Human Relationships

 I see Turkle and Wesch more as allies than opponents. After reading both texts, I noticed that both authors understand the importance of human interaction. Turkle reminds us that people are becoming "alone" even though they are always on "social" media. People today are choosing to stay plugged into virtual world instead of having authentic, face-to-face conversations with one another. Turkle states, “FACE-TO-FACE conversation unfold slowly. It teaches patience. When we communicate on our digital devices, we learn different habits.” By choosing technology over humans, we start to expect things to happen at rapid paces, and we lose the patience and skills to have real conversations. Humans are social animals and I agree with Turkle that many of us today are becoming too dependent on technology instead of people, which in turn can lead us into feelings of addiction and loneliness.

In Wesch’s writing, “Anti-Teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance,” Wesch argues that students are struggling to find the relevance within their own schooling. He explains that the students are not at fault because they are often programmed to prepare for testing instead of their own role in helping to shape the future. He wants his students to ask great questions, not about whether or not certain material will be on a test. I do believe that Wesch has some similar beliefs to Turkle because he incorporates collaboration in his teaching and human relationships. Wesch explains that he has had classes with hundreds of students but he still finds ways to have them up and moving and working together. Collaboration increases the learning experience and creates a student-centered approach, which in turn increases the “significance” of the education. Therefore, I can see how these authors would agree that human relationships are an important part of our future.