{"id":222,"date":"2018-01-19T15:06:48","date_gmt":"2018-01-19T15:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/?page_id=222"},"modified":"2025-01-31T19:41:55","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T19:41:55","slug":"learning-unit-7-the-disappearance-of-childhood","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/?page_id=222","title":{"rendered":"Learning Unit 7: The Disappearance of Childhood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-columns gb-slate-section-hero-title gpb-slate-section-hero-title gb-layout-columns-1 one-column gb-has-background-dim gb-has-background-dim-20 gb-background-cover gb-background-no-repeat gb-has-custom-background-color gb-has-custom-text-color gb-columns-center alignfull\" style=\"margin-bottom:50px;padding-top:5em;padding-right:1em;padding-bottom:5em;padding-left:1em;background-color:#1f1f1f;color:#f5f5f5;background-image:url(https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/cropped-multiple-tv-screens-1.jpg);background-position:48% 72%\"><div class=\"gb-layout-column-wrap gb-block-layout-column-gap-1 gb-is-responsive-column\" style=\"max-width:1200px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-columns gb-layout-columns-2 gb-2-col-wideleft gb-columns-center alignfull\"><div class=\"gb-layout-column-wrap gb-block-layout-column-gap-8 gb-is-responsive-column\" style=\"max-width:1200px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column gb-is-vertically-aligned-top\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#f5f5f5\">Learning Unit 7:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Disappearance of Childhood<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column gb-is-vertically-aligned-center\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/learning-unit-7-the-disappearance-of-childhood\/\">Introduction<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/learning-unit-7-the-disappearance-of-childhood\/#1\">Chapter 1: When There Were No Children<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/learning-unit-7-the-disappearance-of-childhood\/#2\">Chapter 2: The Printing Press and the New Adult<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/learning-unit-7-the-disappearance-of-childhood\/#3\">Chapter 3: The Incunabula of Childhood<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/learning-unit-7-the-disappearance-of-childhood\/#6\">Chapter 6: The Total Disclosure Medium<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/learning-unit-7-the-disappearance-of-childhood\/#7\">Chapter 7: The Adult Child<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/learning-unit-7-the-disappearance-of-childhood\/#numbers\">The Disappearance of Children in Numbers<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Readings:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PostmanChapter1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chapter 1: When There Were No Children<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PostmanChapter2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chapter 2: The Printing Press and the New Adult<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PostmanChapter3.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chapter 3: The Incunabula of Childhood<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PostmanChapter6.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chapter 6: The Total Disclosure Medium<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PostmanChapter7.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chapter 7: The Adult Child<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"432_3_PostmanChild1\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/903680355?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is second book by Neil Post we discuss in this course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In The Disappearance of Childhood, the author focuses on the impact of TV on this social construct that we name CHILD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman\u2019s aim was to reveal the impact of electronic media on society in general, although the last chapter also dealt with education. As I mention in the previous learning unit, Postman was an educator and an education scholar. His main concern was the decline of educational values and the role mass culture plays on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this book, the fate of children in the age of TV is at the center of his concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Table of Contents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Introduction<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Part I<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 1: When There Were No Children<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 2: The Printing Press and the New Adult<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 3: The Incunabula of Childhood<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 4: Childhood\u2019s Journey<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Part II<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 5: The Beginning of the End<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 6: The Total Disclosure Medium<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 7: The Adult Child<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 8: The Disappearing Child<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapter 9: Six Questions<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Relevant for our course are chapters 1, 2, 6 and 7, which you will find in this learning unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As always, I recommend the reading of the whole book, which you can find at an affordable price in this link:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-amazon wp-block-embed-amazon\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Disappearance of Childhood\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"500\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen style=\"max-width:100%\" src=\"https:\/\/read.amazon.com\/kp\/card?preview=inline&#038;linkCode=kpd&#038;ref_=k4w_oembed_d6mNArSZJkhnWi&#038;asin=0679751661&#038;tag=kpembed-20\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the following paragraphs, you can find an useful guideline for understanding Postman\u2019s main theses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a class=\"wpsal-anchor\" name=\"1\" id=\"1\"><\/a>Chapter 1: When There Were No Children<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"432_3_PostmanChild2\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/903680485?