I was recently turned on to a podcast called Brain Science Podcast, hosted by Dr. Ginger Campbell, M.D. of the University of Alabama Medicine, in Birmingham, AL.
I was particularly struck by episode 29 (PDF transcript) in which Dr. Campbell interviews Dr. Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid and the Director of The Center of Reading and Language at Tufts University (Woo! A local lady!). In the interview they discuss Dr. Wolf's work, which includes neurocognitive research into the Dyslexic brain and the ways in which children learn to read.
Dr. Wolf also discusses her concern with the growing trend of digital literacy in conjunction with the dramatic decrease in critical literacy amongst adolescents. Her arguments are pointed and very heartfelt. Her dedication to children with dyslexia is certainly inspiring. Dr. Campbell also dedicated episode 24 (PDF transcript) to Dr. Wolf's book, which is certainly on my summer reading list this year!
Take a listen! And a Look!
A great choice for summer reading. Maryanne is a colleague of my husband's, at Tufts, and someone we've known for a long time. Her book is well-researched and very provocative. There's a long history of concern about what new technology and means of expression does to the brain. (Plato was very concerned what would be lost with a move from oral expression to writing.) The concerns are real, and we can certainly try not to loose the capacities we've developed with prior technologies. But Maryanne's book has been taken as evidence that the sky is falling, and I don't think that the sky is falling (and I think that's too simple a reading for what she wants us to take away).
ReplyDelete