30 Edutopia RSS by Peter Adams - 651071 / and came upon a statement that made me stop and think, twice and thrice, and it seems to fit what we are learning. I apologize if you've heard it before, and that it is not part of an assignment but here it is:
Students today face a greater challenge in evaluating information than their parents or grandparents did at their age. The cumulative amount of information that exists on the planet, from the beginning of recorded history to the present, is, by realistic estimates (5), doubling every two years.
No not a problem but as teachers we should be aware of the information that is being thrown at our students and their ability to take it all in. I can remember when I was in my early teens and we, the USA, were going through the Cuban Missile Crisis, yes I am that old, the teachers were trying to help us deal with that information and how the now "world" threat would effect us as we tried to go about our day to day lives. Just as 9/11 had an effect. but both of those were out there and being talked about. The feeling of so much going on, so much information, so much learning and change that the information brings, well it overwhelms me to think about it, can't imagine how child might feel/
It depends on how much they actually see/know about. Ask a kid if s/he watches the news. Pick a topic like Syria, ask if a) they can find it on a map and b) tell you what is (still) going on there? Now, ask them about a Kardashian or Miley Cyrus, and see if there's a difference in a) the importance of the news, and b) their knowledge on the subject.
And yet teacher's often dismiss this skill as "not my problem."
ReplyDeleteNo not a problem but as teachers we should be aware of the information that is being thrown at our students and their ability to take it all in. I can remember when I was in my early teens and we, the USA, were going through the Cuban Missile Crisis, yes I am that old, the teachers were trying to help us deal with that information and how the now "world" threat would effect us as we tried to go about our day to day lives. Just as 9/11 had an effect. but both of those were out there and being talked about. The feeling of so much going on, so much information, so much learning and change that the information brings, well it overwhelms me to think about it, can't imagine how child might feel/
ReplyDeleteIt depends on how much they actually see/know about. Ask a kid if s/he watches the news. Pick a topic like Syria, ask if a) they can find it on a map and b) tell you what is (still) going on there? Now, ask them about a Kardashian or Miley Cyrus, and see if there's a difference in a) the importance of the news, and b) their knowledge on the subject.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I see your point, there may be a lot going on but if it does not effect them personally. The importance of the news is relative to their lives.
ReplyDelete