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In this first chapter, Neil Postman reflect on the idea of childhood. His conclusion is that childhood is not a natural phenomenon by a social construct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does this term, social construct, mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And how is it possible that, at a certain time, there were no children?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a class=\"wpsal-anchor\" name=\"2\" id=\"2\"><\/a>Chapter 2: The Printing Press and the New Adult<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We already discussed the impact of the printing press and the development of the typographic mind in the previous learning unit. These two factors also are responsible for a revolutionary idea of what makes an adult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How can the mechanical reproduction of books change what we consider to be an adult human being?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a class=\"wpsal-anchor\" name=\"3\" id=\"3\"><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chapter 3: The Incunabula of Childhood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In this chapter, the author reflects on the birth of the concept of Childhood. In his opinion, the idea of childhood is the response to the new concept of adulthood brought about by the introduction of the printing press and the raise of the typographic mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How does the author explain the birth of childhood from the spirit of the typographic mind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And what are the cultural implications of the birth of childhood?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a class=\"wpsal-anchor\" name=\"6\" id=\"6\"><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chapter 6:&nbsp;The Total Disclosure Medium<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"432_3_PostmanChild3\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/903681682?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We discussed in the previous learning unit the particular characteristics of the TV discourse. The nature of the medium, we concluded, determines its contents. Literacy, so Postman, carries knowledge and thus, open secrets. Still, last the same time, it creates obstacle to reach those secrets. A rigorous training is necessary in order to extract wisdom from books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>TV becomes the &#8220;total disclosure medium&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is what that means?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why is the content of TV different from the content of typographic media (books, newspapers, magazines)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And how might this difference, according to Postman, affect the idea of childhood?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"432_3_PostmanChild4\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/903681852?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a class=\"wpsal-anchor\" name=\"7\" id=\"7\"><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chapter 7: The Adult Child<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"432_3_PostmanChild5\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/903685733?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The disappearance of the concept of childhood, as we knew it, also has consequences for what he had been calling adulthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Postman is pessimistic \u2013 almost fatalistic \u2013 about the future of education. The penetration of TV in our life, the increasing presence of this medium in the Western households, the overwhelming amount of time the average American citizen spent in front of the screen can only have a devastating impact on our culture. It is not only that what we have been calling childhood for centuries might disappear, but also our traditional concept of adulthood \u2013 essential in a democratic regime \u2013 is at stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is this risk for the adulthood that postman refers to as \u201cThe Adult Child\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a class=\"wpsal-anchor\" name=\"numbers\" id=\"numbers\"><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Disappearance of Children in numbers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Neil Postman\u2019s book ends with a series of statistics that, in his opinion, support his thesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, the author studies the children and crime statistics in the U.S. from the 1950s to the late 1970s,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>1950<\/td><td>1976<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>170<\/td><td>94,784<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>0.0004%<\/td><td>0.8%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This numbers represent an increase of the 11,000% in serious crimes and 8,300% in non serious crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sexual activity of children and teenagers also show a rapid increase. In 1976, over 55% of American younger generation had had sexual intercourse before the age 18. The raise of venereal diseases among teenagers also shows a significant increase:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>1950<\/td><td>1976<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>17 per 100,000<\/td><td>54 per 100,000<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, Postman studies some statistics on the use of alcohol and drugs. Among 10<sup>th<\/sup> to 12<sup>th<\/sup> graders, alcoholism was increasing (1 out of 10 kids could be consider a heavy drinker). As for the consumption of drugs (marihuana, cocaine, heroin, \u2026), there was no significant difference between that age group and the rest of the adult population.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction This is second book by Neil Post we discuss in this course. In The Disappearance of Childhood, the author focuses on the impact of TV on this social construct that we name CHILD. In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman\u2019s aim was to reveal the impact of electronic media on society in general, although the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":true,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-222","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=222"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":723,"href":"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/222\/revisions\/723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/431.jcdelama.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}