I don't like video content. There. I said it. It's so easy to not pay attention to it. I think the push to video content also had people shoehorn in content formats that work well in writing to video and the results are mixed. While I personally don't care what people like I recently read one of those help letters people write in over on Slate (external link) and it got me wondering if relying too heavily on one media for teaching could create a problem.
It used to be books were relied on because they were the technology available to schools. The attitude was something like "It's what we have, what can you do?" and while I fully understand that I wonder if there is too heavy a focus on video content. As a freak myself who actually does learn better from reading things I wonder if we're throwing the baby out with the bathwater by moving away from that.
Surely there's other children who do better with written content? Surely, when we have a severe issue with reading comprehension in this country we should be encouraging students to interface with written content in case they have to in the future. I worry that there's an that kids like the videos, teachers like the videos, the grades and test scores are fine.
I suppose it remains to be seen what happens moving forward or if the video content persists into the higher levels of mandatory schooling. I just worry that by focusing on one particular way of learning we're training kids that will make them unable to work with written media in the future.
Maybe it isn't. Maybe written media really is that dead. Maybe I am just a dinosaur. Or maybe we've had recent elections where written media heavily changed how people felt about things. Maybe people are still sharing written articles even if they don't fully read or understand them. Maybe the quality of writing in them is so low that they aren't even meant to be read.
Maybe we should give children the tools to answer those questions for themselves.
People who know me know that I am vocal (read: pissed off) about education. That I feel school is about training children to sit down, shut up, maintain the status quo and play nice with Uncle Sam and Aunt Sammy. This is partly I think why the arts are cut-- they promote critical thinking and criticism of the government. Are you kids good members of the party?