#7 T.M.I.- Information Overload

The human brain is said to be capable of holding more than 200 gigabytes of information. Have you ever felt like it's too much? File cabinets overflowing, shelves and closets spilling out once opened, and computers, media, and internet invading our lives and minds are endless. How about cars in the driveway because the pack rat has won and the garage is full? Can you keep all the information straight that you learned as recently as a week ago? How about yesterday's meal, can you remember what it was? If you're like me, you've found your limit on more than one occasion. After years of always wanting the next best thing, or know more information than the average person, I've come to realize there is such a thing as T.M.I. or even too many things. Am I suffering from academic overload? Are my students falling prey to T.M.I. as well?

First of all, let me say I appreciate educational resources and having such a "problem" as we have at my current school district. We have video boards running announcements all day. Our school subscribes to things like Edline.net, Edusoft.com, Unitedstreaming.com, Accelerated Reader and Math. Soon, we'll have distance learning with N.A.S.A. and any other programs available for two way distance learning. We have to manage more information than I've ever dealt with as a human being. If you understand California schools, even affluent districts might legitimately complain about having few resources. The first year of teaching taught me how to evaluate my needs and learn how to conserve. We actually did not have math text books and literally didn't have desks for every student in our classrooms. Teachers were allotted 9,000 copies per year at that school, while others were given 3,000. Ditto machines were the norm and we could make as many copies with that beast as our little hearts desired. Resources at the "best school" in the district were vastly limited at HESD.

That first year experience really fed the pack rat in me. Teaching twelve years of various subject matter, I've been known to keep things I may only use once. As a teacher, do you repeat lessons often? The lessons I teach are similar, but rarely are they identical. Whether you're still working for the same district, school, or boss, you might find yourself changing grade levels and subject matter every few years. Since the beginning of my career, I've taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. Throw 7th and 8th in the past few years, and I've taught every subject imaginable and even have an Early Childhood Education background. When did I decide that too much information was too much? This past year is when I let it all go. I figured out a few years ago that the belongings I stored in a storage unit for $80/month was not worth much more than $400 in total. Should we do the same with educational resources? Do computers and internet breed mutant pack rats within us all? Have I posed so many questions, your head is swimming?

If you feel like you're swimming in too much information, you're not alone. With the internet holding endless tidbits, useful and not, we can be overwhelmed. After collecting information for years, I personally hold more than 2,000 gigabytes of information on various hard drives. Granted, I have also been involved with video and music editing, I do have more than 50 gigabytes of information related to school. My tech department loathes my academic overload. I might be one of few. Looking on our network, I see that other teachers may have a mere 600 MB! That means I have more than 50 times the documents, files and pictures than some colleagues.

Does lack of information limit our ability to learn? Do you suppose too much information limits our ability to learn?