One of the chapters in Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman is “Teaching as an Amusing Activity”. In this chapter, Postman claims that televised education takes a more entertaining approach to learning. For example, the show Sesame Street consists of a variety of puppets who often engage in music while giving educational lessons. As a result, televised education has set the unrealistic expectation that learning should always be fun. Viewers of educational shows on TV compare visual learning with the learning in a classroom environment. Like other factors in television, this case also causes viewers to seek out entertainment. Postman states that televised learning lacks the complexity of standard education taught by real-life teachers. Although I agree with this statement, I think that the idea of having education being entertaining shouldn’t be entirely rejected. For example, I’m sure many of you have had experiences in school where you learned a concept or idea through a song. I recall learning about political documents and history through a catchy song which was not only more entertaining than simply reading it, but also facilitated memorization. Furthermore, I think incorporating entertaining elements to education would cause people to take more interest in what they are learning and actually participate, opposed to being bored and not paying attention. I am not proposing that education should ALWAYS be entertaining or that it should be required in schools, but there should at least be some entertaining material included in some cases.
However, I would like to know your perspective on this concept. Can learning which is carried out to be entertaining be more effective than standard education given at schools(Such as in retaining information)? Should teachers start to make changes on how they teach to accommodate to students' interests or preferences(To increase engagement in classroom activities)? Or, on the other hand, should teachers continue to educate students like they always have?
However, I would like to know your perspective on this concept. Can learning which is carried out to be entertaining be more effective than standard education given at schools(Such as in retaining information)? Should teachers start to make changes on how they teach to accommodate to students' interests or preferences(To increase engagement in classroom activities)? Or, on the other hand, should teachers continue to educate students like they always have?
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ReplyDeleteHaving a more entertaining strategy to learn is a very efficient way to retain ideas and lessons however, I do believe that there's a reason on why these more entertaining approaches in education aren't suggested in a regular High-School to Middle-School basis. As you mentioned, the author claimed how televised learning lacks the complexity of standard education taught by real-life teachers. This is indeed true considering as students grow then they are expected to learn a larger variety of things at a much faster pace than in comparison to elementary. Sesame Street is a children's show that helps younger viewers learn the basics such as the alphabet, numbers, and arts. Since younger audiences are only required to learn a small amount of things due to a less developed brain, it's okay for them to learn through entertaining ways because there isn't a variety of information they are in need of learning at this point in age. When it comes to Middle and High school, this form of education isn't as beneficial because we are expected to learn more and retain it at a fast enough rate for when tested on it. Furthermore, many complex ideas cannot be discussed through songs, and even if they could, many students might not enjoy this form of education especially if they don't like music or new circumstances to learning the song that ends up making them feel pressured and begin to hate music. Overall, an entertaining form of education is better off where it is now, with a more younger audience who have a shorter attention span and less subjects they need to learn rather than for a Middle to High school student with several subjects and complex ideas from mathematics, literature, history, etc.
ReplyDeleteProper education is vital to preparing a generation for life. An education system that does not suitably teach students generates a body of people who are detrimental to society. Many of us grew up with entertaining education and can testify to the ill effects of such a system. Teachers attempted to make their classrooms fun rather than informative. As Postman believes, students must forfeit the comfort of entertainment to learn. This exchange for knowledge is necessary to obtain a proper education. What a student learns should affect their actions and, in extension, their consumption of entertainment. However, the consumption of entertainment has affected what students learn and how they learn. The intentions of incorporating entertainment in the education system are honorable, but those methods have led to students losing key topic points. Moving forward, the education system should reduce the involvement of entertainment in teaching techniques.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that an entertaining strategy for education is only beneficial to some and I think it only works for certain topics. For example, not everyone enjoys music and having to learn from it would be difficult. I also believe it would become repetitive and over time, learning a new song for many things would become boring. I could see us using a song or entertainment for school being effective, but only for simple and short topics. Also, if we, more often, learned through an “entertaining strategy” then overtime it would lose its fun. Additionally, a concept that is difficult may not be expressed fully through a song and kids/ teens may only learn briefly about it. Therefore, I believe learning that is carried out to be entertaining isn't as effective as standard education. Education should remain as it is because we are already familiar with it and changing it would lead to the fun being used so much, that it would end up losing its purpose.
I agree that incorporating entertaining elements to education would cause people to take more interest in what they are learning and actually participate, as well. I believe learning which is meant to be entertaining can be more effective than standard education given at schools, but to a certain extent. Learning short songs or phrases has helped me in the past to remember certain concepts, but there’s only so much you can learn through song. You can’t learn an entire chapter about a topic in a song or any other entertaining way, but learning a small portion of it would help. Teachers should make minor changes to the way they teach to accommodate students' interests if they realize that students are increasingly becoming more engaged. However, I don’t think teachers should completely change the way they teach because students need to realize that this way of learning will only help them with so much. Also, every student is different so they might not like a new change to the way they learn.
ReplyDeleteEntertaining elements that are implemented into learning can be helpful but to a certain extent. There is only so much information that can be inserted into a song, a phrase, or a game. I believe that learning that is entertaining can be easier to retain, but some people may disagree. Everyone has their own personal preference on how they like to learn, just like teachers have their own way of teaching. Most teachers I've had have implemented an entertaining strategy here and there while learning certain topics, and it has helped. I believe that students would start to complain if all their learning was entertaining because there are a lot of students that prefer the current education system. Teachers should make slight changes to accommodate students' preferences, but then again they can't please them all.
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