education needs a digital upgrade

Virginia Heffernen Education Needs a Digital Upgrade

1. I think that my teachers from elementary, middle, and high school over prepared us for college.  First, in elementary school, the teachers said that you needed to learn cursive because that was the only correct way to write.  Obviously, this is not true.  In middle and high school, the teachers gave us more homework because they all said that we would constantly be swamped in college, but yet that is not the case.  While we do have a lot of work in college, I'm not used to all of this free time, so it doesn't seem like we are getting that much homework.
2. In my chosen career field, medicine, I anticipate having to use a lot of technology.  First, using computers to keep patients charts and organize everything.  Second, I may have to use technology to do surgery or other procedures, like mini robotic cameras or robotic hands to literally do the surgery.  I do not think that my undergrad schooling at Oakland will prepare me for that, but the graduate medical school will definitely prepare me.
3. I write differently when writing in a blog/email than I do when writing an essay or report.  My writing is undoubtedly better when Im writing a formal paper because I am more focused on watching out for the correct grammar and punctuation, and making sure my ideas are coherent.  In a blog or email, my writing style is more relaxed and more free flowing.  I don't need to worry about the mechanics as much, and thus it better suits me.  
4. If I were a teacher, for any subject, I wouldn't try to prepare my students for the super high-tech jobs.  It would be pointless to even attempt to do so, as we don't even know what technology will be used at that point.  I would just try to keep my students current with technology.  In math, I would have them use calculators and other programs more than long hand, because in the real world, the students will have calculators more times than not.  In English, I would keep them up to date with posting using blogs, and I would try to show them that there is not one correct way to write anymore.  In science, I would do much of the same that I would do with math.  There is no way to know what will be available in the years to come, so if I have my students using the most current technologies to do calculations, they will never be behind.  
5. I believe that it is pointless to continue to try to educate children now on what may or may not be available for them in the future.  

Literacy

Summary

Sherman Alexi is a Indian boy who taught himself to read and be literate.  He started by reading Superman comics by putting words to the pictures, and later started reading his fathers books.  He grew up in a time when it wasn't accepted for Indians to be literate, and they were expected to be worse than everyone else.  Alexi showed everyone that its important to be literate and overcame great odds and now teaches other kids to be literate

Response

Alexi knew that it was important to be literate, and it would open many doors for him in the future.  It is equally as important for me to be literate.  However, it is different for me.  In Alexi’s case, it was frowned upon to be literate, but he wanted to show everyone that Indians can be literate and that being literate is a good thing.  For me, it is a necessity to be literate, and everyone expects that you are.    Being literate is one of the most important skills someone can have as a person.

Why writing is important

Writing is very important for many reasons.  Writing is a way to express yourself,  which is especially for my major, biology, and my intended profession, medicine.  In the medical field, you need to be able to clearly express yourself.  This is needed when you are explaining a certain condition to a patient, or how this condition may be cured.  Doctors also need to be able to appropriately communicate with other doctors to work together to find a treatment for a certain patient.  If the doctor cannot communicate well, and is easily misunderstood, this could lead to someones life being in danger.  On the other side of the medical field, research uses communication more than you think.  Scientists who make discoveries need to be able to properly document their findings to report to other doctors.  Weather it is spoken or written, communication is a vitally important aspect in the medical field.