How Technology is Reforming Education

By: Paul Kennard
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:27:00
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The institution of the school is changing through the centuries. Each new generation of students sees changes in the school system. Electronic technology is a wonderful invention that has helped places like the school system. But with the development of technology comes increased amounts of moronic individuals. The government doesn’t want intelligent citizens, just obedient; so they do nothing to change the issue of a flawed system. The fashion industry is “helping” by projecting that intelligence is not fashionable and should be avoided. With these pressures, the school has lost the need to teach students how to think because the line of what thought actually is had been blurred. Students believe they are thinking when they are not, therefore school is inadequately teaching students how to think.

It is hard to resist the urges of popular fashion and not follow the herd into becoming what media tries to shape a person into. In today’s society, it appears to be fashionable to be unintelligent; “…strong currents [are] at work against the development of powers of articulateness” (Ricker 8). Popular sitcoms tend to have the hilarious idiot, like Homer from “The Simpsons”. He is incredibly stupid, but humorous at the same time so it projects the image that being brainless is funny and popular. A student must face the stifling pressure of following what is accepted, thus often “…betray a curious sense of shame about speaking articulately…” (Ricker 8). To remain out of a negative spotlight, students will attempt to avoid being the “black sheep”. They will often try to “hide in the mass[es]” (Ricker 8). With these popular fashions guiding the way individuals think, little has been done to change this image of trendy stupidity.

Latin was once taught in the school system because it is a base root language that shaped many other languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, and even English. Individuals often believe that Latin was taught because many famous texts and sayings are in Latin, but Latin is an extraordinary way to learn how languages have a certain type of structure to them (Ricker 7). Students believe that all there is to learn about English it to read and write, but there is much more to be taught than just how a word is spelt and what the letter “A” should look like.

Teachers fail to teach the grammar of English; how sentences should be formed. Part of the importance of forming sentences is the thought. People (students especially) have become confused as to what thought it. They believe that “…everything our minds do, worrying, remembering, day dreaming…” (Ricker 7) are processes of thought, when actual thought is forming ideas into words and stating such ideas articulately. To create good thought, students must practice continually, shaping their ideas and putting them into words. Northrop Frye in Marvi Ricker’s essay expressed that: “There is no such thing as an inarticulate idea waiting to have the right words wrapped around it. They have to learn that ideas do not exist until they have been incorporated into words” (Ricker 7).

The gift of literacy also gives an individual the chance for freedom. When students are able to read, they develop the ability to follow rules of the road (for example, a STOP sign). But once those students are able to produce a cognitive process, they begin developing their own ideas. Those ideas may include a reason why not to follow a certain rule. It is hard for a government to control a society full of people with rebellious ideas. So to be sure that doesn’t happen as easily, the government will make sure that citizens can read and write easily, “…but development of verbal competency is very much left to the individual” (Ricker 8).

The school has failed in teaching students to think properly because it is unclear as to what thought is. Despite this large flaw being existent in the school, little has been done to change it because of pressures from fashion and the government. One can hope that thought will once again be important enough to teach in the school again. But until everyone comes to understand what thought truly is and its importance, then the art of articulate thought will be lost. Until then, thought is a conspiracy behind the shadows of society.

Article source: Expert Articles