BE (distinctively different) Postman Ch. 11

Perhaps it takes an over-zealous leader to begin social change, and maybe that is Postman's aim in "Technopoly." While I didn't always appreciate his pessimistic views of everything- I enjoyed this final chapter more than the previous ones.  His closing remarks were more of a call to try make changes.

In fact, I found myself fitting almost every description of his "loving resistance fighter" on page 184.  And his description of the current state of education on page 186 is precisely the reason I'm in Christian education.  Without the central Biblical focus education is a "hodgepodge of subjects." And while Postman all but belittles learning "for the greater glory of God" technopoly may very well cause parents to sit up and think about the focus of education and desire Christian education.  Is it possible that the declining moral center of our society will awaken such a revival in the hearts of many?

My prayer is yes.  My prayer is that the Lord will use our culture just as He used the Hellenistic Greek/Roman culture to strengthen the commitment of His faithful and cause an explosion in the Church.  As Postman calls for an educational focus that blends science, art, past, and present; we must stand up and boldly declare that we have this!  The "ascent of humanity" has already happened- but only through the death of one human/Christ.  Postman describes Christian education without Christ.  We must make known that this is impossible.  The ascent of humanity IS Christ.  Christian education meets all the aims of Postman's dream for education... but only through Christ.

                                                                                     http://www.cen.edu.au/


Are Christian schools doing enough to "offer" these types of answers to the general culture?

How well known are Christian schools in your area of the country?

BE (Protective) Postman Ch 9&10

If you ever question the power of symbols just watch a 3-year-old maneuver an iPad.  Mine can scroll through 4 pages of apps, find his favorite videos and games, and play for hours even though he cannot read a single word.  Symbols are powerful.

While Postman's thoughts in Ch 9 were interesting, especially Milgram's study, I'd prefer to dive into Ch 10- The Great Symbol Drain.  After reading it I had a long talk with my husband who has a post-grad degree in advertising and marketing.  Both of us found Postman's critique to be correct, sadly.  Our society is so quickly swayed and it really is through selfish gain.  As Postman says on page 170, "It is about the character of the consumers of products."  Josh (my husband) said that one of his biggest assignments in Ad school was to sell to a particular consumer group.  But they were not given a product at all- just the audience.  It was exactly as Postman said- all about the consumer.  

While this (advertising) "symptom" of the anti-tradition worldview, as Postman calls it, lays claim on our culture there follows a loss of narrative/respect for symbols due to their overuse.  I'd agree with Postman that this may have catastrophic effects on education.  I'm especially glad he brought up the question "WHY?"  I'm afraid we don't ask this question enough when we integrate new systems into our schools.  

Postman follows this up with more questions, "What story does American education wish to tell now?" and "What is education for?" Which leads to several perspectives and philosophies of education.  I was most inspired by a small paragraph on page 178 about religious educators.  Although Postman questions the plausibility of (our) philosophy in education during a Technopoly, I'm glad he included the distinction.  I believe our role as Christian educators should only magnify the questions being asked, "Why?" "How will we tell THE story now?" and "Have we drained our most sacred symbols of their meaning?" 

Questions to process: How can we use the Technopoly we are a part of to tell THE story?

How can we protect our sacred symbols from becoming part of Chardonnay ads?

Digital Immigrant and Digital Native hard at work

BE (non-transferable) Postman Ch 7&8

"When a method of doing things becomes so deeply associated with an institution that we no longer know which came first-the method or the institution-then it is difficult to change the institution or even imagine alternative methods for achieving it's purpose."

As I closed my  reading of Postman this week I read this statement and couldn't help but remember this funny YouTube clip I saw a few years back which perfectly illustrates his point. Please watch it, it's worth the time for the laugh you'll get:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ

I think  his point about "The computers being down" on page 114 is another case  and point that so much of what we do in our society today relies on the method of computer technologies.  At what point do we become completely irresponsible for the work we do and give sole credit to the computer for both success and failure?

Although I don't whole-heartedly love Postman and his apparent disdain for, well everything... Some of this does awaken a deep fear within me.  If we ever do concede full credit and responsibility to the computer then you and I are out of a job.  If McCarthy's remarks are taken as truth then we are the equivalent of a computer and they the equivalent of us- therefore, they can do our jobs...yikes!

