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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
slow-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
informative
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
slow-paced
Could have been an Atlantic article. Postman clearly put a lot of reading and thought into the book, but ultimately it's one person's thinkpiece on what education is for, and suffers as a result.
His critiques of technology and of the economic arguments for school are thoughtful, and he makes a good point that many discussions about the _how_ of education take priority at the expense of discussing the _why_. His critique of what he calls "multiculturalism" is very nearly bad enough to overtake the rest of his arguments, and his vision for what school could be is more or less the kind of milquetoast, vaguely-patriotic pablum you'd expect from someone who overemphasizes the so-called "Western canon". In his defense, he probably didn't travel much in circles where he could have seen the vibrant and tenacious education happening in communities traditionally underserved by the formal education system. But as a result this book has aged poorly and doesn't offer anything that's not covered better elsewhere
His critiques of technology and of the economic arguments for school are thoughtful, and he makes a good point that many discussions about the _how_ of education take priority at the expense of discussing the _why_. His critique of what he calls "multiculturalism" is very nearly bad enough to overtake the rest of his arguments, and his vision for what school could be is more or less the kind of milquetoast, vaguely-patriotic pablum you'd expect from someone who overemphasizes the so-called "Western canon". In his defense, he probably didn't travel much in circles where he could have seen the vibrant and tenacious education happening in communities traditionally underserved by the formal education system. But as a result this book has aged poorly and doesn't offer anything that's not covered better elsewhere
A thought-provoking book. It is not a “thorough academic argument” in the sense of being filled with data & evidence. But it is an evocative essay that makes me want to learn more about certain aspects of his argument. I may not agree with everything he says, but I am thoroughly inspired.
I can’t recall what prompted me to pick up this book in the first place. It’s out of date, with a copyright of 1995, but in reading it, I am reminded that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The trends in education he discusses have only become exaggerated. The book is a bit all-over-the-place and doesn’t always seem to stick to the point. That said, his theme seems to be that public education must have a purpose, a narrative, a moral goal of sorts and that the modern gods of education (collectivism, technology, and economic utility) are insufficient purposes. If public education does not find a sufficient sustaining purpose, it will be supplanted by private education, subsumed by technology, or taken over by corporations. Public education must provide moral guidance, a sense of community, and explanation of the past, clarity to the present, and a sense of hope for the future. He’s less clear about how public education should do that.
Postman emphasizes that the thirst for absolute knowledge (which he means as something like dogmatism) is bad for education. But so too is the ethnic separatism that was being encouraged in the 90s and has only grown today. “Every school,” he writes, “save those ripped asunder by separatist ideology, tires to tell a story about America that will enable students to feel a sense of national pride. Students deserve that, and their parents expect it. The question is how to do this and yet avoid indifference, on the one hand, and a psychopathic nationalism, on the other….I propose, then, the story of America as an experiment, a perpetual and fascinating question mark.”
Almost tangentially, he proposes improving teaching by getting rid of all textbooks (this has more or less happened in my kids’ schools, and I don’t see that it has led to improvement in their educations) and by having science teachers teach English and history teachers teach math and such for an experimental period because they’ll have a better idea of what it’s like to be a student struggling to learn a subject if it’s not their subject. That’s a nice idea in theory but in practice it would probably be disastrous.
Postman emphasizes that the thirst for absolute knowledge (which he means as something like dogmatism) is bad for education. But so too is the ethnic separatism that was being encouraged in the 90s and has only grown today. “Every school,” he writes, “save those ripped asunder by separatist ideology, tires to tell a story about America that will enable students to feel a sense of national pride. Students deserve that, and their parents expect it. The question is how to do this and yet avoid indifference, on the one hand, and a psychopathic nationalism, on the other….I propose, then, the story of America as an experiment, a perpetual and fascinating question mark.”
Almost tangentially, he proposes improving teaching by getting rid of all textbooks (this has more or less happened in my kids’ schools, and I don’t see that it has led to improvement in their educations) and by having science teachers teach English and history teachers teach math and such for an experimental period because they’ll have a better idea of what it’s like to be a student struggling to learn a subject if it’s not their subject. That’s a nice idea in theory but in practice it would probably be disastrous.
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
This book starts with interesting ideas in the first part. The second part tends to get bogged down in ideas that don't have solid ground to land. Postman agrees at times he doesn't know how to implement his ideas, but he thinks they should.
I liked the way he approached technology and education. All the rest was, for me, just offering some goals for education. We have enough of these and those who are not supported by suggestions on how to implement them, go to the lower half of the list.
I liked the way he approached technology and education. All the rest was, for me, just offering some goals for education. We have enough of these and those who are not supported by suggestions on how to implement them, go to the lower half of the list.