Russell Bolender

English Mon-Wed
C. Wyman
12/12/15
Educational Difficulties in Todays Society
As education continues to evolve, the old methods of teaching become more outdated.
Along with the evolution of education, the learning styles of students also change. Due to the
learning styles evolving, and the teaching methods changing at a slower rate, it can often times
be difficult for students to learn in environments that differ from that of their own learning style.
There are many scholars who would agree that technology is a hindrance to the youth in todays
society, the fact that teaching methods need to be reworked to enrich more students, and that
students need to learn how to study in todays new educational system.
Where teachers once wrote on the chalkboard with students actively taking notes, they
are now flipping through PowerPoints and sharing information via the Internet. This method of
teaching does not always work for some students. Several authors, including Nicholas Carr,
share this thought. Carr is the writer of Is Google Making Us Stupid. This article is about
how technology being introduced into todays society is changing the way that people think.
This shows that he would agree; My mind isnt going-so far as I can tell-but its changing. Im
not thinking the way I used to think(370). This quote shows that even scholars are being
affected by the shifts in society, which leads one to believe that so are students growing up in
these changing times.

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It also shows how not everyone can learn by just looking over some notes shared by others or
the teacher in the class. Not only would Carr agree, but also so would Edward Trufte, the author
of PowerPoint is Evil(389). The article speaks about the troubles of teaching through the use of
PowerPoint. In this article he states, The standard PowerPoint presentation elevates format over
content, betraying an attitude of commercialism that turns everything into a sales pitch(390).
Being a firm believer in the traditional teaching styles, Trufte would feel as though electronic
technology has little to no place in the classroom. Also he would disagree with the notes being
sent via email, because it can cause students to disconnect during the class: one thing I have
experienced on more than one occasion.
Throughout high school, and even into college, I have seen several teachers put all the
information for the class on a powerpoint presentation, and then sit there and flip through it
during class, just reading word for word what is being projected. This style of teaching may be
easier as far as getting the students the information, but it disconnects them from the class
itself. Not all of the blame falls on the teacher, because the students have the information, but a
lot of it does. This is because the teachers are not getting the students engaged in learning the
subject. For a student to learn the material, they must not only enjoy the class, but also see
some benefit to going and participating it in, thus learning the material through more than one
sensory input.
In addition to technology creating a lack of engagement, many authors agree that the
teaching styles also need to be reworked to accompany the changing needs of the youth in
schools today. W.J. Reeves, author of College Isnt for Everyone, would agree that not all

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students learn the same way. In this quote from the article, the major problem is the refusal
to read the assigned texts. Teaching can be a lonely profession when the only person in the
classroom who has read all of The Scarlet Letter is the professor(342); it shows how he would
want teachers to be able to teach to the styles of the individual students. Not only can it be said
that Reeves would agree with this statement, but so would previously introduced Edward Trufte.
Quoting Trufte, Particularly disturbing is the adoption of the PowerPoint cognitive style in our
schools. Rather than learning to write a report using sentences, children are being taught how to
formulate client pitches and infomercials(390). Its easy to see that he is not in agreeance with
the new teaching styles of some of todays educators. Many teachers have been in their field of
work for many years, and are set in their ways that they have used throughout their time of
employment, such as the bullet pointed information on the chalkboard, or the multitude of math
problems to solve each night, only to not collect or review them the following day. This leads to
shortcomings in the educational possibilities of the classes that students attend.
Being a student myself, I struggle with learning in certain classes: due to a recently
diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Having this disorder greatly compromises
my ability to concentrate in classes. This is why when a teacher writes everything on the board, I
often times get distracted while they are writing because it takes so long. This experience is
exactly what Reeves is talking about, as far as the reading an entire text. In a lecture hall type
class, where the teacher stands in front and talks for an hour and a half straight, I retain no
information, because many times the teacher will get off topic, and then so do I.

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Teachers are not the only ones to blame for the lack of retained information in schools
today. As students activities change with the ideals and technologies in todays society, many
use the same devices for educational purposes as they do for gaming, blogging, or just browsing
the web. Returning to Nicholas Carr, he states, A few Google searches, some quick clicks on
hyperlinks, and Ive got the telltale fact or pithy quote I was after(371). This quote shows how
easy it is to use the Internet for educational purposes; at the same time it shows how easy it is to
look up anything else and get off track. As students use their computers in their classes, they may
just as easily type a link to a game, as they will to an educational site.
Being able to use the same device for school as well as leisure is both a blessing and a
curse for students of todays world. One major problem kids are facing now is grammar.
Jennifer Lee, author of I Think, Therefore IM, talks about how blogging and texting causes
grammar misusages in young adults. In her article, she talks about Ms. Harding, an eighth-grade
English teacher, by saying This September, she has added a new list: u, r, ur, b4, wuz, cuz, 2.
When she asked her students how many of them used shortcuts like them in their writing, Ms.
Harding said, she was not surprised when most of them raised their hands(395). This quote
shows that the usage of texting and blogging is affecting the intelligence of an entire generation.
She states that the kids use the shortcuts even in educational papers. Students need to learn, and
care about, the difference between an educational paper, and a text or blog.
While it seems as though these authors share the same beliefs as each other, their views
differ in a few aspects. When Carr talks about Google, he is referring to its harmfulness

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as diminishing a persons ability to remain focused for extended periods of time. This closely
relates to, but is not the same as Trufte; his argument stems from the basis of people are only able
to retain small amounts of information at a time. Though these arguments are closely related, it
cannot be said that Carr and Truft would agree with each other completely if put into a debate
setting on the way the students minds are being negatively affected. It can, however, be said that
they would agree on the fact that the educational system needs to find a way to get students more
engaged in the learning aspect of the classroom.
Not only do Carr and Trufte have slightly different views, but so do both other sets of
authors: Trufte and Reeves, as well as Lee and Carr. Reeves argument is more along the lines of
putting students of similar styles of learning into classes together, so the class can be built around
that way of teaching. On the other hand, Truft would be more for an all encompassing method,
where the teacher would incorporate components of all three learning styles into the lesson.
These two authors may not agree on how the educational system should go about fixing the
issue, but they would both agree that the issue is along the lines of some students being left
behind in classes, because the class isnt incorporating their main style of learning. In addition to
these two sets of authors, Lee and Carr also their discrepancies. While Carr would argue that by
using the same devices for school work as for leisure, students cant remained focused on the
topic at hand; Lee would argue that the problem with using the same devices for school work as
leisure is affecting the way the language the students use in academic writing. Though their
reasoning for it

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differs, both authors would agree that, in these changing times, students should have separate
devices for school and leisure.
As the culture of society continues to change, it is becoming harder to teach the youth
through ways of the past. Students dont study or learn the same way as they used to, due to the
new way information is presented. Students need to learn how to separate school from social life,
and teachers need to be more innovative so as to keep the students more engaged in the learning
inside the classroom, and many authors agree with these points. These are just some of the
problems that face the educational system today, and they need to be dealt with so as not to stall
this generation out from a quality education.

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Works Cited
Carr, Nicholas. "Exploring Relationships: Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century.
Is Google Making Us Stupid? (2008): 370-77. Print.

Lee, Jennifer. "Exploring Relationships: Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century.
" I Think, Therefore IM (2008): 370-77. Print.

Reeves,W. J. "Exploring Relationships: Globalization and Learning in the 21st

Century.

" College Isnt For Everyone (2008): 341-44. Print.

Trufte, Edward. "Exploring Relationships: Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century.
"PowerPoint is Evil (2008): 389-91. Print.