SCHOOL REFORM IN THE INFORMATION AGE

By Howard D. Mehlinger[16]

Archimedes was a great fan of the lever, a piece of technology that was presumably state of the art when he lived. While not every person exhibits Archimedes’ enthusiasm for technology, befor and since Archimedes and throughout all regions of the world people have used technology to make their lives richer and more comfortable. Indeed, the ability to make and use such tools as the fulcrum and the lever is one of the ways we distinguish human beings from other animal species.

Technology is not only a product of a given culture; it also shapes the culture that created it. The automobile is not merely an American artifact; it influences where we live, where we work, and how we entertain ourselves. It stands as a statement to others about who we are. The automobile has afected courtship patterns and relationships between races and social classes. Getting a driver’s license and acquiring a car have become rites of passage in American society. While we make our tools, to a remarkable degree our tools also make us.

Technology has always been an important part of schooling in America, but until recently the technology employed was rather simple and changed slowly. No one reading this article can remember when there were no textbooks, but the kind of textbooks we have today are largely products of the 20th century. Nor did teachers always have their primary tools—the blackboard and chalk. Slate blackboards did not appear in urban schools until the 1830s.

The forces driving the Information Age seem irresistible. It is impossible both to participate fully in the culture and yet resist its defining features. Thus, if the schools are an "immovable object", they are beginning to meet the "irresistible force"—Information Age technology.

Information Age technology is like that volcano. It is changing the landscape of American culture in ways we either take for granted or scarcely notice. There are holdouts. Many of us see no need for placing telephones in our cars or buying mobile telephones. Some believe that television is a corrupting influence and refuse to have a set in their homes. I know such people; I am largely sympatetic to their views. But most people who think television can be corrosive buy one anyway and try to control its use.