I was at family's house yesterday and was going through some older books that they said I could take, which included an entire set of Encyclopedia Britannica from 1988. My half-niece who is about 12 picked up a volume of this and asked what it was. I answer that it's an encylopedia. I got a look from her like I had just fallen off of another planet. I just looked at her and said "well, in my day (I'm 29) we didn't have Google or Wiki and had to look things up in these". The horror on her face made my heart sink.
It just kills me inside to see that this generation does not know how to research using books. Yes, the internet is full of information, but it's not always accurate or correct. Also, not every single piece of information makes it way into cyberspace. For instance, I'm researching medical conditions that may explain the vampire myth. There is not alot of info out there on the net about this. But, in books I am able to find plenty of this information.
My college professors have all told us that if we cite Wiki or any site like it, even once in our papers, we would be given a failing grade for the assignment and if it happens twice we faced failing the class all together.
I felt kind of old and outdated. And I was saddened by the fact that this child did not know what an encylopedia was.
What are your thoughts on the path that these children are on now in education and the way computers and books play in path?
It just kills me inside to see that this generation does not know how to research using books. Yes, the internet is full of information, but it's not always accurate or correct. Also, not every single piece of information makes it way into cyberspace. For instance, I'm researching medical conditions that may explain the vampire myth. There is not alot of info out there on the net about this. But, in books I am able to find plenty of this information.
My college professors have all told us that if we cite Wiki or any site like it, even once in our papers, we would be given a failing grade for the assignment and if it happens twice we faced failing the class all together.
I felt kind of old and outdated. And I was saddened by the fact that this child did not know what an encylopedia was.
What are your thoughts on the path that these children are on now in education and the way computers and books play in path?
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