Response to Mark Federman

Mark Federman’s argument is sound in my view. We are indeed “out of touch” and it is important for us to question “… the role of the educator in modern times.” I witness this “ubiquitous connectivity and pervasive proximity” everyday in my classroom, in the halls, and in the computer lab; particularly before they banned FaceBook. Banned FaceBook? Proof that we are indeed out of touch!
Apart from his overall argument I am interested in his references to the oral tradition. One of my goals as a teacher is to get students in touch with this concept, and enjoy storytelling. This is one of our units of study. What is fascinating is the amount careful planning, and almost acting that I have to go through to keep them engaged without a single object or tool; only my verbal and nonverbal communication. It makes me think that teachers today are so lucky because teaching when you have ‘stuff’ is much easier than teaching with no ‘stuff’. This then brings me to question why anyone would resist integrating technology in the classroom. With the Internet you have so much stuff that teaching is a breeze. And this actually goes back to the first point… the oral tradition. “No one reads anymore.” No, just like before. Bring the storytellers into the classroom. I listened to Federman, and also googled him at the same time. (that’s me multitasking) I found an article that he wrote, but I only read a few sentences… it is more interesting to listen.
Another issue that is of particular interest to me is the concept of mass media; Federman states that it has changed from “for the masses” to “by the masses.” This to me is the most powerful change in modern times because it has eliminated the gatekeepers. It is not the media conglomerates deciding who knows what. This I like.
Finally, this video presents us with an enormous challenge. We are tasked with teaching content and skills, but are supposed to be teaching “connections, contexts, complexity, and connotation” – the 4Cs – “that which remains.” How?