8." ON DUMBING UP". THE POWER OF THE WRITTEN WORD : Review

                   

 The Power Of Words.

My interest, when reading blogs and articles, is firmly fixed in the arts & culure, education, history and politics sections. But this blog is a journey of discovery into the world of cyberspace; of clouds and digital, virtual worlds. So my focus has been on finding out as much as I can about technology in 21st century education. If you trawl through the maze of educational 'stuff' on the Internet for long enough, you can find some really informative websites and articles.I have read so many interesting blogs lately and have found some excellent sources..I did therefore want to review a blog that had something to do with technology; an obvious theme, and there are many - but instead , I came across this. I found it via The Guardian. (I was browsing through the archives in the education and politics section) It's not about technology, but it is about education. It's a great blog by David Crystal "ON DUMBING UP" and I strongly urge you to follow the link at the end of this post, and read it.

There was huge outcry and widespread media coverage reporting accusations of 'dumbing down' A-levels, after the news that Caitlin Moran's twitter feed, and the language of celebrities like Dizzee Rascal,Russell Brand and Jeremy Paxman, will now be studied as part of a new A-level English language and literature syllabus.

David Crystal's blog is a MUST READ. He's a linguistics lecturer, writer and public speaker, and he responds so excellently and so eloquently to the media cover accusations. It's a very powerful blog, yet it is subtle, and his words fizz with conviction and wisdom. He explains why an interview with Dizzee Rascal as a topic of study, belongs alongside classical literature on the A- level English language and literature syllabus.

He writes: " The press juxtaposes Russell Brand and Shakespeare, and calls the process a dumbing down. But we appreciate Shakespeare, by contrasting him to non-Shakespeare - both in his time and afterwards."

" We appreciate literature by contrasting it to non-literature. The process can be unconscious - it usually is - but is enhanced when made conscious, which is what A-level courses are all about. It is enabling students to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the language of literature. It is not dumbing down. It is actually dumbing up."


Follow the link to read the rest of David Crystal's Blog . It's wonderful and everyone should read it, if only to appreciate the power and the beauty of the written word - the power of language and reasoned argument.

Check out these other great blogs and websites too:

David Hopkins - Technology and Enhanced Learning http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/          

EDUCAUSE
http://www.educause.edu/research-and-

100 Best Tools
publicationshttp://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/powtoon/ 


http://www.edupad.com/blog/2014/09/edupad-partners-technology-learning-lab-special-learners/

http://tylerducas.blogspot.co.uk/




Source:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/commentisfree