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Prologue -
Human Evolution: From Spear-it Spirit to Net Values
The only adventures worth undertaking are those requiring fear to overcome
In the spirit of full product disclosure, and in an effort to adapt to the modern reader's busy schedule, I offer this summary of my book in a paragraph. Consequently, if you don’t have $20 to buy my book or the time necessary to read it–or are simply trying to decide whether my book is worth your investment–then read this prologue as a condensed version of my thoughts about living, learning and having fun in the Digital Age. I only ask that after you are done, please place the book back nicely on the shelf without bending any pages so that others who have the time, money and inclination to invest in my book will be allowed to buy a fresh copy.
In a paragraph - a rather long paragraph, admittedly - the book says this...
Education in the Information Age does not require that U.S. schools neglect or discard large numbers of children,
whether willingly or carelessly, who don't appear to be "making the grade" by traditional standards.
We have the technology, proven teaching methods and the heart to create educational experiences that
can bring all students into the present and carry them to productive futures of personal fulfillment
and community advantage. To do that we must take back the future from those who feel threatened or
victimized by our technological progress. All we lack is a concrete vision. The short list of
essential components of this vision follows:
- using wisdom to guide our increasing intelligence
- setting schooling in the larger "real-life" context of community and industry to shape it in
ways that make sense to adults and young people alike
- requiring our students to contribute to the neighborhoods that nurture them
- raising the role of "teacher" to an elevated status in which classroom
leaders deservedly are respected equally for their knowledge and their practical wisdom
- preparing and compensating teachers for their role in society
- loving the mystery; knowing that not knowing all the answers provides us an opportunity
to explore our imaginations, believe in magic and push ourselves to overcome our fears
- celebrating the differences between humans and machines
- seeing all of our new technologies as story-telling amplifiers that allow us to create
social narrative in new, often-confusing yet enlightening ways
- engaging in the active stewardship of our technologies so that we can direct them–at
least as much as they will let us...
- learning the language of art - which has become the fourth R or next literacy in the age
of multimedia - so that we can communicate effectively in the global village and reflect on the machines
that overwhelm us
- accepting that getting lost is part of any journey no matter how well we plan, and that planning
for change is preferable to changing our plan
- believing that our attitude about learning will control our aptitude because knowledge
will be so fast-changing that only those who actually enjoy learning will thrive
- accepting that the linear, "either/or" problem-solving approaches of the past
no longer work in the continuum-based, "both/and" world of the Digital Age
- understanding fully that who we are in an age of highly amplified and far-reaching tools - ethically, cognitively, socially,
spiritually, emotionally, interpersonally - is a matter of human survival and liberation, not simply cultural preference or predisposition
- reading McLuhan - as unreadable as his work tends to be - so that we can better understand our ancestry as global citizens
- practicing the art of having fun because it is the only way to keep the child within from becoming horribly adult-like
- viewing the world through the lens of absurdity because doing so is often the only way to visualize the sanity we seek
- accepting each other's limitations as a prerequisite to emotional networking, and practicing compassion as we do so
- believing that we are what we believe - spirit made flesh, and not the other way around
- believing that technologies are just ideas with clothes on - just mirrors that tell us who we are
- accepting that "Then What?" is an ageless question, both historically and personally
- and, most importantly, knowing that the degree of kindness and forgiveness we show others during
our lives is all anyone will remember about any of us at our memorial service
This is the book's message. All the rest in the pages that follow consists of case-building and commentary.
If you feel you already understand all that this message implies, then feel free to pass up
my book in favor of something else - perhaps a good music CD, or maybe a contribution to your local
school. But if some of the points in the summary intrigue you, or if you simply would like to hear
me tell the tale of living in the remarkable age in which you find yourself, then by all means read on.
It is a journey that I promise you will never forget.
Keep reading: go on to Chapter 1
See Table of Contents
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