Yep, we are brothers in arms in that sense. I push back a bit, but remain super respectful of those who remain diehard YECs. I believe in being charitable anyway, but the fact that I refuse to agree with some of my scientific colleagues in the church that science supports a YEC position has led to some rabble-rousers labeling me an evolutionist. My usual response to them is to suggest they attend one of my classes, which offer is never accepted. So far my position at my college is safe, but I do get some heat at times. The recent flare-up of right-wing, fundamentalist evangelical zeal over proper belief in origins has infected my church too, so I do worry a bit about what the future holds. I wish fundamentalist type churches would realize how much healthier it is to maintain a plurality of belief around origins.
I concur. I have been teaching for 33 years now, and undergraduate writing has definitely gotten worse. Reading and writing go hand-in-hand. If you don’t read widely, it is hard to write well.
In undergrad, I had to read a book called “How to Read a Book”! It was from 1940, by Mortimer J Adler. How to Read a Book - Wikipedia. I have to admit, I did learn from it.
I enjoy this joke.
Did you read this book you are recommending? I noticed that the author is selling a kindle version of her book, which seems strange.
Surely you aren’t suggesting that Bryan’s students have ADD? Ever since television found its way into our homes, parents have been advised to limit screen time for their kids. And my parents were very strict about it, and it made us mad! So I think this is part of good parenting. Parents should discuss this with their kids’ pediatricians and teachers.
I’d be leery about seeing doctors, nurses, veterinarians, lawyers, and what have you who aren’t strong readers!
I agree. The official groups recommend avoiding excess screen time (who knew our parents were right) to improve concentration. The DSM V criteria for ADD are specific, and I don’t know his students, but it makes sense that that lack of reading, as you say, could be a difficulty. I think ADD is specific, but there’s certainly a spectrum of difficulty if we don’t train our minds. Well said.
Hi Christy,
While the article you linked looks interesting, I’m not sure I have the patience for it. Is there a summary on YouTube?
Chris
(. 
)-moderator edit
!trela ynorI
Myron Tuman’s book “Word Perfect” (c. 1994) was prescient.
Interesting. Looks like it’s out of print. It can be read for free at Open Library, however: WordPerfect by Myron C. Tuman | Open Library
This is very interesting that the data is out now, and I was in high school in the early 2000s when cell phones were becoming a thing. We didn’t know if the warning about too much screen time was hype, but I’m thankful for my parents being those who kept our screens to a minimum. It’s sad though, that many a few years younger than myself grew up surrounded by screens and there are now negative impacts being attributed to that.
It’s also interesting that there is a video-game-esque attention exercise for people with ADHD to help them focus, and it’s been out for a few years now and there seem to be positive results as far as strengthening and rewiring neural pathways for some people. However, it’s probably like every educational philosophy and method in the past (I ghost educational professional development so I don’t know much) where doing one thing clearly didn’t work for everybody, and then a new method came about. The new method helped a lot of people, but then it wasn’t good for other students. When I was studying Ed I heard a lot about how rewards were terrible for students. But we focused more on “learning styles” than the fact that some students have a neurotypical rewards system, yet for non-neurotypicals like kids with ADHD, they don’t have the same kind of reward system so the standard methods didn’t engage their attention. So while students’ ability to focus is impacted by screen time and quick info, it’s also helpful to have an (self-)awareness of what motivates and sustains focus. I’m really rusty on educational practices though, and I’m just starting to read more about dual coding.
Dear me Brian. I am aghast. I feel for you I do. Are you alone in this? It’s the shallow end of my favourite short story The Gostak and the Doshes. That your peers in Eden have swallowed bitter fruit.
That’s really interesting–thanks! You can teach me.
You’ve got more of the research under your belt. I’ve only been quoting what the guidelines have been telling us, especially for kids under 2 (avoid screen time) and a bit above (no more than 1 hour; not that I follow it religiously myself–sometimes we need that time!) but it sounds like there are really neat variations. I do see that the AAP has encouraged parents to participate in time that their kids, especially teens, use.
The other reason they suggest that guideline is because of obesity, though here is an AAP on early screen use.
Study: Early Childhood Screen Time Leads to Less Time Reading Print Books (aap.org)
Beyond Screen Time: Help Your Kids Build Healthy Media Use Habits - HealthyChildren.org
We do to 
We’re well over the limit most days…The kids like to have some game time each day and I try to balance that with a show, but when they like to watch whatever the others so it adds up way too fast 
When we talk screen time at Dr appts, their clinicians seem to be lenient on that suggestion after the past couple of years.
Well, at least the campus is beautiful. Could not ask for a better setting.
@bness2,
Just listened to The Gostak and the Doshes, while I cleaned up the kitchen. Yeah, Klax. Homeopathically speaking, it was the right prescription. Good story, in spite of that.
No, thankfully. I have a number of supporters, some of them higher positions. I have consistently had academic deans and presidents at my institution who have protected me from accusations. The tradition in my church has typically been to wait until retirement and then speak one’s mind. I have been more open than that before retiring, but have consistently taken a non-threatening stance, if you understand what I mean. What continues to baffle me is that I have friends at other institutions who openly teach that geology supports the Noachian Flood and a short term chronology. They are better trained than me in geology and so ought to know better.
Have not read that one. I am a scifi fan, so I will have to read it now. What is your current situation?
And yet here we all are, in front of a screen!
If a student has a diagnosed condition such as dyslexia, impaired sight, or whatever, a good university will accommodate her so she can learn the material. But the student still has to learn the material.
What worked ‘back in the day’ was that the boys had to buy their own Nintendo and TV and give Mom equal time in chores. ; - )
And we do. Students have the option of listening to texts if they have disabilities that prevent them from reading. I even sometimes have an exam proctor for students who need exam questions read to them, but we are talking about a minority of students that fall into these categories. The 80% of students who do not read their assigned reading are not all diagnosed as having learning disabilities. You mentioned laziness before. I think for many students it goes deeper than that. They lack good time management and may not have good developed executive function. We also know that many of our students think it is normal to interrupt their reading every minute or two to text a friend or check an Instagram or TikTok post, all while listening to music and possibly watching a video on the side. The act of just sitting and reading for a 15 minute stretch, let alone for an hour, is very foreign to many of today’s students. Students actually believe they can multitask in this manner and actually read their assignments. Getting students off their devices and reading in a focused manner is so needed these days.
(I don’t procrastinate, I’ve taken to the science that airlines practice called “delay management”. ; - )