Sad Stuff

Occasionally I browse through the headlines, and I'm always amazed by the order in which they're placed. Deaths and bombings are sandwiched between celebrity beauty secrets and political scandals. As someone who doesn't, in general, have a great love of technology, I mourn the days when real news was given priority over silly crap; now they seem to share the same significance. I don't wonder when my students want to write informative or argumentative essays on unimportant topics. I just try to steer them toward something more relevant. (One of my students did her compare/contrast essay on high heels vs. wedges.) I may have to develop a list of allowed topics they can pick from. Some will come up with appropriate topics on their own, but for those who just can't, I can guide them a bit more forcefully. One of my current students wanted to write his persuasive essay on The Hughes Act. I don't know what that is -- although I will look it up -- but he wasn't able to find sufficient research on the topic.

Anyway, back to the news, I'm not sure that it's just a media problem. I really think that people's priorities are skewed in a way they didn't used to be. Part of it may be related to what news is most discussed or promoted, but there are many events and issues that never appear in the media, or if they do not much attention is given to them. That's one way technology can be helpful: anyone can find out about any topic with a little effort -- very little effort, in fact.

What if we didn't get our news from TV or entertainment sites or social media? What if we actually researched issues we wanted to know about rather than just liking or sharing them on Facebook? What if we understood our opinions to the point we could logically defend them? I know; it sounds like some crazy utopia. I'll tone it down -- while I look up The Hughes Act.