1.14.2021

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 In today's class, we were introduced to a recent news article revolving around paper textbooks and their relevance. The article interviewed a 60-year-old professor from the University of Meiji, in which he exclaimed how using paper textbooks is the superior method, and that it should definitely be prioritized from digital learning.  In some ways, they may be, as not all Japanese students are in a digital-friendly environment, and paper textbooks may feel more comforting, but as Mr. Paterson mentioned, the wording of this article, and stating the importance of consuming knowledge only in paper textbooks felt very exaggerating. I had watched a video before about some Japanese textbooks and how especially in history, have been hiding information about the colonial ages when Japan was in imperial control over numerous countries. When discussing this with my peers, we came to the point that restricting students from the ability to procure knowledge from outside sources, can be depicted as a type of propaganda. In this way, I strongly disapproved of the professor's statement. Moreover, I did agree with the bandwagon type fallacy that was indicated where the professor backed up his argument by saying the majority of his students prefer text-book learning. But to ask students who are wanting to become teachers in a text-book based educational system is quite absurd. Why would those teacher aspiring academics want to detest a gadget that they would have to incorporate in their future teachings? 

That doesn't mean that his opinion shouldn't be banned, since the whole point of the article was to express one's biased opinion. But if that's the case, I would have collected more reliable data and information to back up the main points. Perhaps using the same style as we did when creating our academic book reviews? Moreover, it is also important for we readers to distinguish the fallacies and exaggerations in one's statement, and always have an unwavering rationale so that we aren't easily persuaded by an appeal of emotion. If we hadn't read that article that throughouly, we may have been not noticed the fallaciousness of the author, seeing as it was published on the YomiUri newspaper, a famous and notable newspaper. Thsi makes me wonder if I the past articles I read were also opinon-based, and whether I was heavily impacted by them. Nevertheless, today's class put me in a new perspective of media and how we always need to be in a logical mindset.

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