tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post485338437129480327..comments2024-03-26T04:19:38.862-07:00Comments on kitchen table math, the sequel: If your child's curriculum is Google, this may be whyCatherine Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-15965357473968071182015-04-07T13:27:52.131-07:002015-04-07T13:27:52.131-07:00I remember the same thing about encyclopedias, but...I remember the same thing about encyclopedias, but the encyclopedia problem was not as bad, because the schools weren't using them to promote the theory that since encyclopedia ownership was approaching universal, fact learning had become passe.<br /><br />There is no doubt that the ability to interpret what you read is crucial (and frequently underdeveloped), but you analyze what you read using what you have in your head. An existing in-head infrastructure of organized, basic facts is a necessary, though not sufficient, prerequisite for skilled interpretation of new information.<br /><br />By deprecating such things as memorization of the times table, historical dates, or the location of all US states on a map, along with intentional fact learning in general, "educators" are decreasing students' ability to interpret, evaluate, and "think critically" about what they encounter online.Glennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-88125817307695273652015-04-07T05:34:57.042-07:002015-04-07T05:34:57.042-07:00Back in my day, we had encyclopedias which were ju...Back in my day, we had encyclopedias which were just as bad. I can remember lots of kids just copied verbatim from random encyclopedia articles rather than bother to write a real paper. The problem, as gasstation says, is that students aren't taught to read and analyze.Froggiemamanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-72353913000008251092015-04-06T02:46:17.969-07:002015-04-06T02:46:17.969-07:00"they grew up in a more enlightened time when..."they grew up in a more enlightened time when you could focus on critical thinking about the world without the tedious prerequisite of memorizing boring, old facts."<br /><br />It must be wonderful to think critically about things that one knows nothing about, not even that they exist.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-40318333206448340652015-04-05T12:42:15.307-07:002015-04-05T12:42:15.307-07:00If even with Google high school kids are having tr...If even with Google high school kids are having trouble finding an image of the state flag of New Orleans or locating Peruvia for a school report on their favorite kind of Mexican food, it could be that they grew up in a more enlightened time when you could focus on critical thinking about the world without the tedious prerequisite of memorizing boring, old facts.Glennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-57383624885192793942015-04-04T12:06:57.895-07:002015-04-04T12:06:57.895-07:00I wouldn't mind schools relying on Google as a...I wouldn't mind schools relying on Google as a source of information so much, if they taught kids how to search and how to validate what they find.<br /><br />My experience with college students is that most are very bad at searching, and that they often can't interpret what they find on the web.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com