Last month I attended a school board election debate for a district that is struggling to meet academic goals. Although the six candidates represented diverse political views, life perspectives and skill sets, they shared a remarkably similar view of their public school system, its strengths, weaknesses, needs and goals. Every candidate agreed with the nodding audience that the administration was professional and forward thinking, that the teachers were all dedicated and well-trained, that the sense of community was strong and that the biggest problems came down to a lack of funding. Most in th room agreed that the district could not meet its students’ needs without technological improvements – computer lab upgrades, smart boards, software and other whiz-bang “educational” devices. The children needed state of the art technology to compete in this highly technical global economy, “hear, hear, hazzah!”
My sixteen year old homeschooling daughter penned a quick note and handed it to me. “Have they never heard of paper?” Now, do not be mistaken. We are not Amish. We have running water and electricity. My husband and I have made our living in the tech sector for over twenty-five years, and my children are as computer savvy as any publicly schooled student. But our society over-emphasizes the importance of technology, especially in education. Technology is useful, but it is not an educational imperative. For those of you who find this claim incredible and provocative, please keep reading.
As I sat among the incoming freshmen and their parents at my daughter’s college orientation two years ago, I assumed that each one of them understood the unique qualities of this religious private liberal arts school that made it one of the highest rated and most successful small colleges in the nation. Over 90% of its students went on to graduate school and among their alumni were a disproportionate number of university professors, education professionals, theologians, successful businesspersons, lawyers, and doctors. Some of the 2011 graduating senior theses included titles such as, “Determining the Indeterminate: How Much Can Natural Science Grasp Matter?”, “An Exposition and Criticism of the Marxist Epistemology” and “First Things First: A Consideration of the Principle Differences between Aristotle and Descartes”. I did not skim the cream off the list of theses. Each thesis out of about eighty in all is equally remarkable and the group covers topics that span the gamut of subject matter: science, math, philosophy, literature, politics, economics and theology. This level of knowledge, clarity and depth of thought is not typical of the average American undergrad. And clearly, this is not a typical American college.
Still, a couple parents hadn’t gotten the memo. During the orientation one parent began arguing the school’s policy concerning student conduct. Then another parent asked the question that left the Dean of Students searching for an answer. Until then he had been impeccably articulate. The question was, why doesn’t the school issue laptops like other schools? I guess the answer seemed so obvious that the Dean was shocked that an answer was sought. But it finally came. “Because the students don’t need them."
The parent was aghast. “What do you mean, they don’t need them? Won’t they need to do research? How will they communicate? How can they write their papers?” The Dean’s response was similar to my daughter’s question the other night. “They use paper. And books.” Silently I quipped, “You know, those heavy blocks of tree pulp that don’t have a power switch, but are still full of data.” Computers were available for writing papers, and a few workstations were installed in the mailroom for email. (None of the dorms were equipped with Internet access - another source of shock.) Students were certainly welcome to bring their own laptop to school if they wished, but they would get along just fine without one.
The parent’s reaction was so typical of most today. How did we ever survive without iPads, Cell Phones, Amazon.com and DVDs? It wasn’t that long ago that we did just fine without them. Personal devices and the Internet provide a lot of convenience and even more distraction for most of us. Worse yet, they do more to isolate us than to bring us together despite FaceBook’s best intentions.
I am sure you have heard the expression, the "technology gap" used to explain away the real reasons educational outcomes differ dramatically between the poor and the not-so poor. Granted, there is a corrolation between wealthy countries/people and access to technology. But the causation cuts both ways and depends on a host of contributing factors. The truth is that technology has nothing to do with education, and the lack of it has nothing to do with academic, professional or personal failure.
One of the most technologically advanced industries today is the movie industry. Among production companies, Pixar stands out as the technology innovator. Their animators use the most complex graphics, animation and special effects software available, much of it developed in-house. You would expect then that computer proficiency would be a basic requirement for employment. It’s not. Pixar knows what every five year old knows. Learning how to use a computer is not that complicated. If you can click a button, identify a symbol, understand cause and effect and read at the fifth grade level you can operate most computer programs. Knowing how to tell a good story, though – that, at Pixar Productions, is a highly sought skill.
You see, it takes accounting skills to operate Intuit’s Quickbooks, layout and design skills to effectively use MS Publisher, traditional animation skills and rudimentary physics to animate Flash movies, language skills to write a novel using Word, and a basic knowledge of musical notation to write a song in Sibellius. None of these programs require a degree in computer science or extensive training. They certainly do not need to be introduced in Kindergarten and reinforced every year through high school. However, a student cannot accomplish anything, let alone operate a computer, if he cannot read or reason.
There is a temptation for homeschooling parents to rush to the Internet because of all the great resources one can find there including lesson plans, online courses, educational games, projects, handouts – the variety and quantity seems endless! There is Wiki, travel sites, blogs, political debates, news and current events – a student could spend all day just soaking up data. Then, there are all the cool technological toys that make learning so much fun. Students are making their own YouTube videos, building web sites, blogging for English credits, and attending classes across the globe through online conferencing software. These are great accessories to a strong educational program, but the core of that program involves a much more basic skillset. For example, how well does your student scrutinize the data that she browses? How does she determine how credible the information is? Johnny can graph climate change in Excel using colorized animated graphics and functions that change the output in response to variable input. But should he encounter a bug in the software that misapplies the function, could he catch it? Your student can program a funky remix to her favorite ripped tunes and set it to a vibrant abstract animation, but can she articulate why great music is great?
Education at its core is the process of teaching students how to think. Many people today question whether the old Western model of abstract reasoning is even relevant anymore. There are many types of intelligences, they argue, and as societal and economic dynamics change, the skills that enable people to lead successful lives change as well. Abstract reasoning is so “yesterday”. Well, the problem with that argument is that it employs the logical fallacy of chronological snobbery. Yes, logic is one of those “obsolete” abstract reasoning skills and so you may think my objection irrelevant. But logic is also the surest way to determine what is true and without it science and math – the two areas American students struggle with the most – would not be possible.
Abstract reasoning will always be the core of a good education because a good education is not a job training program. Certainly, well-educated people are more suited to certain types of work, and are more likely to get hired in the job market. But that is a side benefit. The purpose of education and the reason the public should shoulder the financial responsibility for education is to 1. produce a citizenry that can weigh arguments, analyze rhetoric and make logical political decisions; and 2. to produce a society of individuals who understand and pursue truth, goodness and beauty. Personal autonomy and the ability to discern truth, goodness and beauty are the essential qualities of being human. It is in these two areas that public schools in America are failing most profoundly.
So, the question is, does technology make the difference between those who can think critically and those who can not? Just look to history for the answer. Have the greatest minds in the history of mankind been developed within the last thirty years?
It is in great books that you will find a great education. If, like me, you are one of those highly connected Facebook browsing, Tweeting, blogging homeschool parents, and find great value in the resources that the Internet brings to your fingertips, and are using it to augment a solidly academic program, I’m glad you are using technology to your advantage. But, if you are not up to speed on the latest iThingy, don’t despair. Make a cup of tea, grab your favorite work of literature and your favorite spot under the shady tree in your backyard and invite your students to connect the old fashioned way.
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