Common Wealth: Chapters 1 & 2

This is a manifesto for change and it is refreshing think seriously about how change can take place. We have experienced enough crisis to know that the problem we face today isn't brought about solely by the United States or Japan or whatever other country, but the entire world has dug itself into a hole. And Jeffrey Sachs is indeed innovative about how we can get ourselves out of this hole with goals toward ending world poverty and over-population and saving the environment. We not only have a responsibility as humans, but as a Christian, I have a responsibility as well. I believe God gives us opportunities to be one link toward change, but I do not believe that man alone can fix the problem because the problem appears to be rooted in sin to me.
That being said, it is worth our effort to contribute in whatever way we can to ending poverty through education and lending a helping hand. Those who make the money can help those who don't make the money to stabilize the economies elsewhere. We can teach about health, nutrition and farming so that thousands of children will get the nourishment they need to make it to adulthood. We can support recycling on the AU campus. All this is only the beginning so I look forward to reading about his thesis in more detail. Some positive outcomes to his goals seem difficult to achieve completely, but I'm not an economist.

I'm old-fashioned and I've been fiddling with www.blogger.com for days trying to end up on the proper page. I'm finding social media more exhausting than it is worth. I believe that technology has enhanced my education, but now I would prefer to spend my time getting to know the people in my class rather than figuring out how to use the latest method to communicate with them with my fingertips. Social media is always something you have to keep up with. But I almost don't want to keep up with it anymore. And I'd like to think that I could do well in the workforce without it as well. It was a good thing that I learned to type in school, but I never wanted technology to take so much of my time.

It is almost refreshing not to have to use social media after spending so much time in a classroom or in front of the computer researching a topic. I want to learn from the great outdoors, however, that would force me to change my major and there is certainly no time for that. I want to learn firsthand from people and cultures by talking with them, at best, but not by reading their thoughts when we live on the same campus. But give me a book if I will have no other way of understanding your thoughts are growing from your life experiences. I want to put a face to thoughts, thoughts to a personality and personality to a character. That is education to me...learning how to live with technology, but also learning how to live without.

Social Media and/or Education

This week has been a week of technological frustration. It seems that more and more teachers are embracing the incidious call of technology and requiring their students to sign up for and join countless websights (each with their own slightly different name and password that one must track). Students bring their laptops to class to click out "notes", visit three different sights to view grades, or frantically write out a blog that their classmates could, but probably won't read. Sometimes I feel like being forced to keep track of all these things makes my life harder not easier. Especially because I tend to be a strong kinesthetic learner and typing notes doesn't work for me. (Writing notes on a blackboard is ideal, but I'll settle for a skinny red notebook.)

My brother is enthusiastic about change--particularly the technological kind. He says that all change is hard because people are afraid of it. I think he could be right. But, really, is it so wrong to want a library of actual thick, heavy books instead of light, white 'Kindle'? (On the other hand, I would like to carry three books on the plane for the weight of one.) But what would I do without e-mail as a means of communicating with my professors? What would I do without Word and a printer to make neat-looking papers instead of writing my 5 pg essay by hand? And how would the stay-at-home-mother-of-three get a degree in paralegal without internet-based classrooms?

Just because this is a new way of doing school doesn't make it a poor way of doing school. But like all technology (and nearly everything else I can think of), the tools are only as good as the one using them. If the professor is capable and "savvy", then I predict the students will learn a lot from the technological tools, but if the professor does not use the tools to their full capabilities, then the students will suffer. (Illistration: I once had a little old Chemistry teacher who finally got a brand new 'SmartBoard' in her classroom. It could do a lot, but she treated it as projectable whiteboard/powerpoint display. It was a very bad whiteboard and we all wished she would switch back.)

Patricia Rosebud and the Web

Once upon a Tuesday morning, at the far away institution know as Castle College, there lived a sophomore student named Patricia Rosebud. At that moment, Patricia was staring off into space as she listened to her professor, Dr. Gooseberry, discuss the proper way to prepare a boar's head. She was wondering what kind of wench he took her for. After all, who DOESN'T know how to cook a boar's head and serve it up?

Just as she was classifying the professor's intelligence level, (newt might be too generous,) a preposterously pink pixie appear on the corner of her desk. Without any fanfare, the new arrival began to dance back and forth along the top of Patricia's desk.

