interesting article on hypersocializating in schools

[MSNative]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704746304574505643153518708.html#mod=todays_us_nonsub_pj

 

This article was a little shocking. Here are a few excerpts.

 

"Because so many people in their teens and early 20s are in this constant whir of socializing—accessible to each other every minute of the day via cellphone, instant messaging and social-networking Web sites—there are a host of new questions that need to be addressed in schools, in the workplace and at home. Chief among them: How much work can "hyper-socializing" students or employees really accomplish if they are holding multiple conversations with friends via text-messaging, or are obsessively checking Facebook"

 

 

"More schools are now allowing students to use their cellphones between classes, or even as a learning tool in the classroom. Some teachers are having students text their friends during classes to share feedback on what's being taught. The mantra among educators who try to be enlightened: It's no longer about attention span. It's about attention scope—being able to concentrate on many things at once."

 

 

 

 

So many things spring to mind. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this, too.

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Some teachers are having students text their friends during classes to share feedback on what's being taught. The mantra among educators who try to be enlightened: It's no longer about attention span. It's about attention scope—being able to concentrate on many things at once."

 

Nope. Nopety-nope. This is wrong in so many ways.

 

So if you're distractible when you're 5 years old in Kinder, you probably need Ritalin so you can stay still :rolleyes: but if you're 17 and distractible in Chemistry, they're encouraging it or give up? Some are making the latter choice, according to the final quote in the story. "Steve Gallagher is finding it futile to argue with his students that they should go a seven-hour school day without their texting devices. As he explains: "It's like talking to kids about why they don't need air." Way to keep a spine.

Edited November 5, 2009 by Alte Veste Academy

[elw_miller]

"It's no longer about attention span. It's about attention scope—being able to concentrate on many things at once."

 

Thanks for sharing this article!

 

I think the teachers who want to embrace texting and want to emphasize "attention scope" are unaware of the drawbacks.

 

"It is also what makes multitasking a poor long-term strategy for learning. ...task-switching leads to time lost as the brain determines which task to perform...his research has also found that multitasking contributes to the release of stress hormones and adrenaline, which can cause long-term health problems if not controlled, and contributes to the loss of short-term memory." http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-myth-of-multitasking

 

 

Multi-tasking and texting and the constant interruptions from all kinds of technology could also lead to shallow thinking, poor introspection, and poor comprehension of not only a single subject but the interconnection of related and disparate subjects.

 

 

The book Endangered Minds by Jane Healy also examines this issue.

[Impish]

One thing that jumped out at me and has me completely shaking my head is that the article is putting the onus on workplaces and schools to change to permit texting. What the Hades ever happened to the word 'no'? Seriously! Why should the schools or employers change to accommodate teens that are unable to focus and do the work without their dang cell phones?

 

Completely ridiculous, and simply more of the 'me me me' entitlement crapola that is a HUGE problem in North American society.

 

I suppose that the laws should change to permit texting and driving too? This despite many places are now bringing in laws to forbid driving and calling. :glare:

 

Article is complete garbage, imo.

[IsabelC]

I am a luddite on this issue. If I had a school there would be no mobiles in it. As a home educator, I will probably not be buying my kids mobiles or letting them be on the computer for hours on end (hypocrite much, considering the time I spend online! But I'm working on it). When I was at school there was one phone for all the students. I had 40c in my bag in case I ever needed to make a phone call. I don't really see a lot of benefits of kids having mobiles at all, let alone chatting about their school work via text messages.

[Heather in Neverland]

One thing that jumped out at me and has me completely shaking my head is that the article is putting the onus on workplaces and schools to change to permit texting. What the Hades ever happened to the word 'no'? Seriously! Why should the schools or employers change to accommodate teens that are unable to focus and do the work without their dang cell phones?

 

Completely ridiculous, and simply more of the 'me me me' entitlement crapola that is a HUGE problem in North American society.

 

I suppose that the laws should change to permit texting and driving too? This despite many places are now bringing in laws to forbid driving and calling. :glare:

 

Article is complete garbage, imo.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

My, my...WHATEVER did WE do all those years without texting and twittering and facebook and cell phones. How did we EVER make it through all those years of school without it?????

 

:ack2: and :thumbdown: and :banghead:

[Elizabeth Conley]

Multi-tasking is scatter-brained.

 

Sometimes we have to do it, but it's not ideal when we're trying to be creative, meticulous, or sensitive to the needs of others. The things in life that are most worth doing should be done whole heartedly and single-mindedly.

[dangermom]

If we spend all our time multi-tasking and hopping around, I think we'll be in big trouble. Someone has to say, "That's great that you can do 10 things at once. Now let's see if you can learn to pay close attention to 1 thing for an hour; that's another skill you need in life."

 

The ability to think deeply and carefully about something is harder to develop anyway, even without texting; now that we are so 'hyper-socialized' I'm worried that it's going to almost die out. I know that while I love the Internet, my attention span is shorter than it used to be, and I have to work at concentrating on one thing at a time. (And I'm 36, I didn't meet the web until college.)

 

So my conclusion is that schools should be standing firm on this and saying "This is a skill you need to learn, and school is where you should learn it." Texting, multi-tasking, jumping around--that stuff is easy. Concentration is hard and has to be learned.