Tony Ferguson on fri 2 sep 05
Intelligence-long
Vince,
We can agree to disagree--although I think in person we would find more to agree on(as we have not been specific on course types) then our textual bantering. I am optimistic. And yes, we should stand up. But how many instructors will stand up against the administration. I see fear written all over their faces of losing their jobs, getting the run around with class schedules, etc.
Vince, eventually science and art will meet in ways we never dreamed of. One day the student will be able to litterally download experiential knowledge and virtual experience which the brain will not know the difference. The Matrix is not that far fetched. It is here in its early testing and it is not science fiction. To the brain, it is electrical signals. I have a friend who is a M.D. and teaches online. The things he tells me about new developments and my own reading are scary in terms of the many implications and methods of use. We will be able to litterally "upload" into our heads. The question is this: of the masses, who will chose the traditional way of learning and who will choose the contemporary way of learning?
Rockets, trips to the moon, and even flying were once science fiction. We can't even get admin or politicians to see the value of art in general--how are we going to get them to value a physical class over an online course--I do believe online courses can be taught effectively--it just depends on which course.
The reason I did not go into K-12 teaching was because in grades k - 6 the students get 30 minutes to 50 minutes one time a week for art. I was philosophically opposed to supporting a system that so devalued the arts and yet claimed they did. If we all had English and Math once a week we would be illiterate--AND many of us are visually illiterate.
The very first two things every conquering nation took away from the nation it conquered was its language and its arts--the conqueres understood the power of expression as a developmental, cohesive and dynamic form of cultural sustenance and communication.
Until our country supports the arts which is proven to develop multiple intelligences, psycho motor skills, increased right brain left brain lateralization, etc, etc. our education system, as you said, is going to continually spiral downward and something will have to give. You can not build a society purely on reading, writing, arithmetic and computer science/technology.
So how do we stand up Vince? How do we "fight" as you say?
Tony Ferguson
Vince Pitelka wrote:
Tony -
Again, I hope you won't take offense from my stubborness on this issue. I
think that you are completely wrong about the future of education. I admit
to being an idealist, but I believe that there will be a huge backlash
against the deterioration of education. There has to be, if America is
going to remain the least bit competitive in the global market (or the
intellectual market, for that matter). High tech advancements are critical
to the constant improvement of education, but it doesn't mean that
technology must eliminate the efficiency and humanity of education. It
seems to me that the high-tech "artificial intelligence" future of education
that you describe is just science fiction gone bad. The whole picture that
you paint horrifies me. If there were a chance of it actually being an
improvement in education, then I might give it a chance, but it only
represents a downward spiral in the efficiency and value of education.
The fact that academic administrations are currently looking for every
conceivable cost-saving measure is no indication that the long-range picture
is so bleak. Time will show that such measures have contributed to the
deterioration of educational quality.
The solution is not for the serious, committed art teachers to aquiesce and
agree to design the online studio coursework. The solution is for them to
stand up and FIGHT this misdirected trend.
Again, I agree that online courses work well in some situations. This
conversation started in regards to online studio art courses, and I cannot
see the possibility of any sort of real quality studio experience in an
online studio art course. As I said before, it seems a complete
contradiction in terms.
Artificial intelligence teaching in the classroom? No thanks, let's keep
REAL intelligence at the center of things.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
______________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Tony Ferguson
...where the sky meets the lake...
Duluth, Minnesota
Artist, Educator, Web Meister
fergyart@yahoo.com
fergy@cpinternet.com
(218) 727-6339
http://www.aquariusartgallery.com
http://www.tonyferguson.net
---------------------------------
Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page
| |
|
