Times are changing...

#evolution #education #teachers #progress

1703 "Students today can’t prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend on their slates which are more expensive. What will they do when the slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write."

1815 "Students today depend on paper too much. They don’t know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?

1907 "Students today depend too much upon ink. They don’t know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil."

1928 "Students today depend upon ink from a shop. They don’t know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write works of cyphers until their next trip to town. This is a sad commentary on modern education. "

1941 "Students today depend on these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib. We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of learning how to cope in the real business world which is not so extravagant."

1950 "Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The values of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Business and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries. "

1980 "You can’t use those calculators on the test. If I let you do that, you wouldn’t ever learn how to use the tables in the back of the book and use interpolation to figure out your trig ratios."

1989 "We can’t let them use calculators in middle school. If we do, they’ll forget how to do long division or how to multiply three-digit numbers by three digit numbers. What will they do when they don’t have access to a calculator? "

1995 "Why would you ever want the internet for student use? It’s just the latest fad – have them use the library."

1996 "You don’t need a web page for our school. Who’s ever going to look at it? Teachers will never use email."

1999 "Why do you want network drops at every teacher’s desk? You’re not thinking of getting a computer for all of them, are you?"

1999 "What can you do with an LCD Projector that you can’t do with an overhead projector?"

2000 "Why are we talking about students having laptops in school? I don’t think most parents will even give their kids their old computer, much less buy them a new one."

2001 "Why would I want to put my grades on the web? Who’s going to look at them?"

2004 "Who could ever be bothered with texting, when you can just pick up the phone and call"

2008 "Why would we use interactive whiteboards, when we can do the same thing with an overhead projector?"

2014 "Why would students need to have their own device as a learning tool, they use them now as a toy just to play games?"

From a school newsletter, P. Zernike, March'2019