It's not that I'm so afraid of losing my job, it's more that I'm afraid of losing the human influence, inefficient and flawed as it may be.  Weizenbaum had it right on 112 , human intelligence cannot be transferred.  Mostly because we were created differently from the start.  We must be considerate as we use these methods within our classrooms.  Our methods must not dominate the institutions or we may very well miss the point. 

How do we use great methods ( like computers) responsibly when so much of the use is unconscious, second nature?

How often is it appropriate to have an intentional "computers down" day?

BE (controlling) Postman 5&6

Oh this one got my stirred up!  There were moments in reading that I agreed whole-heartedly with Postman’s comments: “When the supply of information becomes uncontrollable, a general breakdown in psychic tranquility and social purpose occurs” (72) and “social institutions of all kinds function as control mechanisms” (73) believe me, as the mother of a 3-year-old, I agree! Even the blunt statement, “when there is too much information to sustain any theory, information becomes essentially meaningless” (77).

However, there were also moments that I wanted to scream aloud at Postman.  To endorse the words of Hillel; and imply that the Bible is a theory, was about all that I could take.  Especially when his understanding of the “theory” was so inept.  He completely missed Christ and grace.  I wouldn’t endorse “His” theory of the Bible either… and I’m a Bible teacher! Not to mention- his theory wouldn’t save anyone. 

I also disagree with him that (Biblical) religion aims to control information.  Instead, I think the Bible is God’s way of teaching us to deal with information.  Why else am I teaching adolescents about prostitution, rape, murder, and homosexuality through the stories of the Old Testament?  Believe me, I don’t do it because it’s fun.  We teach our students something great when they are able to discern- not when we shelter them from inconvenient information.  So I’ll uphold that the Bible gives meaning to life and guidance (which I’m sure Postman would call me naïve for even saying). But I disagree that it “seals off unwanted information” (79).   

I find Postmans’ opinions on Technolpoly’s bureaucracy, expertise, and machinery leading us away from morality to be true.  His comments on page 90 lead me to related thinking on the difficulty of “grading” in Bible class.  How do I quantify someone’s faith?  How do I objectify faithfulness, goodness, love?  If you’ve ever tried to create/score those character traits that often show up on report cards you feel my pain.  Is this all a result of technology? 

Do you think religion (specifically Biblical Christianity) aims to be a controlling institution? 

Has Technology (Technopoly/expertise) led us away from the moral universe?

Are we cheapening the fruits of the spirit (faith in general) when we try to objectively “score” it with a grade?

                               “Mommy, Lukas said *&%#- what does that mean?”

                                    (Some controlling institutions ARE needed)

BE (afraid?) A day of Postman (Ch. 3 &4) and WebMD

Erythema Multiforme.  If you had asked me what this was a few days ago I would have had no idea.  But ask me tonight, and I can give you pages (literally) of information.  That's what I've found... on WebMD, that is, and a few other scary websites.  My son has had a unique rash for a few days and today it was finally diagnosed by my Pediatrician as Erythema Multiforme .  However, being the young mom I am, I raced home (OK, actually I looked it up on my phone in the car) to find out more.  Google provides more than 959,000 results.  I could read for days about Erythema Multiforme.

The other reading I did today was Postman's third and fourth chapters.  I was struck by the level of stress he put on fearing technology.  His description of the Technopolic culture we are in is described as Totalitarian.  The claim is made that these technological advancements aim to annihilate the old world and any sort of "sense" that we as humans have ever had.  I'll admit that I found his angle a little harsh and his view of technology a little too dark.

But then I got to page 61- the "information glut" and thought about the 959,000 results for Erythema Multiforme.  Perhaps Postman has a point.  This is a lot of information about a mild skin reaction that is really not that dangerous.  On page 67 he references the early nineteenth century and how our Founding Fathers operated on the assumption that when information was made available to people they were capable of managing it (connection between information-reason- usefulness).  He argues that we have strayed from that culture into one where we have severed the tie between information and human purpose (page 70).  And I'll concede that there is A LOT of information out there.  But have we really gotten to such a state of "glut" that information has become meaningless as he claims on page 70?

