I spent much of this past week waiting and
praying with my sister, that her husband would be healed from a
cardiac arrest. As my heart rejoices now, that he has miraculously
come back to us, it seems rather trivial to think about any non-life
or death issues. However, in reflecting on the events of the week, I
was reminded about the blessings that technology can bring to a
situation like we experienced with my brother-in-law. Through
CaringBridge, we were able to quickly and accurately inform so many
loved ones about what happened and had hundreds of people praying
within the first 24 hours. While it was important for those closest
to my sister and her husband to be there in person, so many people
were able to reach out virtually to encourage and lift them up.
In regard to the final chapter of
Technopoly, I want to focus on what Postman says about discernment.
I can agree with the author in his view
that we have to look at the source of all information out there, as
well as the purpose for any technology tools used. I like how he put
it... “...it may or may not be life-enhancing...requiring scrutiny,
criticism, and control.” I also appreciated that he brought to
light the importance not to confuse information for understanding. He
also cautioned his readers to identify the sacred versus profane as
well as not giving too much “power” to technology as the “highest
form of human intelligence”.
He wrote a lot about what he would like
to see in education to counteract the technology focus in our
culture. I liked what he said about the value of error and disproof,
knowing what our beliefs/views are in relation to the information we
are taking in, focusing on learning from the past, and teaching them
content and skills that foster sensibilities they may not be
experiencing outside of school, as long as it can be applied
positively to the students' lives in some way.
Postman asks the question, “What can
an individual do irrespective of what the culture is doing, and what
can the culture do irrespective of the individual?” Maybe we CAN
learn from the mistakes already experienced in relation to technology
in its overuse and misuse in our society. Maybe we CAN shift the
culture...We are in a very influential position, as educators, to be
a voice for responsible use of technology to our students and society
as a whole. There will always be abuses of any system or advancement
in our sinful world. We can often feel like our small voice can't
make a difference, whether politically, socially, or whatever, but
we have to remember what a mighty God we serve. Through prayer and
the passion of other believers along side of us, we can choose to be
“optimistic skeptics” as far as technology is concerned, and
teach this to the next generation.
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