anything they had written in h.s. as "important" to them.
At my own recent Syracuse defense, an English/Comp/Rhet professor wondered out loud why it is that Eng. teachers, especially, as a body are so conservative?
Interestingly, in the h.s. disciplinary area where one would expect the most change due to evolving notions of what consitutes literacy and/or the dissolution of authority attributable to the internet that Alex writes about, the most conservative curricula remain firmly in place.
One of our students recently commented that (I'm paraphrasing) while video production would be good for kids to do, it would take so/too long. How would a teacher be able to do it in "an Eng. class that wasn't an elective?"
Students still know that the main event is "The Great Gatsby," the importance of the symbolism of the green light at the end of that oft-referenced dock (poor F Scott--I wonder what he would think of the attention he's now paid in h.s. Eng. classrooms?), the showing of the Robt. Redford movie (miserable), and the test at the end.
Video production? How would you fit that in? Karen Stearns

Re: the threat of the network

Explorations in Learning — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 13:03:01 -0000

New Media vs. Disciplinary Authority

In many ways, I agree with all that Alex wrote, especially on the disconnect between formal education and the real world. Still, some points need to be clarified with respect to technological expertise and disciplinary expertise.

Re: the threat of the network

Rowland Gallop — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 10:35:43 -0000

Some interesting ideas here, it seems to me that anybody who know a little more than the others is considered an expert. I am fighting an uphill battle to get people to positively challenge ideas rather than accept them because they are the "voice of the expert".

Re: the threat of the network

Laura — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 22:10:29 -0000

That last question--that's what has me worried.

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