In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman’s chapter on “Teaching as an Amusing Activity” argues that “we cannot avoid the conclusion that a massive reorientation toward learning is taking place” (p. 148). This chapter was eye opening, to say the least. I was a big fan of Sesame Street as a toddler, but after reading Postman’s views on the show (and other “educational” programs), I can understand how these shows have been detrimental in the long run for our culture. On page 144, Postman calls it “the television style of learning” and says; “this style of learning is, by its nature, hostile to what has been called book-learning or its hand-maiden, school-learning.”
With that thought in mind, another line that really jumped out at me was on page 146: “Television’s principal contribution to educational philosophy is the idea that teaching and entertainment are inseparable.” This style of learning has almost completely taken over our educational system since Postman wrote those words in 1985. Classrooms are now considered “boring” if they aren’t filled with computer screens, SMART boards, and goofy motivational posters. Teachers are considered “old-fashioned” if they lecture without the assistance of a PowerPoint or Tegrity recordings. I’ve had peers who have dropped classes solely because they weren’t “fun” enough to keep them engaged. One peer complained to me that their professor was too opinionated, as if having an opinion on the material (rather than standing idly by while presenting slides) was a terrible quality in a professor.
Even the methods of studying have fallen into the trap of television style learning. Students will wait until the night before an exam, study for a few hours, cover the material enough to regurgitate it once on the exam, and then forget the information forever. I’m guilty of it too, and my college experience has been less rewarding because of it. This idea is in direct parallel with Postman’s observation on page 152, that “21 percent of television viewers could not recall any news items within one hour of broadcast.” I’d wager that statement would remain fairly accurate if you replaced “television viewers” with “students” and “broadcast” with “exam.” Such is the state of our educational system.
Postman finishes the book with emphasis in his final chapter, "The Huxleyan Warning." He discusses how television is imprisoning our culture, and that “everything in our background has prepared us to know and resist a prison when the gates begin to close around us… But what if there are no cries of anguish to be heard? Who is prepared to take arms against a sea of amusement?” (p. 156). Our culture loves these technological devices so much, that we can’t see them breaking down our society. It’s gotten to the point where I feel societally pressured to buy the newest gadget or risk being “left behind” because I’m still using an older version. It’s remarkable how accurate Postman was able to prophesize that, “we believe nothing if not that history is moving us toward some preordained paradise and that technology is the force behind the movement” (p. 158). With the release of the new iPhone 6 (and other new “must-have!” Apple products) last week, those words by Postman seemed especially powerful. To know that college students, most of whom are already thousands of dollars in debt, will be spending several hundred dollars just to own an “updated” version of a smartphone they already have, is kind of
a scary thought.
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