1301 ENGL
Argumentative Essay
Traditional methods of education, with schools emphasizing reading and writing and a balance of technology and real books, ensure that individual personality and societal relations will not be lost. Technology alone has the ability to take away our human relationships and our sense of self. Yet, technology is necessary in order for humans to continue to grow. Schools, real books and a balance of technology will ensure that modern students socialize, obtain experience with life, and retain the necessary skills of reading and writing. The Disciples belief in the traditional method of education is absolutely the correct approach. With this belief, the Disciples will be the faction to endure for many centuries.
Reading and writing are skills that should always be taught even if computers can perform them. Advancements in technology can only be made by person who read and write, as there are programs and instructions that must be created. Thus, reading and writing will be necessary even with the highest forms of social media and technology. If schools were to cease teaching these skills, it is likely that technology would not advance so rapidly. Discontinuing the teaching of reading and writing also could be detrimental if technology would one day fail.
Reading and writing are important schools that should continue to be taught in schools. Teaching in a school environment is important to students as it provides the opportunity to learn social skills. When we attend schools, we sit in a classroom among others and are taught subjects of various matters. We interact with the teacher and our fellow students. This interaction is important as we learn vital social skills. We learn respect and patience, among other things. In kindergarten, we learn not to speak out of turn and not to speak over someone else. If there were no interactions with other human beings, we would lose our ability to communicate and socialize, and this could lead to the disappearance of society as we know it.
Technology is beneficial, however, there must be balance and not an overload. Technology has benefited our society by giving us the ability to discover things we could not previously discover. . Technology has allowed and will continue to allow us to increase our knowledge. Without technology, it is likely that many advances made in science would not been made. Yet, there must be some limits in our reliance on technology. We could not survive as human beings, nor as a society, if all interactions became electronic. Too much technology could place us in a large “media bubble,” where superficial relationships are created and emotional contact is limited. Being absorbed in technology could potentially lead to the loss of our sense of self, and we could become robotic.
The use of the traditional methods of education will give the Disciples the ability to survive for many centuries. Reading and writing will remain a skill that must be learned in order to continue advancements in technology and to ensure that there will always be a back-up. Providing a school learning environment will ensure that children learn the necessary social skills needed to live in a healthy society. And, keeping a balance in the use of technology prevents the disappearance of humanity. This is the correct belief and the disciples are “write” on.
Annotated Bibliography
Turkle, Shirley. "Connectivity and Its Disontents." Media and Society. n.d. 235-239.
In Turkle’s essay, she discusses how technology has affected the way in which we communicate. Technology initially allowed us to continue with our overworked and overscheduled lives. It provides more rapid communication yet it removes the intimacy of communication. She provided examples in her essays about a woman who skypes a relative and does other tasks at the same time, about a man attending a conference where everyone is present but not present and about teenagers who are physically attached to their smartphones and about a sister who notified her family about her marriage via email. She describes the advancement and profound use of technology as a media bubble where we are intimate with the air rather than the person we are speaking to. We lose our sense of self and our relationships become simplified. She concludes by asking if this is what sort of emotional life we really want to live. I used this article in my essay because Turkle explains very smoothly how technology has taken away our sense of self and the want and ability to truly interrelate with one another.
Pinker, Steven. "Mind Over Mass Media." The New York Times 10 June 2010.
Pinker suggests in his article that the panic over the increased use of technology today is only a phase as all media creations brought about panic. He indicates that the increased technologies have allowed for an increase in the quality of science and discoveries and an increase in knowledge. He claims that media critics are wrong in their assessments and that the advancement in technology has been more beneficial than harmful. I chose this article because it claims that technology is beneficial to our society but there is still a need for schools.
Introduction: Traditional methods of education, with schools emphasizing reading and writing and a balance of technology and real books, ensure that individual personality and societal relations will not be lost.
Thesis: The Disciples belief in the traditional method of education is absolutely the correct approach.
Reading and writing are skills that should always be taught even if computers can perform them. Necessary to create future programs in technology. Without it, cease to advance. Technology may be disabled and reading and writing will then be needed.
Teaching in a school environment is important to students as it provides the opportunity to learn social skills.
Technology is beneficial, however, there must be balance and not an overload. Increases our knowledge but creates superficial relationships.
Conclusion: The use of the traditional methods of education will give the Disciples the ability to survive for many centuries. This is the correct belief and the disciples are “write” on.
References
Pinker, Steven. "Mind Over Mass Media." The New York Times 10 June 2010.
Turkle, Shirley. "Connectivity and Its Disontents." Media and Society. n.d. 235-239.
