Wow! What a whirl-wind of a day! I began my day anticipating Introduction to Technology would be an easier more enjoyable course for me, and my Differentiated Curriculum and Instruction class would be the really challenging one. Boy was I wrong. As an art educator you have to be “in the know” about the latest technological advances in the field, because now more often than ever, art jobs are being created specifically in technologically advanced fields. I was never the one who knew all of the latest things but I don’t consider myself completely in the dark! At least until I attended this first class.
I do agree with our professor in that we are experiencing a cultural shift with all of the advances in technology and the way we interpret, perceive and approach the world. However, I don’t necessarily agree with it to it’s entire extent. I feel that we as humans are losing so many of the courtesy’s and every day interactions that make us human beings. We no longer quite know how to handle face to face conversations (an over exaggeration of course, but we’re getting there), and we can’t be bothered to look up from texting our friend, when someone walks by, to say hello. Despite the fact that you’ve been texting back and forth to one another for the past ten minutes regarding nothing and everything. Conversations seem to be getting duller and our language more and more simplified to a barely understandable gibberish that’s merely understood by those who participate. Hey, more power to you,…or mpty! I can’t live or communicate like that, nor do I want to. I feel as an art educator it gives students a way out of English, and the written word, spelling, sentence structure and so on, but hey if it’s a cultural movement we just have to accept it, right?!?
I’m really uncomfortable about it and I feel like we’re abandoning a ton as a society. Instead of enjoying one another’s company in the here and now we’re too busy thinking about who’s visited our facebook, or texting the fifth person who’s asked what we’re up to, and I could go on. We’re getting closer to the people who don’t matter so much and further away from the ones who do.
As an art educator I will do everything in my power to teach my students the latest in technology that relates to artistic fields, but by no means will I teach it as a way to live, as if it’s all or nothing. No matter what, I think I will still stay true to my pen and paper,…there’s something pretty special about receiving something in the mail ( “snail mail”) addressed to you and made out in authentic human handwriting!
