While I’m not anti-technology, I do believe children should be engaging all of their senses as they learn. They should be playing, exploring, questioning, creating, and collaborating. They should become active learners. That is what strengthens concentration and deepens critical thinking. Time behind a screen is time away from active learning, so we need to be careful in the early years. We need moderation. We don’t want to waste opportunities for higher learning to take place. I am okay with no technology in Kindergarten and limited use in the rest of elementary school. With strong human connections, the ability to stick with a task, and a true love of learning, I have no doubt children will catch on quickly to the ever-changing tech world.
Here is a short, thought-provoking article I came across from the Business Insider. We know Steve Jobs and Bill Gates limited their children’s use of technology. Here is more to think about:
This Silicon Valley school shuns technology — yet most of the students are children of tech execs
Eames Yates Mar 23, 2017
New York University professor Adam Alter, author of "Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked," discusses the Waldorf school in Silicon Valley, which is one of more than 160 across the country that shun the use of technology.
There's a school in Silicon Valley that doesn't allow the use of any tech. It's called the Waldorf School and it's fascinating because the school has no computers, no iPads, no iPhones. They try to minimize tech altogether and so people enjoy a lot of time face-to-face, they go outside a lot. What's interesting about this school is 75% of the students there are the children of Silicon Valley tech execs, which is striking. These are people who, publicly, will expound on the wonders of the products they're producing and at the same time they decided in all their wisdom that their kids didn't belong in a school that used that same tech.
Hmmmm…makes ya wonder. Why are employees of Google, Apple, eBay, etc. sending their children to schools with NO technology? I’d love to hear your thoughts.