Digital Natives: Myth or Fact

Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Mark Prensky, author of "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" doesn't seem to think so. However, Nathan Bierma brings up some valid points of research that give us an opposing view in "Digital Natives: Myth or Fact". As far was creating an argument, this is an excellent article. I tend to agree with Mr. Prensky in that as a whole, my generation IS more techno savvy than that of past generations. On the other hand I believe that it is because of nurture not nature as Mr. Bierma claims.

P: His purpose was to offer the reader an opposing view point to "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants".
T: His topics included a range of arguments either proving or disproving points brought up by Mark Prensky.
I: Not all the claims made in "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants", such as teachers being replaced, are REALLY happening.
C: The subject is not as cut and dry as originally presented.

The Chase

Childhood excitement was brought to the surface of my mind by "The Chase" by Annie Dillard. The way she explained and told about the exhilarating chase brought to my mind the times I felt that thrill. Getting away with something rotten was the best thing my young mind could come up with in the realm of accomplishments. Spying was my personal favorite and would I sneak about hearing things that I'm sure weren't as sensitive as I once thought. But just knowing it was worth it.

P: The purpose of sharing her beloved experience was why she shared what she did.
T: Her topic is of a long chase resulting from her mischief.
I: The only issue is "was it worth it?".
C: She concludes that the excitement she felt from running away was worth any trouble she got in.

Understanding Our Digital Kids

I will agree that there are problems that come with this new digital but not enough to outweigh the advantages it brings. The article "Understanding Our Digital Kids" by Adam D. Thierer was able to point out and expound on a book that goes into the subject.

P: His purpose is to inform parents and other adults that are involved with the "always on, always connected" generation that there are sources of help on how to connect with the kids.
T: He spoke of some things suggested by other authors on the subject from both viewpoints.
I: He brought up the point of how involved the teachers and parents should and need to be in monitoring the "always on, always connected" generation.
C: The only conclusion I could find was that he recommends a source to find our own answers.

Can You Hear Me Now?

"Can You Hear Me Now?" by Sherry Turkle was a very insightful take on the social issues facing our society today. I have seen what she means about the constant attachment that we all seem to have to a virtual world in varying extremities. My father does business internationally and I have had the opportunity to rub shoulders with some very successful business people. I'm not even sure some of them knew our shoulders touched. There is a disconnect. I have been on the other end as well. I have been disconnected. I am trying not to be anymore though.

P: The purpose of this article was to direct our attention to the great disconnect our society is undergoing.
T: She named and explained various ways she has seen people focus on a virtual connection over a personal on.
I: The main issue is the debate of whether the positives of a virtual connection outweigh the negatives.
C: I felt that she didn't make a certain conclusion but left it up to us to resolve the issue on our own. I feel that like with most things, zealotry is not the answer. We all have to find a balance.

Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome

I love being able to think for myself. I have an opinion on almost everything and if I don't have an opinion right now I will probably get one. I was blessed to have parents and a few teachers who encouraged me to develop a system where I could think for myself and develop ideas on my own. The points brought up in Thomas G. Plummers "Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome" have all at some point been a practice I have engaged in. Now that a clear cut system has been presented to me, I plan on adopting all of them in a more complete way.
P: His purpose was to inform us of the importance of thinking for ourselves and how to do that.
T: He shared ways to break free from the "Ophelia Syndrome " and learn to think for ourselves.
I: The issue is that the things suggested are essentially individualistic and that we must do what works for us.
C: There are ways to think for ourselves but it will require certain things of us.

This I Believe

                I believe in the power of family. My faith in this concept of family comes from my own family, and the way we handled Robert. Robert is the 5^th of 7 children in my family. I was 7 years old when Robert was born. My brother Andy was 5 and my twin sisters Jamie and Jennifer were 3. We were close before Robert came. We would have been close if he never came. But he came, and because he came, we are close. Robert was born on February 12 with a rare condition called arthrogryposis. He says he kind of looks like a ventriloquist dummy. The night he was born was not one we thought would end well. An emergency c section, a name and a blessing from a loving father, goodbyes from crying siblings and a long wait for a newborn to return to his maker. The wait was too long. Long enough for the doctors to take back their prediction of death and cause a flurry of activity to keep this tenacious fellow with us just a little longer.

                The weeks, months, and years that followed were stressful. Life flights to Primary Children’s Hospital were a regular thing. Aunts and uncles stepping up to be there when my parents couldn't  a grandpa that went to work inventing contraptions that would allow his grandson to participate, a father who would bow hunt with a backpack so that his son could go, older brothers who teased him because he’s normal, younger brothers who wrestled their fragile older brother because that’s just how he is, a mother who’s time suddenly wasn’t so much her own, and the list goes on and on. THIS is the power of family.

