THE SEASONED OBSERVER
Technology is us - whether we like it or not
By J. G. Fabiano
Jim Fabiano
Times change but they don't change much. The other day I overheard a few of my colleagues talking about how they thought it would be a good idea to ban the use of iPods in the school. Their reasoning was the study that is going on today about how the ear pieces direct the sound onto the ear drum and thus has the capacity to cause damage. I butted into their conversation by stating that instead of outlawing the use of the iPod we should teach our students how to use it. For a second I thought I said something about overthrowing the government because the look I got from that small group of teachers could have stopped time. Now that I think of it, this is exactly what they were trying to do.
There have been many changes that could not be stopped by people who were too afraid to understand them. I remember when cable television was introduced. The conversations included questions about why would people ever want to pay for something that has always been free. After that argument died, those same people were concerned with the content that was a bit more liberal than our regular channels. I remember many of the generation that came before me arguing that cable television would be the moral death to all. Many still believe this true, but the prediction about the disintegration of our moral character has plagued us before.
My father used to tell me about how his father thought jazz would be the death of America. Then, to my surprise, many in our family thought the introduction of rock and roll would push the youth of America into a sexual frenzy. Since I was part of the youth of America at that point in time, I had no objections. Elvis Presley's hip gyrations only led to new forms of music I now have little knowledge of.
I don't think I convinced anyone in the little group of teachers I forced my way into but decided to keep on talking. I asked if any remembered when CD and DVD players were introduced. The music and movie industries cried fowl and stated if this new technology was allowed to flourish there would be little new music and few innovative movies produced. Well, the music industry is still around and the movie industry has never been so strong. I argued the point there have been few technologies that destroyed anything. In fact, most led us to brighter futures.
Needless to say I convinced no one with my arguments. They still believed the iPods should be outlawed from our school. I then asked if they thought after this technology was outlawed, would it be stopped. One gentleman told me this was a possibility. I smiled and told him it has never happened before. He then asked if I thought the restrictions on the internet and instant messaging should be lifted in the school. I again shocked the group by telling them I did, because we are here to teach the students how to use the technology they are destined to use for the rest of their lives. In fact, this technology is becoming more advanced by the hour and a greater part of their lives.
Look at the new cellular phones. Most take pictures, play music, have GPS systems in them, record videos and sometimes even receive a phone call. This, of course, got the most conservative of the group to state that as a school we do not allow cell phones. I corrected him by stating we actually do. We just ask the students not to have them out or to use them during the day. If we ever checked our students book bags we would probably find a great majority of them would have them. This was the point I was trying to make. We taught our students that the use of a cell phone during class or during school was impolite. We told them the use of this technology should only be used after class or even before the day began. Most of our students follow this rule. So why, I ask, can't we do the same thing with iPods?
After a few moments of silence, the group broke up and off to class we rushed. Squirming through the crowds of students I noticed few that were on their phone and none having those famous white earphones hanging from their ears. I wondered if it would be better to leave the technology to the youth instead of trying to stop its use.
I again started to wonder why we are always afraid of something new, especially when we get older. Maybe that is just another definition of what old is.
Jim Fabiano, a teacher and writer who lives in York, is a past recipient of the Maine Press Association's award for Best Weekly Column. E-mail
Jim at yorkmarine@yahoo.com.
