Rethinking 1

I have been reading this book a little at a time for some time and did underline certain specific sentences.  Bur, now that I know the assignment, I can try harder to be faecetious.   There are some real thought provoking ideas presented in this really biased book.  And, as a former associate editor of scientific journals, I feel confident about saying that the authors are biased and I must ask whether they ever really had their work edited professionally.  First, on page xiii they say, "The revolution is advancing globally, but America appears to be at the leading edge, just as it was during the democracy revolution.  We, Ugly Americans" are so full of it.  First, America includes all of the countries north and south of the U. S.  Second, there is no data to support their presumption.  Third, people make too much of a new tool.  It reminds me of traveling through Mexico (an American country) with cheap socket sets to wow local Mexican mechanics who had only open end wrenches.  Our new technologies are only new tools.  There is no so called  "revolution".  I see a movement promoted by relatively few.  My experience has been that most teachers and most students do not know how to use the new tools.  Students are less capable than we are often told.  I think I have been told that students are so far ahead of their teachers by teachers (and authors) who don't know what the students can really do, and/or who don't know how to do much themselves.  In the latter circumstance, teachers are misled because they don't take the time to watch what students really do on computers.

In another statement on page xiv, the authorts say, "Education is a life long enterprise, while schooling for most people encompasses only the years between 5 and 18 or 21".  What does that mean?  What about college?  Further, do the authors really believe that most people stop learning after high school?  I think they are looking down on people who have less formal education than they.  That seems so very scandanavian of them.  And, it demonstrates the problem that southern gentlemen call the "Yankee Attitude".

On page 3, the authors say, " People around the world are taking their education out of school into homes, libraries, Internet cafes, and workplaces, where they decide what they want to learn, when they want to learn, and how they want to learn.  So what is knew about this?  People have been conversing in taverns for centuries, serving apprenticeships and even reading books.  The Amish store in Westfield has this nice looking bottle of elixer for sale that has lots of health benefits, or so they (the Amish) say.  I think Cher sang about it and called it Dr, Good.  This nice thing about the electronic tool is that people don't have to look at, smell or directly talk to each other anymore.  Wow, what an advancement! 

On pager 8, the authors (YES, I CAN COUNT; THIS IS 4) say, "In this book, we appear neither as advocates nor opponents of the new technologies".  I say, "Look in the mirror; Ollie and Leana are laughing at you.