An article titled Is It Just Us, Or Are Our Kids Getting Really Stupid raises questions and eyebrows. The article claims that with the current surge of technology and supposedly diminishing quality in America's education, our generation is becoming "really stupid". The author of the article makes bold claims that a lot of kids these days can't use rulers, don't know who we fought in WWII, and do not know the days of the week. The fact is that this is simply untrue. Many others have commented on this article with cited proof (the kind of proof this article fails to back itself up with) about how technology actually helps kids learn faster and more efficiently. Merely surfing the web has proven to high the reading and writing skills in students (Source: Jackson, L.A, von Eye, A., & Biocca, F.A. 2003. First Latin American Web Congress), according to one comment. Anyway, there were many issues I had with this article in regards to support, tone, but especially integrity. This may just be me, but I question anyone willing to publicly use their own child as an example to prove their point about these decreasing IQs amongst the young generations. If your child is in high school and having issues memorizing the days of the week, the public education system is probably not the source of the problem. To me, this sounds like a very radical claim from an older generation having problems coming to terms with the changing world. I read this article and get a lot of scary facts, that at a first glance can stir up readers into a panic about how the world effects their children. However in my opinion, the lack of solid evidence robs the author any real credibility.
-Arlen
What you and many of your colleagues been noting is that the author lacks evidence. Yes, it is an essay, but to make an argument strong, have supporting evidence.
ReplyDeleteI do not have supporting facts to support my next statement, but it seems that passing over opinion as fact is being seen more and more in the media. What sort of lesson does that give if that is true. For me, it is important that that the author and all of us be open to new information, release dichotomy, and be willing to change.