Our Kids and Technology

Aug 10, 2011 by Peggy Robertson

Dear Peggy,

Previously you answered a question about commercialization of schools. My question is along the same lines except that it has to do with technology at school: the use of computers and kids having cell phones. My oldest daughter is learning how to navigate the web for homework research, but she has access to so much more, and I wonder if it’s really necessary. And, should I let my younger daughter, a fourth grader, have a cell phone? I honestly don’t know. I feel pressured to buy her one since many of her friends have one. A lot of the things I try to keep out of our home are now commonplace at school.

Thanks,
Sharon

Dear Sharon,

Technology can be a help and a hindrance in our schools. As an educator, I saw students with hand-held games and phones at school. I saw districts spend large amounts of money on technology, yet they weren’t able to afford a full-time librarian or music teacher for each elementary school.  Sometimes computer programs were purchased, yet teachers were never trained to use them. Discussing technology within the field of education is very tricky; it can be every bit as volatile as politics or religion. Some parents are ecstatic to have their child in a school that promotes technology.  Other parents cringe and wish the school library still had card catalogs.  Some teachers are brilliant at incorporating technology in ways that enhance learning and are developmentally appropriate.  Sadly, I’ve seen other teachers use it in place of actual teaching.

We see the benefits of technology, yet we also know it can be used inappropriately. I believe that technology purchases at any school need to be prefaced with the question, “Does our purchase of technology and plan for using the equipment align with our understandings of child development?” In my opinion, our understandings of child development seem to have gotten lost along the way.  In 2006, the PTA reported that about 40 percent of our schools had eliminated recess or were considering doing so. In 2009 the journal, Pediatrics, linked good behavior to recess; it’s sad that we need research to point out the obvious.  I would rather my kids go outside every day and skip their rotation in the computer lab.  We know children need to play.  Technology will never replace this.  I had a friend tell me a story about a child on a bowling team who attempted to replace one day of actual “live” practice with Wii bowling.  Her bowling skills were completely altered, for the worse, due to Wii bowling, and she had to relearn her skills back at the bowing alley.  We need to be mindful of how we use our technology.

Alliance for Childhood has written a report, Tech Tonic: Towards a New Literacy of Technology, which states, “When it comes to the deeper education of our children, we often take the easy way out. We thrust computers into the hands of infants and toddlers and think that making them comfortable with hardware and software will prepare them for the future. It will not. Current approaches to technology education, mostly focused on training children to use machines, are inadequate. What children need, instead, is an education that prepares them, as citizens, to help solve our most pressing social and ecological problems. They need an education, moreover, that helps them understand that technical skills alone cannot solve those problems.”

Recently there was an article in our local paper, Army Targets Abs, Drops the Bayonet, from the Associated Press, which talked about our military and their new training methods.  The military is now dealing with a generation of soldiers who spent a large portion of their time playing video games and eating junk food.  Many of the recruits “didn’t have physical education in elementary, middle or high school and therefore tend to lack bone and muscle strength.”  The final quote of the article is from Captain Fleming who states, “We just have to take the soldier who’s used to sitting on the couch playing video games and get him out there to do it.” After reading this, I sat dumbfounded.  Our national security is at stake, and technology and junk food have played a role in this; shouldn’t this be a wake-up call for our society?  I can’t believe the article wasn’t on the front page of every newspaper.

We hardly delved in to the other forms of technology that infiltrate our schools.  We have cell phones, iPods, iPhones, hand-held games, and more.  Do our children have these items because they need them, because they’re fun, or simply because everyone else has them?  Did the marketing of the product sway you? We each have to answer these questions based on our own family’s informed belief systems about technology.  There is not one right answer.  But we do need to be educated in our decision making and we need to share that information with our children.  Read about the phones that emit the least amount of radiation at Environmental Working Group‘s website before purchasing your next phone. We need to support school policies that limit use of student electronic devices in schools.  We need to remember what a developing child needs; our children’s needs will not be met staring at a screen or listening to a headset for large portions of their day.  It’s our job as parents to limit usage as we see fit.

Wait. Think. Research. Share.

I often think we get caught up in the consumer frenzy and begin to believe we need products—and we need them fast.  That’s the American way, isn’t it?  We’ve paid a hefty price for this mentality and hopefully we have learned our lesson.  When our children are involved, we most definitely need to wait, think, research and consider our purchases.  They need to see us model this behavior.

While you wait, examine the “why” behind the purchase. Why are you purchasing it? Think about it. Make sure you’re okay with the “why” because it will become your child’s model for consumer shopping. And finally, if you decide to get the product, research it.  Make sure you can lock the volume on the MP3 player for children. Research the EMFs if you are concerned about radiation exposure from your TV or computer screen. Get the low-radiation cell phone. Remember to research the safety of the product as well as how the product will affect the development of your child.  Read Alliance for Childhood’s report on computers: Fool’s Gold:  A Critical Look at Computers In Childhood. The schools should be doing this as well.

Ultimately, public schools reflect society’s beliefs.  We would hope that our schools would be a safe haven, a place our children can truly learn to be confident, creative, enthusiastic thinkers who can solve problems using their hands and their heads.  I know we are all busy.  But I also know that if we do not get involved in some way, we will lose this battle.   We have a right to limit anything that interferes with our children’s development—yet we lose this right if we simply stay uninformed and do nothing.  Start by talking to your children.  Talk to your child’s teacher.  Dive in, make some waves and come up for air.  Do it again. I guarantee you will find other parents or educators who are thinking the same thoughts, and simply don’t know where to start.  My children thank you.

Warmly and simply,

Peggy

Peggy Robertson is a stay-at-home mama, former educator, runner, swimmer, sometimes crafty knitter, gardener and stellar organizer. She is the founder of the Denver chapter of the Holistic Moms Network.