The Dumbest Generation Mark Bauerlein
Chapter 3: Screen Time
As the title of the chapter suggests, chapter three focuses on the amount of time "millennials" spend in front of a screen, be it TV, computer, etc. Bauerlein begins the chapter with a reference to an Apple Store at Lenox Square and ends the chapter with a discussion of Apple's marketing, which he argues pits computers vs. books. The major argument Bauerlein is making, and it is an argument that seems rather biased, is that print media and screen media are exclusive of one another and more importantly as consumers of this media, we cannot get the same thing from the two exclusive mediums.
With typical structure, Bauerlein begins by establishing that "millennials" do in fact spend time in front of the screen. He provides disturbing statistics that "One-third of the subjects (36 percent) reside in homes in which the television is on 'always' or 'most of the time''', and that "Half of the children occupy homes with three or more television sets in use, and 36 percent of them have one in their bedroom" (75). This leads to a discussion of parenting practices, including the tendency for parents to use the TV and/or the computer as a babysitter, and even more disturbing is the fact he quotes parents who believe it is acceptable because their children are learning (81). On page 77 Bauerlein gives a bulleted list of statistics: 84% of kids watch television on an average day, for an average of 3:04 hours; 54% use a computer for 48 minutes; 46% read a book for 23 minutes, etc. He totals the numbers to give a grand 295 minutes of screen time a day, which computes to 2,065 minutes per week.
In the middle of the chapter Bauerlein focuses on the research that he is arguing against. He looks at those who say the "millennials" have higher intelligence and those who argue all this screen time is a good thing. For instance, he quotes a paragraph from "The Net Generation in the Classroom," which ends with: "Raised amid a barrage of information, they [the millennials] are able to juggle a conversation on Instant Messenger, a Web-surfing session, an iTunes playlist while reading Twelfth Night for homework" (86). Bauerlein then quotes a question if students are understanding the finer points of the play or if they are merely just reading.
Bauerlein quotes an interesting study known as the Flynn Effect, which relates to IQ test scores and then proceeds to argue today's youth are not any more intelligent than others. The most interesting part about this section, for me at least, was his rant against the Apple marketing slogan that the laptop is "'The only books you'll need'' (99). Even as e-readers today are becoming more book like, Bauerlein deems books that are found in a digital format to be less worthy than those found in a library or a Barnes and Noble (99-100).
Calling on the likes of Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, and Ray Bradbury, Bauerlein ends the chapter with a quote from Billy Joy, a software programmer, who was quoted saying, "'I'm skeptical that any of this has anything to do with learning. It sounds like it's a lot of encapsulated entertainment....This all, for me, for high schools students sounds like a gigantic wast of time. If I was competing with the United States, I would love to have the students I'm competing with spend their time on this kind of crap'" (109). This "crap" is referring to the lengthy discussion of Web 2.0 tools on the "Read/Write Web." As this quote sums up, Bauerlein does not buy the research suggesting our students today are smarter, nor does he buy that Web 2.0 tools are any better than other tools in the classroom.
Personally, I'm still frustrated by the large amounts of statistics and the negative attitude. The part I was most frustrated by this week, however, was the discussion of print v. digital medium. Although I agree wholeheartedly that not everything on the web is perfect, in my small school there are almost zero print resources for my students to use and so digital sources are our main source of information. Also, I don't agree with Bauerlein that there is a difference between reading Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities while holding a paperback copy or while holding the latest e-reader. Just because I'm reading it digitally does not mean I'm losing any of the magic of Dickens. Lastly, the one part I did agree with him on was his discussion of Web 2.0 tools and I found the quote by Billy Joy to be interesting. I know for a fact my students are not "creators" on the web. When I tried introducing blogs at the beginning of the year I was met with moans and complaints rather than excitement at being able to create.
Sorry, I posted this in the wrong place the first time.
ReplyDeleteI too thought the comments about the IQ test scores were interesting. I can see how this could be true. Over the years we have continually reworked the standards. In some ways we have lowered the bar.
I appreciated Bauerlein's comment on the Kaiser report findings about leisure reading (p. 89). He reports that their findings show that the amount of leisure reading correlated with a students grades. More time spent reading correlated with higher grades while less time reading correlated with lower grades.
I too am feeling a little overwhelmed with the book's voluminious statistics and lack of an answer as to what to do to help. Hopefully that is still coming.
ReplyDeleteWhat I did find interesting about this chapter was the information retrieval model versus the knowledge formation model that seems to be prevalent among students now. It is something that I see daily in my library. The model that I refer to is found on page 94. "As an elementary school principal told me last year, when the fifth grade teachers assign a topic, the kids proceed like this: go to Google, type keywords, download three relevant sites, cut and paste passages into a new document, add transitions of their own, print it up and turn it in...the material passes from Web to homework paper without lodging in the minds of students." (Bauerlein 94 2008)
That is why it is important to rethink our assignment types to lead to better knowledge formation in a digital world. For example, we have a music teacher here who recently had her students create a powerpoint presentation on a country and its traditional music styles. However, that was not the end of the assignment. After they had created the presentation, they then had to teach a class about their country and it's culture and music. Having the students be the teacher focused them on their content a little more than just creating a Powerpoint or a paper and then turning it in for a grade.
I also found it intriguing that college teachers feel that success in higher education lies not in higher order thinking skills such as critical thinking, but in the basics of spelling, punctuation and arithmetic (110). I am still pondering how I feel about this assertion.
I can agree with all posts that I am overwhelmed with the amount of statistics that Bauerlein is throwing at us. He has made the point and I am ready for some answers as to how we are going to motivate the millenials to civics, history, and all the other subjects he suggests they are lacking.
ReplyDeleteI am finding the book easy to read and the information intriguing if nothing else. The most interesting thing I got from this section was the Flynn Effect he talked about on page 93: 'Children of 1932 by today's standards would be "deficient" and children of today's standards back in 1932 would be "very superior". Either America is now a nation of shining intellects, or it was then a nation of dolts.' lol
I don't quite agree with the information but I understand why he has to have so many mountains of statistics. I personally, as a millenial, would be quick to say "how do you come up with this" or "how can you say that". So he has to back up these statements or people would be quick to judge.
So now we know kids spend tons of time in front of the screen, and we know from his statistics that the scores are dropping, now what? I guess I will continue reading and find out what he suggests ;)
Reading about the link between leisure reading and grades makes me wonder why libraries and librarians are not valued more. Our middle school library has not had a full-time librarian for over 8 years. The library is opened several times a week by an aide for short periods.
ReplyDeleteThis book seems heavily skewed against technology. I wonder where the author is going next?