Getting to a couple reader emails, let's first look at Gary C., who writes in response to this post about Lincoln, Bush and dictatorship:
You forgot all about Lincoln splitting Virginia into two states! Talk about your questionable constitutionality. I've always been fascinated with the history behind this and there appears to be quite a lively debate ongoing today on the Internet.
Gary is correct about the dubious constitutionality of the admittance of West Virginia. It is unconstitutional to create a new state out of an existing state without the existing state's permission. Congress essentially recognized a rump parliament of Virginia as the legitimate legislature, and when it approved the splitting off of West Virginia, we got a new state. I will point out that this was done with the cooperation of Lincoln and Congress, thus does not go to the heart of the "Lincoln as dictator" question.
Reader Josh, who is a student at a South Dakota university, emails in response to yet another post by me railing against laptops in the classroom. I have edited out minor parts of Josh's email for brevity and to protect his identity.
While [laptops] do afford the opportunity for distraction, they also offer the ability to organize information much more effectively than a standard notebook. I am able to refer back to previous lectures much easier than with a paper notebook, and I am able to supplement a lecture with a quick Google search if I want clarification on something or to expand upon what a professor is saying. This is not to say that I do not ask for clarification when it is appropriate, but I am often interested in particular aspect of something that is mentioned and disrupting a lecture probably isn’t the best approach.
(snip)
As far as turning students into stenographers, I feel that this is something the professor does with his or her lecture style. Some profs use a style that does this to students no matter what method they use to take notes. A constant barrage of facts, or a long winded monologue, compels me to furiously type away as much as it causes a student with pen and paper to write as quickly as possible. The difference would be that I might actually capture more of what is said. Getting students to internalize information from a lecture at the time it is given is much more dependent upon the professors lecturing style than it is on the students note taking method.
(snip)
I believe in personal responsibility. I feel like this is college, and as student we should be responsible for our own behavior. It should be our choice to make if we want to pay for a class and then spend the hour surfing the web, just like we should be able to pay for a class and then not attend.
One final point before I end my ranting is that using a laptop to waste time in class is no worse than the multitude of students I constantly see using cell phones to text message or play games in class. At least laptops can be used as an educational aid if that is the intent of the student, as far as I can tell nothing can be gained from cell phones which are commonplace.
On the last point about cell phones in class, Josh and I are in total agreement. I wish to point out that I have allowed students to use laptops on an individual basis, but the question here is whether the entire class uses laptops as a central part of learning.
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