Unte Reader

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998

Answers

I was very encouraged when I read the article "Learning in the Key of Life." This article addressed a concern I have often thought about in relation to the teaching profession and the current speed at which our students are expected to aquire knowledge. The focus of society is to do everything faster. We must learn faster, communicate faster, and teach faster.

The idea of "slow knowledge vs. fast knowledge" is definitely something more of us need to ponder. We are living in a highly competitive period that doesn't have time for quiet knowledge and pleasure learning. Leisure time gets squeezed out by all we HAVE to do and we are consumed by work. Competition has crept into the classroom and caused us to be consumed by work. (We all know it is NOT an eight hour day!) Great quantities of time that had existed in the past have dissolved into a technology filled world where students are not allowed to learn at a slower pace. These same students are uninterested in learning at a slower pace. My students can hardly sit still in the Computer Lab without shouting my name until it sounds like an arcade and I don't want to go in there anymore.

So, in a high-tech world with everyone wanting to learn and commmunicate faster than the speed of light, how can we support and encourage the idea of "slow knowledge?" It is like a running a marathon. Run faster! Don't stop to think! The f

-- Anonymous, December 01, 1998