Techno-Tale of Two Schools

               

Washington Post had a very interesting article this morning about two schools in the DC area that approach education and technology with opposing philosophies.  The Flint Hill School in Oakton, VA is uber-technofied and The Washington Waldorf School in Bethesda, MD is the opposite.

How?

The article compares the lives of two six-grade students.  One very plugged in and the other growing up in a family and educational system that seeks to restrict access to technology, especially in elementary and middle school.

First thoughts?

I must say, as I see a majority of college students at Lynchburg College (where I teach in the Art Department) wandering around campus literally staring at their cell phones much of the time they are walking, I am a horrified. 

However, as I look at my career and education, it has been technology that has allowed be to bring together my interests in art, animation, business, children and computers and be a successful business-person.   I am sad for my friends, many my age, who don’t embrace what technology makes possible today.

I am a technophile, not question about that.

What did I take from the article?

Upside:

Research is showing that software and interaction with electronic devices can have a positive impact on education. No surprise there.  It allows for personalized teaching plans and access to a myriad of educational programming for even very young children or those who are homeschooled. Lots of pluses.

Downside:

Child development experts say children are developing shorter and shorter attention spans and spending too much time multitasking online.  Research done by children online may just be too easy and result in information cobbled together from online sources. This may not be encouraging critical thinking and the development of original ideas.

Recommendation:

Read the article, it’s very informative.  Moderation in all things still seems to be the answer.  Most of us will never send our children to a school with a $31,000 a year tuition. (The Flint Hill School)  That has to impact on the extent of the technology resources available to the students. However, most of us can afford some kind of electronic devices for our homes.  I feel very fortunate that I grew up in a family with parents who were not afraid to set limits and enforce them.  As an elementary student in the Fifties we could only watch TV for one hour a day. That was a long time ago, now that seems draconian.  I certainly did not enforce that for my two children (now adults).  I was encouraging involvement with technology, but it was a very different environment.  Electronic devices were not as ubiquitous as today.

Moderation in all things. Paying attention to your kids and seeing how the technology is affecting them, both the positive and the negative. Use your judgment to modify behavior you see as harmful. That's what thoughtful parents are doing with all aspects of their children’s lives.