Below are the first few sentences of an article appearing in the New York Times (NYT).
LOS ALTOS, Calif. — The chief technology officer of eBay sends his children to a nine-classroom school here. So do employees of Silicon Valley giants like Google, Apple, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard. But the school’s chief teaching tools are anything but high-tech: pens and paper, knitting needles and, occasionally, mud. Not a computer to be found. No screens at all. They are not allowed in the classroom, and the school even frowns on their use at home. Schools nationwide have rushed to supply their classrooms with computers, and many policy makers say it is foolish to do otherwise. But the contrarian point of view can be found at the epicenter of the tech economy, where some parents and educators have a message: computers and schools don’t mix.
We would certainly want some more rigorous data about the actual number of tech-rich parents who send their kids to a Waldorf school before reaching too many conclusions. However, this does raise questions about what young kids should be learning and why people who have the money to send their kids to any elementary school have them attending a place that keeps technology out of the classroom. I don’t know anything about early childhood education and technology except that I am usually troubled to see a 5 year-old with his/her own Ipad (probably because I am jealous!). Technology is sometimes problematized as a ‘haves’ and haves-not’ situation but this situation suggests a more nuanced frame is needed. Perhaps we need to first ask, ‘technology to what end’?
A commenter on the article observed that “over the history of education we have closets and storage rooms FILLED with defunct technology—some out-dated before it was ever used. In our consumer culture, the nature of technology is to perpetuate consumerism—it isn't having the new thing but the next thing. Education is and has been wasting precious resources for a century trying to stay ahead of a technology curve, instead of putting 20 or 30 books in each child's hands every single year of school: a commitment that would dwarf any technology investment in a matter of years.” I can attest to having seen warehouses filled with 2 year old technology considered out-dated and at the same time wondering why it couldn’t be instead used in school-districts that didn’t have the resources to buy the technology when it was new.
In both course sections we spent the weekends talking about the demise of a “coherent intellectual experiences” at all but a limited number of small, liberal arts colleges. Interestingly, small liberal arts colleges are also the last type of institution to embrace on-line learning and instead have stuck primarily with small classrooms taught in-the-round. Is the general use of technology in elementary schools a new assault on the coherent experience we hope our kids have in school?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html?pagewanted=all%3Fsrc%3Dtp&smid=fb-share
I'm personally an "early adopter" of technology--ask anyone who knows me well, I love my gadgets. However, I also believe that technology has its limits and its appropriate place in society. I was on a flight recently and was AMAZED at the number of toddlers handling iPads...as if it were a normal, every day thing. This video also went viral recently: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXV-yaFmQNk&feature=player_embedded . This baby can't understand the concept of a magazine (read: book). I always wonder if we are creating a culture of technological dependency where our youth won't be able to function in a brown-out/black-out.
ReplyDeleteThis also raises the larger question of interpersonal communication skills. Technology has anecdotally delayed social development skills, and has definitely created a culture in which we have forgotten how to confront one another in a healthy, respectful way. I wonder what this generation will be like as adults and how it will change the landscape of future societal expectations.
I have to say this article surprised me. At first thought if you have the resources, why not expose your children to computers and other technology at an early age? At some point, even if it is later on this will become a huge part of their lives. On the other hand I feel as though we are too reliant on technology. Although I do not have children of my own, I do take a second look when a child is at a restaurant eating dinner with headphones in and an iPad. I myself have become reliant on using a calculator for simple math equations. With this said it is important to learn the basics early on in life without the use of technology. There will be time for that later.
ReplyDeleteI definitely have mixed feelings about children and technologies! On one hand, I truly believe that child can benefit for the vast amount of technology and gadgets available to them. I believe that child should be exposed to the differing technologies. Kids that are able to use programs powerpoint and excel at an early age makes them more proficient of the programs by the time they are utilizing them junior high every time they are assigned a project. I also feel that when the kids get together and play video games for entertainment that this is also a great way to socialize and stay out of trouble.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I think that technology and students should be monitored!! My daughter went to a Christian camp this summer for two weeks in the mountains and they were not allowed to have any electronic devices. She loved it! She thought it was so amazing to have real conversation with other kids. I also see children that all they do is play video games and in this instance, this is not healthy! Children do need to get out and exercise and they need to socialize with others. And, at school, I feel the use of computers should be on a project by project basis. I feel it is good for kids to hand write some assignments and do their research from the library. But, it is also good to utilize the computer to type a report, to do research on line and to be able to utilize technology to its fullest. I believe that both scenarios are equally important!
I hope as children become more and more technologically savvy, that there will continue to be opportunities to go back to the old fashion life before technology!