The End of Education - Neil Postman
"When am I ever going to use this?"
Every student reaches a point in school where they ask that. Right about the time calculus and Shakespeare are introduced schoolchildren stop paying attention and start asking the much bigger questions.
How would you answer the question?
Everyone has their own answer; that's the problem. Postman writes that modern education is flawed because we don't all have a common answer, or narrative. During the Space Race in America and Russia, for example, their education systems flourished under the pressure of heavy nationalistic competition. 8-year-olds wanted to become engineers and rocket scientists to prove they’re country was the best in the world. Children especially need a well-thought-out answer to why they’re bothering to learn at all; while some students may like to study naturally, for others, if their question is ignored, an uninteresting activity gains the unsavory quality of uselessness.
Postman does have some radical views; …show more content…
He introduces five possible narratives teachers could use in the future. Perhaps the strongest of them is what he calls “Spaceship Earth.” imparting a responsibility in younger generations to care for the world more than those who have come before is crucial. Keep in mind that this book was written nearly 20 years ago; Postman’s views hold up well, but times have changed enough that we can see how education has evolved since it was published. The “Spaceship Earth” narrative is beginning to be used more widely as children are taught about their duty to help combat the climate change previous generations helped cause. A global consciousness is taking shape through a narrative Postman helped shape; in the end, we’re all in the same boat and the only way we’ll survive is if we work together and think our way out of the major problems of the next
"When am I ever going to use this?"
Every student reaches a point in school where they ask that. Right about the time calculus and Shakespeare are introduced schoolchildren stop paying attention and start asking the much bigger questions.
How would you answer the question?
Everyone has their own answer; that's the problem. Postman writes that modern education is flawed because we don't all have a common answer, or narrative. During the Space Race in America and Russia, for example, their education systems flourished under the pressure of heavy nationalistic competition. 8-year-olds wanted to become engineers and rocket scientists to prove they’re country was the best in the world. Children especially need a well-thought-out answer to why they’re bothering to learn at all; while some students may like to study naturally, for others, if their question is ignored, an uninteresting activity gains the unsavory quality of uselessness.
Postman does have some radical views; …show more content…
He introduces five possible narratives teachers could use in the future. Perhaps the strongest of them is what he calls “Spaceship Earth.” imparting a responsibility in younger generations to care for the world more than those who have come before is crucial. Keep in mind that this book was written nearly 20 years ago; Postman’s views hold up well, but times have changed enough that we can see how education has evolved since it was published. The “Spaceship Earth” narrative is beginning to be used more widely as children are taught about their duty to help combat the climate change previous generations helped cause. A global consciousness is taking shape through a narrative Postman helped shape; in the end, we’re all in the same boat and the only way we’ll survive is if we work together and think our way out of the major problems of the next