The Progressive Teacher Vol 04 Issue 03

ethics
–Jeny Rapheal
Proliferation of electronic
gadgets - thanks to the
technological revolution -
has redefined the fundamental
cognitive functioning of the
human brain in such a way that
consumption of cognitive energy
for seemingly complex tasks has
been transferred to the domain
of machine world. The brain in
leisure, left with much free space
for ruminating, devises more
and more means for mental
shortcuts. Shortcuts beget desire
for more shortcuts. Yes, it is like
an addiction.
Two ways of
burning brain energy
According to scientific studies,
of all organs brain consumes
greatest amount of energy and
activities in the brain drain
20% of human body’s total
haul. On analyzing, one has to
concede that burning of brain
energy too follows the pleasure
principle put forward by the
19th century psychologist,
Sigmund Freud. Burning of
cognitive energy (effort) if
associated with pleasure, the
accompanying feeling of being
‘drained out’ or ‘lethargic’ is
also pleasing and the person
indulges in it repeatedly. Mobile
games are typical ways for
spending cognitive energy
in this way. But burning of
energy for mastering a task by
persevering and persisting in it,
if dependent largely on the will
power or grit of the individual,
the accompanying lethargy or
the feeling of being ‘drained’
cannot be enjoyed much and
the task itself can pose as a
negative reinforcer. Learning of
several new skills, at least in the
beginning, resembles this kind of
burning of cognitive energy.
This produces two types of
individuals. The first type avoids
or escapes from insipid way
of expending cognitive energy.
While the second type count
on the positive outcomes of
persisting in comparatively
unpleasant ways of cognitive
burning. The former group,
pursuing hedonistic impulses
finds asylum in their comfort
zones comprising, perhaps,
laziness, sloth, inertia, etc. Such
people are highly susceptible
to easily available mental
shortcuts to execute most of
their cognitive tasks. The second
type of individuals never succumb
to the machine world but learn
to utilize technology to expand
their innate potential. Their
COPYING IN EXAMINATION-
JUST ANOTHER SHORTCUT
What differentiates cognitive functioning of the present youth from their
counterparts decades back is their increasing dependence on mental
shortcuts. There is a fundamental drive for shortcuts in all realms of
modern life.
persevering nature does not allow
machines to dictate their lives.
Addiction to shortcuts - a
learned habit
Preference for shortcuts to meet
important as well as unimportant
demands of everyday life has
been very much ingrained in the
lives of people today. Whether
this culture of shortcuts can
hurt people’s capacity for
perseverance or hard work or
sustained effort in the face of
difficulties is the question.
Acquaintance with shortcuts
begins in the home. Life flows
on pre-determined templates of
shortcuts provided by electronic
equipment. From the kitchen
to bath room, home seems to
be a gallery for shortcut living.
Doing something manually is
an affair of an unknown era
and the new generation lives
on instrumentally designed
recipes for a range of activities
literally from cooking to sleeping.
Intimacy involved in face-toface
communication becomes a
casualty when gadgets determine
the time, mode and outcomes in
connecting with one’s intimate
kith and kin. Ethical and humane
values in which relationships are
imbedded, have been redefined. A
like in the face book is a shortcut
not only to express one’s likeness
but to cut short one’s habitual
ways of communicating the
‘liking’. In the absence of face
book or whatsapp, we have to
set out to articulate our ‘liking’
either by writing/communicating
in detail or by face to face
meeting. Now, face to face
meeting has been cut down to
face book click. Brevity rules
the roost. Muscles of the brain
Jeny Raphael is a higher secondary
school teacher working in Kerala, India.
She has 16 years experience in the
field of teaching. She has published
more than 15 research papers in
various national, international journals.
At present she is doing research in
adolescent psychology in the Bharathiar
University, Coimbatore.
breathe in and breathe out only
through shortcuts.
School mimics
shortcut culture
‘It is my Math teacher who
initiated me to my never ending
love for shortcuts in learning by
teaching shortcut methods of
solving problems’, quipped my
colleague while discussing the
shortcut mania of our students.
Students’ ‘homemade’
preferences for shortcuts get
strengthened by many teaching
methods. Many teachers join
the bandwagon of utility
oriented educators who practice
examination oriented shortcut
methods of teaching and learning.
‘End result justifies means’ is the
watch word of commercialized
culture invading the scenario of
present education system.
Examination oriented teaching
deprives the student of the
cognitive burden of imagining,
researching and indulging in
deliberate rumination of the
concepts to be learned. On
the other hand, it promotes
and motivates rote learning.
Learning by rote or learning
intended merely to regurgitate
into answer sheets what one
has mugged up, undermines the
14 The Progressive Teacher Jul/Aug 2017