Ray Bradbury is an author for seeing into the future. To obtain an improved understanding of Bradbury’s short stories, novels, and screen plays you would need to know a modest amount about him http://www.spaceagecity.com/. One of Bradbury’s books that I have recently read is called Fahrenheit 451. To get a great summary of Fahrenheit 451 take a look at this link http://www.bookrags.com/notes/451/BIO.html.
It has been over fifty years since Bradbury has published Fahrenheit 451 and to say the least I think that he was on to something. Do I think that the future will convert into books being considered evil and are then destroyed, no probably not? It has happened in our history, but I think one great thing about time is that it makes one wiser. If there is ever a time when our authorities try burning books that is when the Bill of Rights and all that America has been founded on will come into play. The idea that Bradbury was onto when he wrote this book was how technology will steal from our social and family activities. In my Humanities 101 class we often discuss how people are no longer connected. A great example of this was an article that was put out for discussion in class called Bowling Alone. We no longer know our neighbors and have strong connections with our brothers and sisters. Bradbury was demonstrating that idea through Guy and Mildred’s marriage. They sleep in separate beds and hardly ever show any connection to one another. That said, reading his book today would bring up the question has television and the Internet destroyed Americans’ ability to read and think critically about ideas? Defiantly not, if anything the television and Internet has only strengthened our ability to read and think critically. For the fact that the younger generation is capable of understanding and performing tasks and thoughts that older generations are just now learning and beginning to understand. A great book that helps prove this point is called Everything Bad is Good For You. Television and the Internet do have a back lash like all things in life. Being as I said earlier that it takes from our social connections. Ray Bradbury was amazing in his thoughts and predictions of the future. I would recommend his book Fahrenheit 451 along with Everything Bad is Good For You and Bowling Alone.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Primary students learning to think
Should reasoning skills be taught in primary school? This is a question that is asked far too little. The purpose of a student learning reasoning or critical thinking skills is to better prepare that student for the future and in helping them be able to make wiser choices. The issue is that most students do not begin to learn reasoning skills until they are in high school, and even then students do not start thinking critically until they have reached their second semester of college.
High school students are about the age of fourteen to eighteen. At this age is when students are faced with peer pressure and decisions of the future for example what they want to be when they are adults and what they want for their upcoming future. How are students capable of making these decisions on their own and truly fulfilling their dreams and goals if teachers don’t teach them and help them understand how to process information, reason, enquire, and evaluate their choices?
Various primary schools such as Greens Norton C of E Primary School www.greensnortonshcool.com have based their curriculum around building reasoning and critical thinking skills. Learning reasoning skills at a primary level will only make the choice of that primary student further knowledgeable in the future. When a student that has begun to learn and harness this skill is faced with a decision in middle school that relates to peer pressure that student will be reluctant to follow the leader and say yes. They will think of why they chose to or not to make that decision and the possible outcomes for each situation. There for make them more capable of making the right selection.
In all I think reasoning skills should be taught in primary school. We are faced with decision from the time we are able to crawl, and having the ability to understand why we are thinking what we are thinking only makes us more understanding and knowledgeable of our surroundings and who we are. Starting to learn this skill at an earlier age will only make us better at using it, and propelling us to a higher level of being.
High school students are about the age of fourteen to eighteen. At this age is when students are faced with peer pressure and decisions of the future for example what they want to be when they are adults and what they want for their upcoming future. How are students capable of making these decisions on their own and truly fulfilling their dreams and goals if teachers don’t teach them and help them understand how to process information, reason, enquire, and evaluate their choices?
Various primary schools such as Greens Norton C of E Primary School www.greensnortonshcool.com have based their curriculum around building reasoning and critical thinking skills. Learning reasoning skills at a primary level will only make the choice of that primary student further knowledgeable in the future. When a student that has begun to learn and harness this skill is faced with a decision in middle school that relates to peer pressure that student will be reluctant to follow the leader and say yes. They will think of why they chose to or not to make that decision and the possible outcomes for each situation. There for make them more capable of making the right selection.
In all I think reasoning skills should be taught in primary school. We are faced with decision from the time we are able to crawl, and having the ability to understand why we are thinking what we are thinking only makes us more understanding and knowledgeable of our surroundings and who we are. Starting to learn this skill at an earlier age will only make us better at using it, and propelling us to a higher level of being.
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