The end of post-modernism

Hello everyone,

It's the day before a holiday, so I would like to wax philosophical.

I think we are witnessing the end of post-modernism and the beginning of a new major trend. I propose that we call this major trend "millenialism." That name seems to fit the age, and I'm tired of "-isms" that begin with "post."

It's impossible in the early stages of a paradigm shift to separate all the elements that distinguish the new paradigm from those of the old one, but there are some things that are going on that I think will likely characterize much of the next half-century. I mention only those that I think are most appropriate for general educators to consider:

1. The notion of community is being severely altered. Community is no longer going to be determined by geographical proximity, but by shared interests. Communities will be formed on the web around ad hoc meeting sites such as Myspace or Facebook (the latter of which ironically begins with geographical commonality--ie, the members belong to a specific university--that breaks down almost immediately as new communities are formed with Facebook as the vehicle); groups of "friends" that are collected as instant messages, cell phone numbers, or email address books; groups formed around advertised products (clothing lines, music, films), political issues (not parties), or other fads.

2. Face to face communication is going to be much less common. Even when people are together, they are increasingly communicating in asides to each other as they divide their concentration between the asides and their entertainment. Having meaningful conversations isolated from the electronic background will be rare.

3. Writing will be increasingly important, but not in the traditional sense. Spelling and grammar will be altered to accommodate text messaging.

4. Communal entertainment experiences will become rarer; fewer people will go to theaters or stadia for anything but "mega" experiences (mega-concerts, large sporting events, large extravaganzas). Intimate artistic experiences will be viewed electronically, and that mostly solo. Solo audience experiences (like iPods) will further isolate us.

5. Attention spans will be even shorter. Patience will be a virtue that must be consciously taught; there will be little in the world to teach it.

6. Cheating will be (you may read this "is") endemic.

This may sound pessimistic or fatalistic. I don't intend it to be. I think that we need to look at as much as we can, then see what we can do.

If I were working in the classroom through the trends I believe are happening, I would overtly teach my students the need for face to face communication. I would help them to form themselves into a community. I would refuse to allow them to hide behind their electronic devices. I would try to accommodate their short attention spans while I tried to help them lengthen those spans. I would teach them to appreciate communal experiences. I would not allow cheating. I would not allow them to use text-message spelling or grammar in formal essays.

I suppose I'm doomed to be old fashioned and very post-modern, but there are things that I think are valuable that may be lost to a large extent if we in education don't nurture them.

At the same time, I can continue to love my iPod if I want.

Jeff Combe