I am once again baffled by the ignorance and autopilot tendency we have demonstrated in our culture in recent decades. This overreliance on "the machine" to diagnose and give weight to ideas, rather than thinking it through ourselves. I want to reflect on the quote by Postman regarding this issue:
"One might even say that an intelligence test is a tale told by an expert, signifiying nothing." We all know that there is more to a person's intelligence than what a test can possible identify or reflect, yet, we often allow these things to carry more weight than they should in our views or understanding of something. Ex. Political polls- Numbers mean everything, despite their limitations to reflect the views of the voters polled (machine = reliable person = untrustworthy)
The examples of the medical arena in the U.S. versus other countries in the use of tests and surgeries to identify the threat and conquer, much like we do in other areas of society has left us creating more problems as we "solve" others. The author stated that the doctors are no longer using technology, but technology is using them.
I am reminded of the “autopilot” (reflected on in my post on chapters 3 and 4) that has become so prevelant in our students when they access
information online. We have to be the regulators training them with
discernment, not simply limiting the info they access. “Teaching
how to fish”, rather than simply “feeding them” idea. In reference to "A Whole New Mind", we need to pay more attention to the story behind the data and not assume that because information came from a machine that it is "truth" in itself with no other factors involved. It is encouraging to find that medical schools, as well as other fields of study, are looking at the value of the story being the stats. Hopefully, we are learning a little something, as a culture, about not just the benefits, but the limitations of the machines we use.
Great thoughts Lisa, I also found the comparison between the US and other countries' medical cultures both fascinating and disturbing! Although, as notes, I am beginning to see a change. I've had a great doctor for the last few years who genuinely does listen without interrupting- I've probably gone on for 4-5 minutes, unlike the 23-27 second interruptions described in the reading, But I wonder, do we as educators have the same tendencies?
ReplyDeleteDo we really listen when a student tells us that they are struggling, why they need more times, etc.? Or do we quickly make a decision to finish out grades or the unit we are one? I think this look at the medical world could just as easily be a look at the educational world.
Julie--you ask a really good question about if we are listening to our students. When I read that question, I didn't first think about the grades or the unit , but about students who find us as teachers to be a "safe place" to share their struggles. Are we being available to them or are we just in it to complete the paperwork and the IRPs and meet the standards? Hopefully not, but it does take the extra time. Postman talked about how doctors are paid/reimbursed based on solving the problems, diagnosing something, or running tests, so that they are not taking the extra time to listen to their patients. I hope we as teachers, especially as Christian teachers, are taking the extra time to listen to our students. What a good question to reflect on in our own practice!
DeleteJulie, I have noticed the same shift bringing my kiddos to the doctor. Our g.p. is much more attentive than some doctors I have gone to in the past. I am challenged in the same way, to take the time needed to help each student meet the end goal in whatever way we need to, either with additional assistance, a variation of the task, or more time to complete it. Great question to comtinue to think about! Thanks!
DeleteI hope so too! I think that it is more difficult to discern the truth when there are so many places to look. I have to believe, though, that God is greater than all the information out there. Truth is still truth and His Spirit can point the way through any maze of information. We have to continue to let hIm guide us through our day and through the overload of technology.
ReplyDeleteI liked your comment about the test numbers--how important they are in things like poll numbers. Kind of along that line, I know that our school has struggled with assigning grades and have worked hard on rubrics to give a good representation of why a grade was assigned. The comment often comes up about how we would be assigned a grade and is that part of how God sees us. And then that leads to the discussion about teaching students how to keep God's view of them in perspective as they go about their school career. While I think numbers do signify {something}, they don't encompass ALL of who a student is--or who we are. But still a good example how we function under a "technical" system that the government requires, whether grading is accurate or true or representative of what an individual can actually do or not.
ReplyDeleteSusan, Thanks for your thoughts about keeping "grade pressure" in perspective. Grades have been a real uggh for me, as I want to tell my students more than a simple grade represents. I want my students to learn for the purpose of better understanding God's world. Like you, I love using rubrics for the students to know my expectations ahead of time, and for after when not only I assess, but they assess their work, too. I wonder how we can make our report cards reflect more about what the students have actually learned, rather than a percentage and a brief comment? Does your school do something more than the traditional report card?
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