Joe McConda on Technology, Education, and Culture

This class is turning out to be another learning experience to say the least.  Last semester, in Dr. Lowell’s class, I felt like I was caught in a whirlpool, going round and round, unable to catch my breath.  I finally got my footing, though, and once it was all over could sigh with relief and the realization that I had learned a lot and had been places I’d never been before.  Well, learning about and doing an ethnography is starting to stir that whirlpool back up for me.  I have tried twitter, then decided to go with Facebook for my SNS.  However, I am having problems finding “friends” and interacting much with it.  I haven’t joined any groups.  It was interesting, though, because one group popped up; I suppose because the town I live in is the name of the high school here.  My wife teaches there.  It was a group of alumni and it was very interesting to read the list that went something like…”You know you’re a __________High School Grad when…….   I called my wife over to look at it and she was so relieved that she hadn’t made the list as some teachers had.

Anyway, I know I need to be more involved in the space in order to be part of the culture.  I’m just not gettin’ it.  Another interesting thing happened this morning, though.  I checked my hotmail and there was a message from”Angie” inviting me to join her
“MySpace”.  I checked her profile, thinking she was probably in our class.  I didn’t think I had created my own MySpace account.  Her profile said she is from Florida and no mention of Morehead.  At any rate, I accepted her invitation and found that I really didn’t have a MySpace.  So, I created one.  Then I tried to accept her invitation and was told she didn’t accept invitations from people she doesn’t know.   Go figure……..

That reminds me of something else that happened on Facebook.  A picture of a member of our class always appears on my Facebook page.  It says he is in my area or something like that.  Anyway, I’ve tried to add him as a friend twice.  The last time I did it, I was told I was going to get “kicked off”  Facebook if I sent an invitation again.

If any of you have any suggestions for me, I’d love to hear them and get help with this new culture!

As suggested by Dr. Lowell in his post Mulling Tuition Policy, I read the article by Scott Jaschik. What was quoted in the last paragraph really caught my attention and reminded me of the things we’ve discussed previously. He quotes a college trustee who is responding to comments from others who lament the fact that colleges are only giving aid to the “motivated and wise” thereby limiting access to the lower echelon of students.

“But a trustee in the audience shot back: “If you are the slightest bit motivated, you can get a 3.0,” referring to a common grade requirement for scholarships. And if failing to meet that requirement means some students can’t go on after community college, she said that was fine. “Not everyone needs a bachelor’s degree. We need good auto mechanics and carpenters,” she said.’

— Scott Jaschik

I agree with the trustee. Auto mechanics and carpentry are very respectable vocations. I believe that we should realize that there are many good professions that don’t require a 4 year degree. Education is a wonderful thing that alleviates many problems in the world, but we have gotten to a point in which we act as though those who get the most education are better than those who have less education. It seems that it’s the degree that matters more than what the person actually accomplishes. Many valuable jobs don’t require that degree ….. knowledge-yes …… experience…..yes….LEARNING….yes, but perhaps not the way in which we are accustomed. I’m reminded once again of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory and the various ways in which each individual is “smart”. We have been conditioned to think about academic intelligence as the ultimate intelligence and looking at others as somehow secondary or inferior. Traditionally, schools have functioned to teach to this type of intelligence. More recently, we see more differentiated instruction, but I think we need more change to bring about a system that helps students learn what they are best at. After all, who could be “motivated and wise” in an area that their brain just doesn’t function well in. Why ignore strengths to focus on avenues that will lead to dead ends (no degree or one that doesn’t help them ) for many. Equity and access t0 appropriate education is a creed we could all adopt. In many cases, all we do is teach students to play the game. To do what it takes to get the grades to go to college and get the degree. The focus is not really on learning. They play the game and then go out and learn things that are motivating to them. If education were geared more toward individual strengths, I think students would be more motivated to learn.