Its late and I can't sleep again, so I can at least try to be productive. I've recently been watching tons of indie films. I just finish this one called O'Horton a Russian drama, about a recently retired train-engineer and I swear there was a constant 5 minutes of silence between conversations. I mean I appreciate the significance of body language and non-spoken messages but at least make them entertaining. I want my 90 minutes back.
* tangent *I think I'm too negative in these blogs, but would anyone really find it entertaining to listen to me go on and on about how great puppies are.
Now to try and somehow relate what I've said to my class........Okay, I think I got something. Many of the presentations in our class are very dry, they seemed to have missed the train on the whole entertaining thing. Even my own group's presentation was kind-of dry. I think in order to have a successful presentation you have to entertain your audience especially the current generation who is constantly engulfed in a firestorm of information. Just think if Al Gore didn't have a scissor-lift would anyone care about global warming; don't worry I'll answer for you, No!
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You've got a point there. But entertaining simply means interesting, not just pablum for the masses.
ReplyDeleteEducation SHOULD be entertaining; we are born curious, inquisitive, learning. So how does the institution that is supposed to engage us in learning and exploring (for 8-15 hours/day) turn us into bored assembly-line test-takers?
YES! the presentations should be VERY entertaining because they are important, intriguing, brain candy. To hell with the grade!
Curiosity and inquisitiveness have their place and they should be embraced the most in a college environment of all places, yet due to the nature of most jobs conformity and proficiency are the true celebrated skills. Thus the assembly-line test-takers make perfect replacements to keep the corporate machine up and running. College in itself is apart of the assembly-line: get a degree, get a job, climb the latter, get married, have a kid, live through your kid, and die. This system keeps most people docile and simple-minded who make for great consumers and voters, but the trade off is really not that bad and a large majority of people find comfort in it.
ReplyDeleteBut check what Shirky is saying, that that old economy is dying and fast. I want to stay optimistic in his train of thought but vigilant for all the new ways that we can be corporatized and widgeted.
ReplyDeleteI ran back to academe after a short but lucrative stint in corporate amerikkka for the idiocy of it all.
Baaahhh.