And if that really is the case, how do we restore meaning to information?  After all, if the Biblical story is lumped in there as "information" how do we restore meaning to what will otherwise just be seen as more facts: (417,000,000 results actually)

BE (cautious) Psalm 25:5

This morning I sat watching my two little boys marvel at the beauty of sidewalk chalk.  Truly, it is a beautiful thing.  Two little boys occupied for what felt like hours... probably only 10 minutes in reality, but that is a long time for two little boys.  As I watched them laugh and proudly explain their little drawings in such a simple way a much more complicated question ran through my head from my reading last night..."Who knows what schools will be like 25 years from now?" (page 17)  I wonder if Postman had any clue back in 1992 what a great question that was.

When I think about what schools looked like 25 years ago the above question gives reason to fear inside me.  So much change.  25 years ago there were no websites, no SMARTboards, no prezies.  The feared "printed word" was heavily controlled by publishers and administrators.   Parents and teachers alike could simply rely on those published curriculums to be the final "say" in what truth was brought into the classroom.  Today the canvas looks quite different.  While we do still have curriculum, more and more of the information load is stemming from online resources; wikis, unconfirmed sources, rantings of anyone who can set up a blog :) etc.  The printed word is no longer printed, and that might be even more frightening than the printing press! With no publishers to verify and often no real measure of legitimacy,  Truth now has many sources, and those sources are at everyone's fingertips to both find and create.  Our access to information electronically only magnifies what Thamus dubbed "The conceit of wisdom." (17)  We have more knowledge than ever before, but do we have more wisdom?  How will our students distinguish real truth?

At the same time, I would argue against the claim that technology (the personal computer) always weakens the communal spirit of the classroom as described on page 17.  For instance, with two little boys and a busy summer I would have missed out on learning from Dr. Mulder and with many of you were it not for this little machine on my lap.  Is it possible that orality isn't needed for group learning, cooperation, and social responsibility as Thamus credits for proper instruction?  Look back at those three characteristics: group learning, cooperation, and social responsibility... the class you and I are taking without speaking a word to one another requires all three!  And thanks to the written word and the personal computer it is possible for us to accomplish this.

So with both frightening and impressive capabilities, how do we as teachers "admit technology with eyes wide open" as Postman describes on page 7?  Is it possible to go back to a cultural norm when "theological assumptions served as a controlling ideology" (page 26) as they appeared to during the Renaissance?  Or has our culture steered so far away from truth that we can no longer recognize it's value?  Can we go back to the late sixteenth century and seek truth rather than power?

Furthermore, what will truth look like in my little boys' classrooms of the future?  Will technology help them find truth or make it progressively relative?

"Be still, and know that I am God" ~Psalm 46:10

I have to admit, after reading these words Saturday I had no intention of being still.  There was just too much to do.  Finalize grades, fold the laundry, pick up graduation cards, drive the boys to swimming lessons, plant some flowers, and take down the wreath on the front door.  After all, June had come and the tulips no longer belonged there.  

And I was about to the end of my list when I was pecked (yes, pecked) in the back of the head with God's not-so-gentle reminder that He was God and I needed to be still to notice.  I needed to be still to breathe in the spring that had finally arrived here in Minnesota and to remember His faithfulness.  God's call to slow down and be still came from an angry mama bird- a small wren who had decided my tulip wreath was not ready to come down, in fact, it was the perfect place for her little nest.

As I swatted the mama bird away I reached again for my wreath and that was when I noticed it, the messy little nest with three beautiful blue little eggs.  Perhaps it was the spring air, or maybe the young "mama" in me, but I just couldn't take the wreath down anymore.  

God has funny ways of getting our attention, doesn't He?  Just when we think we are so capable of tackling our day, and our to-do-list, on our own He pecks us in the back of the head and reminds us that He is God.  God of our days, God of the three beautiful little blue eggs, and God of the universe.  We simply need to Be... still.

So perhaps there will still be tulips hanging on my door on the 4th of July, but I will daily be reminded to be still.