Just for the sake of understanding, Robert is all there mentally. In fact some might say he’s smart. Just don’t tell him that. It will go to his head. He’s 13 years old now, loves the Steelers and Clippers, drives a wheelchair with his head and really talks a lot of trash. I am close to him because, in my family, we choose to be. I have been a part of some special things because Robert was born the way he was. He’s my friend and brother and why I KNOW there is power in family. 

My Governing Values

I made my list of governing values by listing all the things that are important to me and things I feel I am or want to be. I then tried my best to categorize them for organizations sake. I feel that what I have here is pretty close to how I feel. This is me.

Knowing things/talents. I like knowing things. I like being able to participate in any conversation about anything with anyone. I love reading so that helps. I always have a book that I am reading whether for entertainment or for educating myself. Trivia games and finding why things are connected are great fun. I like being good at things. I recognize that I can do a lot of things and I know its my job to be able to do them well. Music is important to me and I take time to develop that talent every day.

Loyalty. Loyalty is a huge thing for me. I give it to a select few and I expect it in return. Because I am so big on loyalty I find it hard to let people in close without spreading myself too thin. As I’ve thought about it I have created “circles” in my mind and those within the tightest circles have my purest loyalty. God, Family, and Friends all have a place on some circle.

                I am loyal to my God and I know He is loyal to me. Our conversations are real and important as he gives me a much needed sense of peace in addition to advice given through His spirit. I pray often, I seek out answers to lifes problems in His word, and I will always be willing to stand for Him.

                My family gets a level of loyalty comparable to my Heavenly Fathers. Being close to my family is VERY important to me. I make an effort to know and have a relationship with each of my siblings and parents. Ive also been blessed with an extended family whose support and love I can share in. Regardless of their choices they will have my love and support for the good they do. This first circle consisting of my God and my family is the tightest.

                My friends are right after that. I have only a few people I count as friends where sharing openly is expected both ways. Quite frankly I’m not all that interested in finding new ones. I know who they are and I hope they know too. Its always sad when a friend decides to leave or betray a trust but until that happens I know where I stand and that is behind them.

Self honesty. I love self evaluation. I love knowing why I do what I do. Having self control is big. I honestly believe that you cant control anything if you cannot control yourself. I want everything I do to be my choice. Self control is big for that and self honesty is the only way to get there. I like what I like because I like it. I try not to let anything besides an honest test decide if I like something. Whether its music and movies, to clothing styles and food. I like it because I like it.

Perfection. I believe things should be done right. High standards mean high performance. I have high standards for myself AND for others. Like I mentioned earlier I like being good at things and love having success. I plan on being successful.

Reputation. My reputation is something I give a high value. A false reputation isn’t good enough either. I really want to be worthy of a high reputation. I am unique. I will be known as unique. I don’t try to imitate but I can tell when there are examples worthy of following but I won’t blindly follow. I intend to believe in what I’m doing and how I do it.

Logic. I love logic. I love when things fit together. I have a hard time letting something go when it logically doesn’t fit. That being said I recognize that emotions are real and powerful, but logic is  my go to response.

Creativity. It seems as if this one and logic would be at odds but I seem to have found a happy medium where I am comfortable. In my opinion, creating things is why we are on this Earth. Learning to be creators. I know of nothing more fulfilling that making something out of nothing. Story telling, problem solving, music, art and many other parts of my life are enhanced by creativity. I love it.

I really loved this piece by Hyrum W. Smith called “Your Governing Values are the Foundation of Personal Fulfillment”. I really enjoy things like this where you do self assessment and really think about how and why you tick the way you do. I tried to organize the things that are important to me into topics and sub topics within those. Some fit better than others for sure but this list is what I could narrow it down to.

P: He wants us to find our personal governing values because it will make our lives better.

T: He shared stories that proved this method is effective and useful.

I: He made the point that when we don’t know our values we don’t really know who we are.

C: He concludes that when we find and strive for these values we will be more fulfilled.

Learning to Love Learning

Learning to love learning.

This article by David A. Bednar was very insightful. His pleas to students to take their learning seriously and to truly learn to love the process was great. I personally like to learn and so a lot of the things he said already had a home in my mind and heart.

P: His purpose was to convince us that loving learning is important

T: He spent a majority of his time explaining ways that learning is important.

I: He pointed out that there aren’t enough people learning as they ought to.

C: His conclusion was that we must shoulder the gift/responsibility we have of getting an education and take it seriously.

Everyone is Ignorant

So I was assigned to read an interesting bit of reading in my English class called "Everybody is Ignorant, Only on Different Subjects" by Eliot A. Butler. It rang true in a lot of ways for me and called me back down to Earth in some ways. I simply don't know enough about ANYTHING right now. Shocking I know.

P: His purpose was to encourage us to recognize and eliminate ignorance in ourselves.

T: He discussed ways that we are ignorant and how we can change that.

I: The main issue addressed was that we are all ignorant but most of us don't know it.

C: In the end the only cure for this is to actively pursue understanding.