I was in the grocery store last week, and I was reminded just how dependent we have become on computers in our lives. I'm old enough to remember when a cashier at the grocery store hit keys on a cash register to ring up the cost of the items. Each item was marked with a price rather than a zebra stripe.
If the electricity went out, they "rang" you up by hand, and you went on about your business. These days, if the computer is malfunctioning, or if the electricity goes off, you're out of luck. No sale. There is nothing they can do to make a sale.
Kids who work at McDonald's press a button with the name of the item you are ordering, and the machine tells them the cost, and the change due. They hand it to you in a wad, rather than counting the change into your hand.
Those are two of thousands of examples of how dependent we have become upon computers in our life. I am concerned, VERY concerned, that we have created a generation of kids who will not know how to return to the basics to manage life, if computers should not be available to us.
Here's another "old fogy" thought. We encourage young kids to learn new math where they skip basic steps that were required to achieve answers to math problems. That's like asking a baby to go from crawling to running, skipping walking.
What's happened to the basics? Winton Marsalis was trained in the Classics before he became a famous jazz musician. He learned key signatures and chord progressions before he departed from them. He has an incredible foundation on which to build his art. And it's that type of foundation this generation seems to be missing.
Our children are skipping steps. We are encouraged to make school "fun" for them. Bring in the glitz and ditch the basics. But look at the results. If the electricity goes out, what can they accomplish for themselves? Is it not possible to make school fun without being computer dependent?
Those schools which still give a student a foundation in the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic and science are to be praised, because those students MIGHT be able to go on to lead productive lives if computers should suddenly disappear. All it takes is one low level nuclear explosion to put all those electronics out of commission. Yes, probably it would take the populace, too, but those few who are left need to be self sufficient.
I'm addicted to my computer. I use it in dozens of ways every day. I produce more information now than I did prior to working on the computer. Probably, my company only needs one clerical person because I can do so much on the computer. But, my training is in basic accounting, using the double entry method. If I had to, I could easily go back to the paper and pencil method, and we would go on.
I have probably more than 100 cook books. If I couldn't do a quick surf on the Internet for a recipe, I could probably find one that might work on my own bookshelves. Baring that, I could go to the library and look one up, or call one of my sisters.
I worry that the next generation is loosing the ability to resolve problems. I want to see grade school students who can solve math problems without a calculator, who can spell, and who can write legibly. I want to see students who can create complete sentences without slang. I want to see high school students who graduate with the basics in science, so that they can understand why global warming could be an issue, and why alternative energy sources are important, for other than political reasons.
We need to teach kids to make the best use of computers and electronics, but give them the basics first!
Comments (5)
Yep.
But it's not just computers is it?
How many people are going to be able to cook from scratch, or sew etc etc etc in the near future?
Scary.
Posted by Blue Witch | May 16, 2005 6:13 AM
Posted on May 16, 2005 06:13
Yes, in this computer dependent society, no one thinks of contingency plans when the computers or the power goes out.
Every store should have kept one old register for times such as these.
Posted by Susan | May 16, 2005 8:16 AM
Posted on May 16, 2005 08:16
As the amount of knowledge gained by human-kind has increased exponentially, our time in which to learn all that must be learned has increased (look how long kids now live at home before striking out to set up housekeeping), but NOT exponentially. Something must be left out. The kids don't have time to learn everything. They must learn that which will be of most use to them in the lives that THEY will lead. In a catastrophe, I have great faith that enough of the survivors will remember where libraries are located and what treasures they house and that good old human ingenuity (I'm an engineer to the core, eh?) will out.
Worry not what the younger generations will do for basic knowledge. Worry more whether our libraries will, indeed, contain useful information. The trend toward stocking DVDs, CDs, and VHS tapes does not bode well for the treasure troves that I should hope our libraries would be.
Posted by Cop Car | May 16, 2005 8:51 AM
Posted on May 16, 2005 08:51
Blue Witch, I hadn't even thought about food preparation. We cook from scratch here every night, so I took for granted that everyone knows how to cook. But, look at all the "helpers" and mixes and frozen dinners and fast food. You have a really good point.
Susan, I realized that even having an old register won't save the day. The items are no longer marked with prices, and without a printout for the day, they wouldn't know what to charge.
Cop Car, of course you're right. Libraries will be essential, and information in book format will be absolutely necessary. I love the books on tape that I use when I weed, but they'll be useless.
For the library to be of use, we still have to push reading, or I'll have to be a cookbook, or an accounting book, and you'll have to be an engineering book (remember the meme that asked what book you'd be if you were a Farenheit 415 character??).
Posted by buffy | May 16, 2005 2:21 PM
Posted on May 16, 2005 14:21
Now you know the type of thinking that was running through my head when I chose the books to have with me on a desserted island! We would definitely have to cooperate in order to survive--pooling our knowledge!
Posted by Cop Car | May 16, 2005 3:42 PM
Posted on May 16, 2005 15:42