Are We Going Backwards or Forward?

I can't help thinking that we're going backwards in our development as human beings, individually, and corporately, as in culturally. You may agree or disagree, but just because we've developed "Artificial Intelligence" now doesn't actually mean that we are advancing. What it means to me is that the power to develop technology lies in the hands of a few people who are experts at it, and the rest of us are rapidly sliding down the intellectual guardrail. This is, of course, just my opinion. I have a master’s degree in family studies and a Ph. D. in child development, but it's not in computer science, so it really doesn't count in the world we are living in now. As far as human development, so-called, or developmental psychology, is concerned, I am a Piagetian. I'm not going to lecture you about this, you can look it up. I'm just saying, we go through stages of cognitive development about which most people, including (this is just my opinion) people in education, and that is where a lot of the problems in education lie. When I was teaching at the college level, the education departments looked down on me and called my field "home ec." They thought they were better than me, smarter, more sophisticated, even though I taught classes that were required of people getting their degrees in education. Where they came from calling my department "home ec" was because it combined several disciplines that used to fall under that umbrella. So there was interior design, hotel and restaurant management, gerontology, fashion merchandising and child development. At the high school level these subjects, at whatever degree they are taught, are collectively known as Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS), which in days of old was called "Home Ec"--home economics. I think at one of the universities where I taught, they combined what they called the department of Human Sciences with the department of Education. I was already gone before they completed that process. At the university where I earned my Ph. D., the department was called Human Ecology (which was really what my Ph.D. is in, Child Development being the "emphasis”). None of what I learned in my graduate classes and none of what I learned teaching college does me much good anymore, which makes me wonder at times why I put myself through all that. There are probably a number of reasons, but I guess bottom line is I really love learning things. I really loved going to class, reading, studying, writing papers and taking exams. I think I really wanted to be a professional student, which I suppose I was until I started teaching college. There I learned that my expectation of students was completely inaccurate. I thought they would be glad to be there and eager to study and learn, and I found something else entirely. The expectation was that they would not behave like elementary or high school students. They would be mature and motivated, and would be such a pleasure to work with. That was not always the case, in fact, it mostly was not the case. There were a few exceptions, thank goodness. I believe very much that Divine Providence led me, after being ejected from the tenure track, and after about three years in journalism, to work in Head Start, then substitute teach, then tutor a Spanish-speaking high school student (I started out with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a major in Spanish and a minor in French), and then work as a literacy tutor at an elementary school. All of my learning gets applied at this job, and I am very grateful for it. I thank God for it. In fact, it is almost as if this job was tailor made for me, whereas I did not even know such a thing existed before I ended up doing it. I also get to assist in teaching music to kindergartners. I work with the best educators and administrators imaginable and I love my job. It's a lot different than what I expected I'd be doing when I started going to graduate school, but this is where I believe God has placed me. Now, about the human race being dumbed down, I still see that happening, and I think it's very unfortunate, but what I also understand is that I am serving in a multi-faceted helping role in the position I now occupy. So I approach tutoring students hoping to meet them where they are and help them up to the next level in their development. This is usually a pleasure. Yes, sometimes there are behavior issues with some kids, but the longer I do it the more I appreciate I still love music, writing and art, and feel that maybe I will do more with them in the future, but in the same way that I did not know how I would have a job as a literacy tutor, I do not know what the future holds. I am already way past retirement age as the world sees it. I do not have a million dollars to retire on. I do not have an idea for the "great American novel." I do not even have a degree in English or creative writing. I just live from day to day and consider myself a servant. During the summer, I have more time to read and write and think about all these things, and do some of these things, but I believe God calls us to serve God and people, not to make a name for ourselves or become rich and famous, so I focus on enjoying life in the moment and day by day, and do so with love and I hope to grow as a person and be a help to kids that need it. And as for our country, I believe in "one nation, under God, indivisible," and I am willing to do my part whatever that may require of me.