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School Book
Book by postman, neil
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
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About the author
Neil Postman
48 books1,048 followersNeil Postman, an important American educator, media theorist and cultural critic was probably best known for his popular 1985 book, Amusing Ourselves to Death. For more than four decades he was associated with New York University, where he created and led the Media Ecology program.
He is the author of more than thirty significant books on education, media criticism, and cultural change including Teaching as a Subversive Activity, The Disappearance of Childhood, Technopoly, and Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century.
Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985), a historical narrative which warns of a decline in the ability of our mass communications media to share serious ideas. Since television images replace the written word, Postman argues that television confounds serious issues by demeaning and undermining political discourse and by turning real, complex issues into superficial images, less about ideas and thoughts and more about entertainment. He also argues that television is not an effective way of providing education, as it provides only top-down information transfer, rather than the interaction that he believes is necessary to maximize learning. He refers to the relationship between information and human response as the Information-action ratio.
He is the author of more than thirty significant books on education, media criticism, and cultural change including Teaching as a Subversive Activity, The Disappearance of Childhood, Technopoly, and Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century.
Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985), a historical narrative which warns of a decline in the ability of our mass communications media to share serious ideas. Since television images replace the written word, Postman argues that television confounds serious issues by demeaning and undermining political discourse and by turning real, complex issues into superficial images, less about ideas and thoughts and more about entertainment. He also argues that television is not an effective way of providing education, as it provides only top-down information transfer, rather than the interaction that he believes is necessary to maximize learning. He refers to the relationship between information and human response as the Information-action ratio.
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February 13, 2025"By pointing out the limitations of an institutions, we do away with the need to defend it against unreason demands, and we clear the way for a realistic appraisal of what it can do--and might do better."
Dated only in its references to the political landscape of the time. Definitely promotes some provocative ideas (e.g. we focus too much on reading when students can learn through various different media) that would fly in the face of contemporary beliefs on schools. And he was a linguist!
Dated only in its references to the political landscape of the time. Definitely promotes some provocative ideas (e.g. we focus too much on reading when students can learn through various different media) that would fly in the face of contemporary beliefs on schools. And he was a linguist!
July 20, 2025
Ol' Neil tells us once again what all the hollerin' is about and it ain't about what they're cooking in the cafeteria. It is remarkable how little things have changed in over forty years. America needs another Neil!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews