I'm giving a talk for Catholic school teachers and principals today related to students use of Internet and social media.
This is one of my opening slides
It's very discouraging to me that for too many people, and too many educators in particular, this is the prevailing opinion. Digital devices and connectivity are inevitable, and they will make certain things easier, but they won't make us better people. They are convenient, but it is a convenience that requires a trade off in our culture, civility and humanity.
I'm certain that this isn't the first time that a cultural change has been greeted with moral scepticism. Widespread distribution of printed texts was probably criticized by some as the end of memory and Pandora's box filled with evil things that could be written and printed. Similar criticism probably followed the introduction of radio and television, each destroying everything that came before. However, I can find no record of the unified voice of resigned despair that seems to accompany the digital revolution. It reminds me of the quote from Faulkner's Nobel Prize acceptance speech, “Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it.” Not only are we going to Hell with a hand-held, there is no reverse to the engine, so we might as well be miserable during the ride.
I think as educators we need to radically oppose this perception and this determinism. The act of education is an essentially, hopeful one, investing effort today to make a better tomorrow. If we do not believe that our digital future can be better, we relieve ourselves of all responsibility to figure out how to make it better.
And hey, those book things turned out to be pretty good.
As always, I welcome your comments.
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