Angela's thoughts on "A Vision of Students Today,"

What do college students think about their classes? Professor Michael Wesch and his class addresses this question in a short YouTube video called “A Vision of Students today”. In his video Wesch shows his students expressing their thoughts on the matter. The soundtrack that was played set a saddening and depressive tone, it was almost as if someone or something had died. Then a quote is shown that states children are bewildered when they enter an education establishment. The music and this quote set a tone of loss and confusion that is echoed in the following thoughts of the students. The students make points that...

• Their classes are impersonal, and the work is irrelevant.
• They spend thousands of dollars for books and classes they don't use or attend.
• They understand how privileged they are to have good finances and the opportunity to have an education.
• They spend much larger amounts of time writing and reading e-mails and Facebook than they do reports and textbooks.
• Taking exams and memorizing information will not help with the worlds problems like Poverty, war, disease, and so on.

Wesch and his students also address comments about technology being the answer to these problems, "Some have suggested technology can save us". His students reply that when they bring their laptops to class they often are not using them for class purposes they, in fact, are using Facebook and Instant Messaging. Though it is not said I believe that this video calls for an education reform. The bleak atmosphere along with the startling facts of these students point of view implies that classes today are often irrelevant and sometimes useless.

Wesch and his students’ thoughts impacted me. It made me wonder if we do need to change our education system. People are much more likely to do something if they feel it makes sense, has a purpose, or if they enjoy it. Maybe that is why so many Students don’t apply themselves fully to their classwork, because they do not find their work to be interesting or even useful.

So we come to a new question, how can school work become more interesting and relevant to students? Adding technology to the classrooms did not help, if just provided and added distraction. I think classes explain the practical use of the skill they are trying to teach and apply it in real world circumstances. For example I heard of an elementary school teacher who taught her students math skills then brought her class to a grocery store with coupons and a list of what to buy. She split her class into groups and set them into the store telling them whichever team spends the least amount of money for the given items wins. Her class was able to use their math skill in a real world setting and had fun doing it. All teachers and instructors should think like that elementary school teacher, and perhaps if they do there would be less feelings of loss and wasted effort by students.