I think that all our electronic gadgets are both helpful and a hindrance. As a person with dyscalcula I have always been considered rather stupid in school (formal education) but my Nintendo DS player is teaching me how to think linearly now and to remember number patterns. You can teach an old dog new tricks – especially if they wish to learn!

My neighbor retired from teaching last year – she taught math and Spanish – she is relieved to be retired because the students would not participate in discussions any more and she is not a good entertainer style teacher.

My Mum stopped teaching first grade when the students refused to learn how to use an analogue clock because their sense of time went digital…..so how do you teach about the relationship between time and space.

When I first taught college level, we were busy teaching freshman girls how to be assertive enough to participate in seminars and gain traction. My brother – in- law had to pay students to ask questions in his last semester’s political science class about China and Korea.

I worried about my children – so I used everything to help them grow…and become….I love to argue and play with issues and ideas and I do find Americans as a group want to sneak away and find a new idea on their own ( the next greatest thing) and then present it as a fact, a rule, a new idea…

I do not see a great deal of evidence about how folks are talk creative and detailed thinking skills or even how to have a discussion. Our many exchange students found lack of discussion and community problematic when they stayed here.

I don’t see Johnson’s book as a problem but only as an idea…and how do we create balance in life now that we have his ideas spelled out….Where have all the thinkers gone…where are the discussions….
I miss them
I am so appreciative for your response – Thank you…I hope it will generate some more comments….
Thank you – I rejoice at your stopping by and wriitng.

plus you can use “problem solving” (which i’m not trying to say is a bad thing) in all other areas of life other than tv and video games…how about learning to drive, playing sports… socializing, communicating with family, in school…all these LIFE things take problem solving skills.

and he says that books are isolating?… technology is isolating, ironically. you’d think not because we have access to each other 24/7, but the constant communication we have with one another is not intimate in any way. it’s empty and virtual. and technology has also taught us to be uncomfortable being alone. instead of children finding things to do to entertain themselves, like drawing, going outside and using their imagination to create games or build things, or reading, or what have you….they instead need constant attention and to be around people all the time. so where does imagination and thinking come into play? where is there time for introspection when you can’t even be alone? alone is not the same as being lonely…

and just because technology is complex doesn’t mean life was easier a hundred years ago…simple things are not dumb, but johnson says they are. he says we’re smarter because the complexity of things ahve gone up..but really…were things less complex years ago?…no…adaptation has speeded up. from radio to movies to tv to walkmans to ipods…but complexity doesn’t mean things are harder. actually technology makes things easier for us. it takes two minutes to figure out an ipod…things are convenient bc of technology not harder…just becaus parents dont know how to work the dvd player doesn’t mean they’re dumb…it means that a dvd player is a generational difference and they don’t need or have time to learn such things. it’s not that they can’t…it’s that they don’t care. kids learning all this technology is really not that difficult, it’s just they’re kids and have more free time than adults and CARE to keep up with all the tech…

johnson’s complete argument is ridiculous. he loses right when he says that life was easier 100 years ago…100 years ago kids were not either playing stickball doing chores or being a child laborer. which is what he claims…they were using their imaginations, building forts outside in the yard or whatever..

i’m not trying to claim that technology sucks. it doesn’t. it’s great for a lot of reasons. but johnson’s claim that technology and pop culture makes us smarter is a revolting idea…all he thinks thinking means, is following rules and organizing…he’s complete bullshit. but americans agree with him because america is, as a whole, pretty fucking stupid.

any argument johnson has, can be fought against.

The funny thing about video games is that when my children were growing up, I never had them in my house. I always wanted them to play outside, using their muscles. For the most part, they’re still not interested in video games. However, my oldest daughter’s fiance is into them, so a few months ago, I got a chance to play Wii for the first time. It was fun………………:)

LisaNewtons last blog post..Sun and Fun at the Santa Monica Pier

Sara,
You are so right, we needed those joystick controls and now Mercedes Benz has come out with a concept car that is joystick controlled and can be driven from either front seat – I will never be able to drive that car because I can not do joystick controls!
My daughter owes her graduation from college to a speech and education therapist who understood what games she should play to make brain synapses that worked for her development. She is computer dependent.
Thank you for coming by and the lovely words. Both are very much appreciated.

Thanks for sharing about this book. I’ll have to check it out. I agree with you about using video games. There are many life-saving medical procedures that might be performed if weren’t for the fact young children learned to pay Nintendo games with joy sticks.

I’m glad you do keep your brain working and write your blog because I enjoy the way you think and write:~)

Saras last blog post..What You Can Do When Overwhelmed

I think the issue is the overall mental health of the family and the child or young adult. If it’s a healthy household, there will be exercise, time outdoors, time spent with friends and family, work and play. If it’s an unhealthy one, there may be nothing but the play, done grimly to keep other things at bay.

Nowadays, I read constantly, as I always have, watch a lot of TV when I have to rest, enjoy movies on DVD, walk, and spend time with friends. I think all those things stimulate the brain. I also spend quite a bit of time just thinking, about my life, other people’s lives, the world, the economy, the future, and more.

Dots last blog post..The Silva Method, CDs 9 and 10

I do not find it so addicting as other games…

Mikes last blog post..Wednesday Weigh-In for April 8