A Student's Response to Dr. Matusov’s article, “A Student’s Right to Freedom of Education”

Shonda Kitchen

doi:10.5195/dpj.2020.361

Abstract

This essay is a commentary on Dr. Matusov’s article “A Student’s Right to Freedom of Education”, and it will reflect on Dr. Cresswell’s and Dr. Dyck’s technology-free classroom experiment as well as some of the thoughts and opinions expressed in Dr. Matusov’s article. In particular, this essay will examine and raise some objections to Dr. Matusov’s thoughts and opinions and argue for a more nuanced and tempered view of the nature of the student’s right to freedom of education. The technology-free experiment and Dr. Matusov’s objection to it will be explored and met with arguments in support of the experiment and the possible benefits of a technology-free learning environment. The remainder of the essay will largely consider Dr. Matusov’s thoughts on the student’s right to freedom of education and will offer arguments both for and against some of Dr. Matusov’s thoughts expressed in his article. Finally, an argument for a more holistic and structured view of authority and freedom in education will be discussed, using some studies on the Finnish education system as an example of one approach to improving education.

Highlights

This essay is a commentary on Dr Matusov’s article “A Student’s Right to Freedom of Education”, and it will reflect on Dr Cresswell’s and Dr Dyck’s technology-free classroom experiment as well as some of the thoughts and opinions expressed in Dr Matusov’s article
She hopes that she never stops learning. Earlier this year, during my winter semester at Ambrose University, I took part in a classroom experiment in which no technology was allowed. This experiment was under the direction of two professors from Ambrose University: Dr Cresswell, Professor of Psychology, and Dr Dyck, Assistant Professor of English Literature
Because I am in the English program at Ambrose University, I enrolled in Dr Dyck’s class on popular fiction, one of the two classes participating in the experiment

Summary

Introduction

This essay is a commentary on Dr Matusov’s article “A Student’s Right to Freedom of Education”, and it will reflect on Dr Cresswell’s and Dr Dyck’s technology-free classroom experiment as well as some of the thoughts and opinions expressed in Dr Matusov’s article. One of the most interesting and helpful things I have learned from some of my professors in the English program is that it is more beneficial to take notes by hand rather than on a laptop.

Results

Conclusion