I am having a lot of concern about our young people – no, not all, just some. I am also having some concern that I might be sounding like a typical OLD person. But I am still concerned.
Since our young are the “electronic” generation, most of everything they to do seems to involve some sort of technology. The phone industry has moved mountains to accommodate them and their technical needs. The young literally live for their phones, i.e. calling people, texting people, using them instead of a laptop or computer to search the web, etc.
I am not opposed to this happening; I am just worried about what is happening to their “education.” Spelling things correctly has gone out the window with texting. Words are typed in a minimal code. The other day I was on the Greater Good website clicking on the Literacy page and the word “shopping” was spelled “shoping.” It was right at the top in full view of anyone who went to this page. I sent an email to them saying that it was really a sad thing to see this word misspelled on the Literacy page.
Grammar and reading seem to be going away. Being a former English teacher has caused me great pain when I hear what is said by our younger generations. Good grammar is out the window in their speech. Basic grammar is not even considered for use; suffice to say it will probably be a lost art with most. Only true literary people will be concerned and plagiarism will be rampant. I am also worried that reading anything, whether a newspaper or book, will become a rarity. Information will be boiled down to headlines that can be sent to the phone or tablet. I also fear that actual books will disappear and we will HAVE to read them electronically – not having the option of holding a real book in our hands. Or that finding a whole book will be impossible – only the equivalent of “Cliff Notes” will remain. Boil down the info; forget the wonderful prose.
What about math and science? I read about successes with science and math with young people, but they do not seem to be the “norm.” If Facebook is any indication, these two subjects are forgotten after school. Again why learn math when a phone figures out basic math? And science has become something a person had to take in school. Only the great future scientists will use it readily.
Maybe I am just an OLD person who views the young in that traditional way. I was a teacher for a long time and I guess I still want to “teach” the young that true education is worth the effort. A quick search on the phone or tablet is limited by the search engine that a person uses. It determines what the person sees. A person who relies on it might not get the true picture. Advertising on Google is paramount. Advertisers’ pages come first and are the searcher’s first choices. Many times what the person wants is several entries down or even on another page.
So I am saddened to see how things are going, as I am sure my predecessors were when my generation was growing up. The nice thing about this is called KARMA. When these young people are older, they will be worrying about their young. It is a never ending event in time.
Since our young are the “electronic” generation, most of everything they to do seems to involve some sort of technology. The phone industry has moved mountains to accommodate them and their technical needs. The young literally live for their phones, i.e. calling people, texting people, using them instead of a laptop or computer to search the web, etc.
I am not opposed to this happening; I am just worried about what is happening to their “education.” Spelling things correctly has gone out the window with texting. Words are typed in a minimal code. The other day I was on the Greater Good website clicking on the Literacy page and the word “shopping” was spelled “shoping.” It was right at the top in full view of anyone who went to this page. I sent an email to them saying that it was really a sad thing to see this word misspelled on the Literacy page.
Grammar and reading seem to be going away. Being a former English teacher has caused me great pain when I hear what is said by our younger generations. Good grammar is out the window in their speech. Basic grammar is not even considered for use; suffice to say it will probably be a lost art with most. Only true literary people will be concerned and plagiarism will be rampant. I am also worried that reading anything, whether a newspaper or book, will become a rarity. Information will be boiled down to headlines that can be sent to the phone or tablet. I also fear that actual books will disappear and we will HAVE to read them electronically – not having the option of holding a real book in our hands. Or that finding a whole book will be impossible – only the equivalent of “Cliff Notes” will remain. Boil down the info; forget the wonderful prose.
What about math and science? I read about successes with science and math with young people, but they do not seem to be the “norm.” If Facebook is any indication, these two subjects are forgotten after school. Again why learn math when a phone figures out basic math? And science has become something a person had to take in school. Only the great future scientists will use it readily.
Maybe I am just an OLD person who views the young in that traditional way. I was a teacher for a long time and I guess I still want to “teach” the young that true education is worth the effort. A quick search on the phone or tablet is limited by the search engine that a person uses. It determines what the person sees. A person who relies on it might not get the true picture. Advertising on Google is paramount. Advertisers’ pages come first and are the searcher’s first choices. Many times what the person wants is several entries down or even on another page.
So I am saddened to see how things are going, as I am sure my predecessors were when my generation was growing up. The nice thing about this is called KARMA. When these young people are older, they will be worrying about their young. It is a never ending event in time.
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