"Why hello, Patricia Rosebud! I am your Internet 2.0 fairy! I can grant you one wish using my social netweaving powers!" squealed the fairy as blazing pink dust detached itself from her wings and settled all over Patricia's notes.

"Well," mused Patricia, "it would be interesting to know what my friends think about this class. I wish I knew everything my friends were doing or thinking in relation to this course!"

"Hmm. . . . That is a tough wish," the fairy replied. "But it is nothing I can't handle!" she yelped brightly. "Take this magic thread. Tie it to anything you want to keep track of and wrap the other end around yourself. With this, you can stay informed about everything! I'm so glad I could help you!" With that, the fairy leaped into the air and disappeared amid a shower of blindingly pink sparkles. Patricia was speechless and slightly dazed. After she recovered, she pocketed the spool of thread she found on her desk.

Later that day, Patricia tied one end of the nauseatingly intense pink thread to the college library's door knocker. After wrapping the other end around herself she realized she could find all the cook books her classmates in Dr. Gooseberry's section had looked at and found interesting. Patricia learned many fascinating, new recipes from her classmates' favorites.

The next day, Patricia visited the message board in the college's kitchen. "Look at all the insightful discussions my friends are having," she thought. "I'll tie a thread here too so I can read these anytime. My friends always have good ideas!"

After securing that thread to herself, Patricia Rosebud ran outside and tried to follow Dr. Gooseberry's crier. She couldn't quite catch him or understand what he said because the string around her body slowed her down. However, by looping another thread and tossing it around the crier, she found she could hear everything he yelled. Patricia could even hear the fanfare played before a new message if she wanted to.

"This is excellent," Patricia reasoned. "Now if anything changes in Dr. Gooseberry's class or if I forget an assignment, I'll be reminded!" Patricia thought this was such a good idea that she lassoed every one of her other professors' criers and those of all her friends over the next week.

However, after another week, Patricia wasn't sure her wish had been a good one. She had trouble keeping track of which criers belonged to her friends and which to her professors. She often missed important new information because she confused it with updates on her best friend's latest culinary masterpiece. Patricia couldn't pay attention to Dr. Gooseberry during class because she was always distracted by her friends' latest adventures. Even though she was supposed to be researching new recipes just like her friends, all she did at the library was try to catch up on her friends' discoveries. Worst of all, Patricia hadn't been able to cook anything for fun since getting the thread because she didn't have the time.

The next day, Patricia was trudging to Dr. Gooseberry's class when she found she couldn't move another inch in any direction. All her threads had formed a massive pink web which pulled her in so many directions at once that she was stuck right there in the middle. Patricia burst into tears. "Why did I ever wish for THIS!" she wailed. "Whatever will become of me?"

"Such a sorry states Miss is in," drawled a soft voice. "Such a sorry states. If she woulds only ask for the help of a Internet 0.2 fairy like myselfs, she woulds not be in such a messes."

Patricia turned her head to see a little gray man who appeared to be sulking. "Well sir," she sniffed, "I would be very grateful if you would help me."

The odd man considered, "Well, I supposses I could help her out. . . if I was inclineds too. Yes, she does looks rather desperate, so I supposses I can help her. After all, she just has needs of someone to cut her wireless. Yes, I can arranges to that."

"What was that you said, sir? Are you going to help me?" Patricia was confused.

"Yes, I should cuts the wireless, I says. Or perhaps I shoulds cut the wire of Miss. Yes, that is a fines plan, I says," mumbled the little man. Patricia was beginning to wonder if he would actually do anything or just "ssss" to himself the whole time. However, the fairy produced a pair of shears and proceeded to cut through the horrible pink web that bound her.

"Oh thank you, thank you!" Patricia cried.

"Miss speaks to me agains, I says. Its was nothings, nothings I says to Miss." replied the man, addressing a spot about 2 feet above Patricia's head. "Now Miss shoulds runs along, but, she shoulds remembers the dangers of the Web. Yes, the dangers of the Web."

"Oh, I will, sir. I will." At that, Patricia ran both to get away from the "Internet 0.2" fairy and because she was late to class. After Dr. Gooseberry's class, she put the pink thread in her room, and never used it again. She decided she would rather learn what her friends and teachers thought directly by asking them face to face. Patricia didn't need any help wasting her time; she did enough of that in the kitchens.