I was reading about the Lincoln and Douglas debate in chapter 4 of Amusing Ourselves to Death the other day and I thought that this chapter was very interesting and true. Lincoln and Douglas had a seven hour debate which the audience stayed for and Postman says that people nowadays we would not be able to do that. It is true because kids and teenagers are too bored with a 45 minute lecture from their teachers and have to listen to 45 minutes of lectures from at least six teachers everyday for five days. Some do not pay attention and sleep, some doodle on their notebooks, others write notes to each other and at least 3% of the students in a class actually listen and understand the lectures given to them daily. Most kids do not like debates nor like debating in classes because that would require work, paying attention and talking. I think debates are quite fun actually. When you are heated up in a debate that is really fun to talk about and have that adrenaline rushing in your head because you are thinking about facts and how right or wrong you are about the topic, yeah, I think that's fun. Do you think that over time, that kids would eventually lose complete interest in school? I can see that happening, but will the government do something about this so that children and teenagers will be more productive in classes and be more involved in school?
-Ashley Vieng
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8 comments:
Formal debate has absolutely no resemblance to what passes for serious public discourse today on television or talk-radio...or what kids think is debate when they are sniping at one another in the classroom. Formal debate is reasoned, well-researched and carefully structured.
I agree that a majority of teenagers get bored of lectures and debates. Mostly because we have so many other distractions. Even I sometimes think "I'd rather be watching a movie" when I'm in class. Of course we would rather listen to music or watch a movie than listen to a debate. We're always searching for amusement. In my opinion it makes concentration harder than it has to be.
I wonder what you think the government can do to ensure children and teenagers be more interested and productive in classes and more involved in school?
I can actually see the government actually staying in some classes, taking notes, seeing how teachers teach and the students reactions to the lectures. I think the government does not really do anything about helping children gain more education even though they say they do. It is really hard to teach teenagers and children in class because that would mean that teachers will have to try to be entertaining in class rather than really teaching.
Plus, I believe that the government has so much to do for the world already that they haven't done yet. Ensuring children and teenagers to be more productive and interested in classes would probably be in the middle of their to do list.
Teachers should start being stricter. Some teachers that I had before say that it is our duty and our choice to be productive in class and learn because it can help us be ready for the future. If we do not, then it is our fault, not the teachers because it is their job to teach and help, not live our lives and make decisions for us. These teachers, I believe push teenagers into learning and do not tolerate rudeness and silly things. These are the teachers we need in school who say, "if this is what you want, you have to strive for it. What is the point of being in school if you are not here to learn but here to play?" Those students are not only wasting the teachers time, but their own.
The Lincoln-Douglas debate which lasted several hours would have not been that long if that debate were in todays society. It would have been much shorter in twentieth century. I agree that no one can possibly in these days sit and listen to a person for several hours. Also, I do think that over time kids will lose interest in school. But if they do the government will for sure take action.
As Ms. Fletcher said, our so called 'formal debate' of today has in no resemblance to what formal debate was during the 'Age of Typography'. Entertainment has completly changed things for us that line between what is news and entertainment has become harder to see with each passsing day. Within this generation, kids are completetly wrapped up in the electronic media that are provided for us because they keep us 'amused' as opposed to real hard facts that things such as a debate or books about one the greatest philiospers, like Plato. In a way, telivision has 'conditioned' has to only become interested in things that we see in telivision.
Well this goes back to the whole "Teaching as an Amusing Activity" chapter in Postman's novel. There are ways in which the government could make students stay in school, but at this point, I think most of it would have to do with entertainment. And if you're having to use entertainment to block out what was caused by entertainment, doesn't it just defeat the whole purpose.
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