Are sites like Yahoo Answers part of the Dumbing Down of American Education?

Question

By encouraging kids to post homework questions?

The most valuable skill anyone ever learns in school, and some would argue the ONLY valuable skill you learn, is how to look things up.

Much of what students are spoonfed is wrong. Most will never be useful and nearly all will have been forgotten by the time it would have been useful.

But if you know how to do research, you can learn anything and have it at your fingertips whenever you need it. The internet makes it incredibly easy. No more stuffy libraries, no more Dewey Decimal System, no more thumbing through card files, just a few keywords and BAM, you've got the answer.

Are we doing kids a service by not making them look things up for themselves? Or are we doing would be tyrants a service by making sure kids don't learn to think for themselves?

My bad, female. We Yanks think of Dumbing Down as an American thing, but I guess it does help our balance of payments to export ignorance.

I understand what you are saying, NF. But all of that intensified curricula doesn't seem to include reasoning or skills. And most of the questions I see would lead me to believe that Language Skills, in particular, are being neglected.

Answer 1

I want to play devil's advocate on behalf of students for a moment.

There is no doubt that some students pose questions on Yahoo answers to get a quick, labor-free answer to homework or project questions. However, as a teacher I have a lot of empathy for students today.

If you really read the questions that many students ask, they are very complicated, high-end, academically advanced questions compared to what many "older" people had to study when they were in elementary and high school. Some of the Math problems that 7th and 8th graders ask are things I had in my junior year of high school.

Curriculums have become more and more intense and students are required to learn and memorize vast amounts of pretty sophisticated information. They are often tested to death to ensure that state standards are being met, or at least covered.

The knowledge that my 5th - 8th graders are expected to retain in science is staggering. The vocabulary in their textbooks is often well above grade level. What happens is that children are simply memorizing information without really understanding it all. Teachers are increasingly pressured to "teach towards the test", meaning teach the students what they need to pass the state exams, not necessarily understand what they are learning. I am blessed that my principal doesn't feel that way. We'll sacrifice test scores for understanding.

As far as research being the most useful skill, I couldn't agree more. I think most teachers spend some time (or as much as is allowed by strict curriculum requirements) on teaching children how to find and use information. However, we have the added problem of qualifying the information children have access to in today's world. When looking up the holocaust on the internet, for example, you are as likely to find accurate information as you are to find information "proving" it never happened. I spend a good amount of time teaching children how to be discriminating knowledge seekers.

Because of parents needing to work, overly structured school days, and reduction of public library hours, children do not have as much opportunity to go to the local library to look things up, read, take notes, etc. Its sad, but a common reality.

The internet, whether we like it or not, is the main source of information for most students. To its bebefit, I think students read more through the internet than they ever would in a library.

Answer 2

I am not sure it is part of it as kids have always found ways to get around homework, this may just make it a little easier. However, places like this do show the lack of education that the kids have today. It is disgusting! I do not agree that most of what is taught to the kids is wrong. There are valuable skills which need to be learned even if they are not going to use them. If nothing else in a negative way it can give kids direction. Reading, writing and math will always be necessary. For me history is also very important, as well as, some language. I agree research skills are very important, but in order to do research you have to read, write, and spell. From what I see here those skills are almost universally missing

Answer 3

"Science in context", now that is funny, who decides what the proper context is, probably not anyone who knows anything about science. Dumbing down education makes sense, if people are ignorant and uneducated, the government can control and tell them what they want them to believe. Just remember which party controls the teachers unions in the U.S. and you will really begin to understand. In the dark ages only one or two people in a town were educated, the King's representative and the Catholic Priest, it was easier to control the people that way. I think in the future they will only want a few people per city educated for the same reason (and remember, the Democrats are always the ones on here that are saying that they are the smart ones, so those few educated people in control will be a few rich Liberals). Most problems (whether science, economic, public policy, etc) are difficult (and take time) to explain. If people are dumb, distracted and are not equipped with the tools to analyze them, they will only listen to sound bites, and believe anything they hear.

Answer 4

I'm 59 and I've had a few of my questions taken for homework. I was told to do my on research!..:) I'm sure a lot of kids use Yahoo Answers but a lot of the time i end up doing more looking around after i get my answers. Hopefully they do to.

Answer 5

It is changing it, particularly in learning to judge for themselves. In politics and even in history they get more points of view and have to think it through and decide who to trust for information. For those who ask technical questions I have a stock answer, "show me your work and I'll tell you if I think it is right." And, if it matters, there was one time I was quite wrong on my answer. (Not enough coffee early in the morning). And, if someone is being too lazy or has evil intent, I may give an incomplete or deceptive answer.

Answer 6

NOt at alll it is a past time and way to find out some new things and share ideas. Live in Las Vegas area and post many tips to travellers...

Answer 7

probably, in a number of ways but they sure learn a lot about computers and since the coming years will surely only get more high tech (assuming we aren't bombed to oblivion), some good will come from it.

Answer 8

If Thomas Jefferson would have seen the Internet coming, would American Democracy be much different?

Our parents said the same thing about Classic Comics. Their parents said the same thing about Reader's Digest.

No. America is plenty dumb on its own.

Ta Dah!

Answer 9

YES YES YES YES YES

No Y!Child left behind

Answer 10

Great question followed by great answers, I can add nothing except my applause