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People have worried about everything from TV to jazz to rock music to comic books to video games to satanic cults corrupting youth. I remember when Tipper Gore wanted warning labels on records and somebody sued Judas Priest over one of their songs somehow making someone commit a crime. All of these thing assume kids don't have any mind of their own, nor any agency. I don't know whether social media is just another boogyman or in a different category.
But there was a change in parenting styles towards helicopter parenting, snowplow parenting, and just not letting kids out of your sight. There's also been a shift towards way more homework and overscheduling and herding the kids into organized activities. Do kids these days ever get to make a decision or have to figure out stuff for themselves? The combination of things doesn't seem to be a recipe for producing well-adjusted young adults. Add in the worship of victimhood today, and young adults have less incentive to mature.
The first kids who watched Sesame Street and Mister Rodgers' Neighborhood are now in their mid-50s.
I actually saw the very first episode of Sesame Street my first semester of college in 1969 in a friend's dorm room. I was 18 then and I'm almost 70 now. I don't remember why we watched it...
Are you implying that I'm being presumptuous via making claims about society based on one particular anecdote ?
Because I don't see how anything I've wrote would make you think as much .
Edutainment has been around for a while. I watched Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers growing up and played educational computer games. I am in my 40s. I remember there was a math-based show that came out on PBS (I think called Square One?) and we actually had homework to watch it when I was in elementary. I also loved Mr. Wizard’s World. In school we had games like Fraction Action and a text only RPG that we were allowed to play because it helped with reading. Most of the kids in my classes who played those games are successful adults now.
Edutainment has been around for a while. I watched Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers growing up and played educational computer games. I am in my 40s. I remember there was a math-based show that came out on PBS (I think called Square One?) and we actually had homework to watch it when I was in elementary. I also loved Mr. Wizard’s World. In school we had games like Fraction Action and a text only RPG that we were allowed to play because it helped with reading. Most of the kids in my classes who played those games are successful adults now.
Yup this phenomenon is indeed not new at all , though I still don't get why the implicit accusation of being presumptuous has been lobbed at me , but I digress .
I think a bigger threat than "edutainment" to the common good is when the news divisions of television networks became part of the entertainment divisions.
What is concerning to me is the notion that we need to ENTERTAIN children, rather than educate them. How do critical thinking skills, structure, discipline, consistency, expectations - all of the attributes necessary for success - play into this method of "teaching"?
It does not bode well for the kids' future, as future employers will not care whether the job that these coddled children sign up for in the future is "entertaining".
We are failing our future generations.
What is concerning to me is the notion that we need to ENTERTAIN children, rather than educate them. How do critical thinking skills, structure, discipline, consistency, expectations - all of the attributes necessary for success - play into this method of "teaching"?
It does not bode well for the kids' future, as future employers will not care whether the job that these coddled children sign up for in the future is "entertaining".
We are failing our future generations.
Oh, come on. The way that just about all of us learned the alphabet was by singing it. Why not put enjoyment in learning? I think teachers are all secretly actors and the best teachers are the ones that make you want to learn their subject.
I think it’s like TV or the internet in that it’s neither good nor bad but you should choose your entertainment wisely. Also if a learner really gets interested and involved in what their learning, they will start to make wiser choices about their learning materials and a wise teacher or parent can help facilitate that.
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