Technology Killed the Classroom and the Art of Reading is NEXT!

The role of media technology in and out of the classroom is rapidly increasing at an alarming rate, and I do not necessarily believe this is a “good thing”. Call me old fashioned, but I think it is a teacher/professor’s responsibility and duty to be able to teach a class with out the crutch of some sort of technological toy. Of course, I do not believe this to be true for all classrooms because there are exceptions where media technology can support and enhance a professor’s lecture. Yet, I do not believe media technology really belongs in an English Literature class. My reasoning behind this is I believe students need to have the ability to sit still through a lecture free from any sort of technology such as cell phones, IPODs, internet, etc. We live in a world where we are slaves to our media technology. I find this to be very sad and I truly believe that the art of reading is becoming extinct due to the ease and accessibility to having the books spoon fed to students literally through their eyes and ears whether it be through the mediums of IPODs where books are consumed via iTunes. Additionally, many students rely on movie adaptations of classic novels rather than sitting down and actually reading the novel which is ridiculous being that movies can and never will have the ability to do the justice of cracking a book and reading it. Unfortunately, many of my fellow peers select such methods in order to take the fast food approach to consuming literature. I wholeheartedly believe the most valuable classes I have taken through the course of my academic studies at Cal- State Northridge have been the classes taught in the old fashioned approach of a teacher’s lecture. I find nothing is more enriching then to have a teacher who is passionate about the subject matter they teach, and I enjoy a class free from media technology for the most part where the method of the cerebral approach is utilized.

A Quick Glimpse Into My World

My name is Andra and I am currently enrolled in my final semester here at California State University, Northridge. It has been a long road and finally the light at the end of the tunnel is looking quite bright, though I plan on continuing to travel down the path of academia in the pursuits of a higher education with law school. I am a retired ballerina and spent the first half of my life pursuing and achieving my dreams. I danced with The Pennsylvania Ballet, and had an apprenticeship with American Ballet Theater in New York City. Unfortunately, my career was cut short and I was forced to retire due to a back injury. I feel very fortunate to have another opportunity to grow through the power of knowledge and learning, and have a passion for literature, writing, and the arts.