Thursday, March 5, 2009

Movie Response - Wildcard

At the beginning of the movie, I thought that the concept of the “New Tech” school was great. It was giving these students an edge on technology that the majority of the nation’s schools can’t provide, but as the movie continued, I was drawn farther and farther from the idea. I think the major problem with this system was shown through comparing the two teens that graduated. The one teen graduated with exemplary recognition and went on to a well-known technology institution. It’s obvious that the “New Tech” concept worked to his advantage. On the other hand, the other teen barely managed to graduate, and it seemed that he had many struggles while attending this high school. Although he was given a background in a specific type of technology, it may not benefit him in the future, which would make a complete waste out of the time, money, and other resources needed to give a “high-tech” education. I think it is absurd to think that all students learn in the same way, or even share the same interests for that matter. To me, life is about balance – the more balanced everything is, the better it works out for the majority of the population. This high school was far from being balanced. Our society is on the verge of a technology wave, but that doesn’t mean the ways of the past should be forgotten. For example, when I am doing a research paper, the first place I look for resources is the internet. As an engineer, much of my research calls for scholarly journals, most of which are not available online. I physically have to walk to the library where much of these resources are available. These students will have no such background. What if they can’t find what they’re looking for in their digital library, would they ever know where to look? It’s probable they don’t even know what the Dewey Decimal System is or how resources are archived. Having a library that contains both written material and digital material would allow all students to have a well-rounded background. On the same note, why can’t a school with high regards to technology also have athletics and other extracurricular activities? I feel that in the scheme of trying to expose students to one item, the school has completely forgotten about everything else student should be learning, and even more importantly experiencing, in high school. It just seems that this type of concept would produce a student body lacking individualism and whose educational background is way too focused for the majority of jobs available. We still need car mechanics, builders, and many other occupations that are not technology based, and classes which offer a hands-on approach are best suited for these types of positions. I would recommend to this high school that these types of disciplines not be forgotten, but rather offered in equally with regards to the other technology disciplines. A balanced and diverse student body with a background in technology will benefit society the greatest in the future.

1 comment:

  1. I completely agree with you on your opinion of tech high. I began the movie thinking it would be a cool idea but by the end I realized that these kids were not really getting a well-rounded education which could prove to be detrimental to college and job searching in their future.

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