the Sesame Street Syndrome

"Wireless Laptops in the Classroom (and the Sesame Street Syndrome),"Communications of the ACM,September 2006, vol.49, No.9, pp.25-pp.27.

本記事を読んで、日頃感じていたことを再認識すると同時に世界的な課題になっている、ということを痛感しました。しかし、the Sesame Street Syndrome、という表現は面白いですね。

1972年にEda LaShanと言う方が以下のような大学のクラス内の現象をthe Sesame Street Syndromeと呼んだのだそうです。

In 1972, Eda LaShan described a phenomenon - called the Sesame Stree Syndrome - that can be seen in modern college classrooms across the U.S. It "teaches children," LaShan wrote, "there are rignt answers to many questions, that facts themselves are valuable, that children's questions are irrelevant - since grownups are willing to do all the asking and answering - that thinking is irrelavant, because there's no time for it, that making mistakes is bad, and that failing should avoided at all costs". Children growing up with "Sesame Street" and other fast-paced, information-intensive entertainment are accustomed to learning about their world this way.

具体的に私が悩んでいるのは、グルール先生に何でも聞いて、単にそれをコピーして満足し、何も考えようとしない学生があまりにも多いことです。そして、それだけで卒業・修了しているがくせいのなんと多いことか。

The problem is that Googling delivers data and information, not knowledge. Knowledge is defined as "information combined with experience, context, interpretation, and reflection. It is a high-value form of information that is ready to apply to decisions and actions." Unlike the classroom, the Web has no teacher to help students create knowledgefrom information.