Technopoly Ch. 11

Ch. 11-Well we are at the end and I have to say I really appreciated how he ended it. Pg. 181 He begins by saying that when it comes to critics there are three ways they respond to what they are saying. For pink he wants to be the sort that is a wishful encouraging who knows that there are more problems then solutions, but because of his work perhaps some good will come out of it. I thought that it was kind of humbling, after all his harsh words. He puts a great emphasis on how it is through education and teachers that we can see this change. It is through the knowledge of history that we will be able to teach our children the best way to deal with this Technopoly; "every subject has a history". Throughout the chapter, Pink gives excellent quotes and examples of people and things we need and can learn from in order to make wise decisions about our future.For example I thought an excellent quote by Cicero was "To remain ignorant of things that happened before you were born is to remain a child." It is all of these that we need to be teaching our students; giving them a curriculum shows the humanity and historical development of who we are, where we came from, and how we got here. In closing I thought the greatest words Pink said was pg. 186 .."learning is for the greater glory of God." Amen may this be the way we teach our students!

Burning Question:

Pink talks about this new approach to curriculum. Do you feel this is the correct approach to take on curriculum? Why or Why not?

Technopoly Ch. 9 and 10

Chapter 9: In this chapter Postman discusses Scientism, specifically social science, in our Technopoly. One of the biggest things that stuck out to me in this chapter was on page 150 where he said "What evidence would prove that there was not a God?" Wow! This is something that I have never thought before. In order for there to be a theory there needs to be proof against it. Does this not strengthen our proof against evolution? Postman also talks about the processes (events that occur in nature) and practices (occurs because of mankind). I appreciated how he said that the processes where of Gods doing, because it is so true. Postman gives the excellent example of the blink and a wink one is nature the other is intentional. One created by God the other generated by man. Postman also looks into literature and how that has or has not played a significant role in how we view others and the world around us.

Chapter 10: In this chapter the author talks about "The Great Symbol Drain". To be perfectly honest this is something that I had never thought about, but realized how true it is. Symbols are things that are used to ignite something in a person and it has deep meaning but only for a short time. One very recent symbol Postman describes is the yellow ribbon, representing those fighting over in Iraq. I can remember when this symbol was use, my own family bought into it and had yellow ribbons on trees and on our cars. But we are still fighting that war and well the symbol has lost its meaning. Once a strong voice of support, pride, courage and honor; well now its just a yellow ribbon. We also see the truth in the author chapter by looking at the symbol of the cross. Something so meaningful, powerful, and sacred is now used so commonly. Even those who have not understanding of what it even means tattoo it on their body, wear it around there necks, and wear it on their clothes.


Burning question: In chapter 9 Postman begins the idea of leaving God out of science and thus turning to other things to sources to answer our questions. How do you see this in the world and in your classrooms?
Talks about how creation is not a theory because there is no evidence to prove there is not a God. Not something we hear a lot how do you feel about this statement?

Technopoly Ch. 7 & 8

To begin I am not quite sure I am really liking this book. Postman really seems to always be looking at the negative and over emphasizes it ...A LOT! I will give him credit thought he does bring up many thought provoking points which I do think it is good to ask.

Ch. 7-In this chapter Postman is looking at how our world is being dominated by machines, and by dominated I mean DOMINATED. He looking into the opinions of many who think that machines can do everything better than we can, thus making our lives pointless. We no longer control the machines they control us, thus they turn us into machines. Postman does give the human race credit though because he discusses how we have what computers will never have nor be able to fully understand; emotions. While reading parts of this chapter all I could think about was all those scifi movies I had seen over the years and start wondering if they were going to come into real life :) Postman also looking into a very thought provoking comment of how much we blame faults on computers. Think about it! If you have a dead line and the computer crashes many times your off the hook, go to the store and the lady at the registrar says you need to go to the next line because the computer is down we accept it. I think the best example Postman gives is referring back to the Nazi Adolf Eichmann that we had read about earlier  "We cannot dismiss the possibility that if Adofl Eichmann had been able to say that it was not he but a battery of computers that directed the Jews to the appropriate crematoria, he might never have been asked to answer for his actions."WOW!! mean WOW!! Think about that! This really opened my eyes to how much we blame technology for our problems...."The computer made me do it!"

Ch. 8-To be honest this chapter was a little tougher and more confusing for me to read. Postman looks into invisible technologies such as the number 0, IQ, and statistics. One thing that stuck out to me was his section on statistics. We use them so frequently to prove points and show what we consider to be the beliefs of people and what is true. When the truth is in all actuality you can find statistics on almost find statistics on almost anything that you want to prove whatever you want. We also need to look at how the questions are being asked. Realizing that even asking a simple yes and no truly does not show what the majority believes.

Burning Question:

Ch. 8 pg. 131 Postman talks about IQ and says"The idea that intelligence can be quantitatively measured along a single  linear scale has caused untold harm to our society in general and to education in particular." Do you agree? and Explain why?