Media Use Limiting Our Minds

Many researches are commenting on how the use of media and internet use is changing the thought process of those who use it most.  In the article "Growing Up Digital: Wired For Distraction", by Matt Richtal, he talked about how the many internet pages and on going media is making it harder to concentrate.  Kids Have the option to either use the internet or complete their homework and many are now choosing the internet/video games before homework (Richtal).

Students tend to get distracted very easily while doing homework.  Vishal stated "I'm doing Facebook. YouTube, having a conversation or two with a friend, listening to music at the same time.  I'm doing a million things at once, like a lot of people my age," (Richtal).  From this observation it is clear that teenagers are prone to doing multiple things at once and jumping from one activity to another.  This explains why it is getting harder and harder for individuals to concentrate on one thing for a long period of time before they have the urge to take out their cell phone or search the web.

Along with the short attention span the media is causing, laziness in peoples work ethics are also being affected.  In the article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" by Nicholas Carr, he stated " Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski."  This right here perfectly describes how more and more people feel about reading and or big information pieces.  With the internet came a simple opportunity to quickly get information in pieces as opposed to deeply researching a subject to learn all about it.  If someone is faced with more than they feel like reading they may begin to skim it and not really absorb all the information (Carr).  The media is changing the way brains think into this new inpatient lazy thought process.  

Reference List

Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid." Atlantic. Jul/Aug 2008. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.

Richtal, Matt. "Growing Up Digital: Wired For Distraction." New York Times 21 Nov 2010.             Web. 24 Feb. 2013.

Additional Links

Technology is Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say 

Parents of Teenagers Say They Worry That Online Activities Might Hurt Children in the Future 

The Positive Effect of Media on the Youth

Many may argue that today's media is having a negative effect on the youth because their time is consumed from online sources yet when it comes to academic related topics, time is reduced tremendously.  When a student is working on an assignment, any information they may need is available at the click of a button.  They are able to view as many sources as they are capable of finding in just a few clicks, this opposed to having to go out to libraries or book stores.

For example, if a student had a project they were asked to complete that required extra sources, immediately their first intention would be to look it up online.  Now, lets say this was not an option.  First they would have to drive to the closes library, then look up the particular book they needed.  After they completed this they would have to search for the book and hope that it is not already signed out.  From here the student would have to check out the book (only being aloud to have it for a certain amount of time), then drive home to finally begin their project. This shows how magnificent the media is for the youth and how simple it is for them to have as much information they need all right at there finger tips only taking seconds to find.  Also, they can use this information whenever they chose to, instead of only having a certain period of time before they have to worrying about bringing it back.  Although the media has many uses, it still continuos to help students for   educational purposes that allows to make their life easier and less stressful.
        

The Selection Process for Highly Selective High Schools

There are many high schools out there that offer a better education then others, ones that students have to prove themselves  for before they are excepted and are aloud to attend.  However, after reading the article "Charges of Bias in Admission Test Policy at Eight Elite Public High Schools" by Al Baker, many will find that getting into these schools may not be all that fair.  The way some schools do this is by giving anyone trying to get into their school a single test that if the student gets a good grade in "proves" they are worthy of being enrolled at that particular high school.  The argument here is whether or not this is fair to all races because some students families in general are not able to afford tutors to help while others are.  The ones who can afford it tend to be the white families leaving the other ethnicities at a disadvantage.  For this reason, it seems better that a more realistic test that can actually show ones true knowledge is needed.  Hundreds of other selective high schools in the country accept students based on many different factors such as their grades, recommendations from their teachers, essays, and interviews (Baker, 2012).  Sometimes a persons best ability won't show on a test as opposed to the many different "tests" where kids get various chances to show how capable they are to attend that certain school.

Now, having the opportunity of recommendations from teachers, interviews, and allowing the school students are trying to get into to look at your grades will best prove the later high school success of the student.  In the article "The Elite Eight, on the Federal Radar" it talks about how some of these schools are illegally screening out qualified black and Latino middle-school students with this one poorly designed test ("The elite eight,," 2012).  Something like this will not determine how well one will do throughout high school because no matter how hard you study for it, all they will learn is the material needed for this individual test.  Now if the students had very good grades all of middle school, this will show all of the knowledge they have with them in various areas of education as opposed to just one test.  Also, with recommendations from teachers, schools will be able to learn how the particular student is in the classroom.  Lastly, with interviews they can put that students wisdom to the test for real.  

References 

Baker, A. (2012, September 27). Charges of bias in admission test policy at eight elite public high      schools. The new york times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/nyregion/specialized-high-school-admissions-test-is-racially-discriminatory-complaint-says.html

The elite eight, on the federal radar. (2012, November 11).The new york times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/opinion/the-elite-eight-high-schools-on-the-federal-radar.html

Additional Links

Chicago Public Schools: Enrollment Requirements 

Selective Enrollment High Schools

Improved Attitude means Improved Writing!

                When one is to think about completing an action, attitude has a lot to do with it, this is pointed out in the article "Writing well: It's all about the attitude" by Donna Rafanello.  If one goes into something and already in there heads saying they don't want to do it and that they suck at it, chances are the outcome isn't going to be as good if they started with a positive attitude on the situation.  This also applies to ones writing ability and how they look at writing as a whole.  If people learn to simulate their knowledge and put forth their best effort every time, they may result in better writing habits and skills without even knowing it and transcend over their peers.  It is said that if you have little confidence in your writing skills that a attitude adjustment may help change this (Rafanello, 2008).

      I myself am one to talk because I have a very bad attitude towards writing in the sense that I feel I am very bad at it and don't very much enjoy nor like it.  Whenever I write anything I always have a hiatus and stop my work for a very long time before I go back to continuing it.  But from reading the article I stated earlier, I am now realizing if I just focus more and have a more positive outlook on my own abilities to write, maybe I will gain better writing pieces for meritorious service. 

     Now that I am aware of how my attitude toward writing affects it, I plan to give my all to my next assignment in hopes that I see improvement.  I will elicit my entire positive attitude and even get it checked by my teacher before I hand it in because that already guarantees you a better grade.  I will take the next step in my professional development as a writer and set goals for myself that I would like to achieve (Rafanello, 2008).     

             

References

        Rafanello, D. (2008, May/June). Writing well: It's all about attitude. Professional writing, 58-59.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Additional Links

Young People's Writing:  Attitudes, behavior and the role of technology

Attitudes Toward Writing 

Test Post

This is my first blog post.