Read the article at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html and comment on it/discuss it. Share with us your educational experiences.
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Comments
I don't agree. If the person is creative, nothing will prevent him from creation; he can use either graphic software or canvas to express himself.
Yes, we become lazy, we don't want to count in our minds, when it's so easy to use a calculator. Or why should we use a pencil and paper, if we can write something down using a notepad app (and it'd be better for ecology). But to not to lose skills of counting and writing it's not necessary to avoid computers and phones. It's kinda from one extreme to another.
In 2017 technology is on of key elements of our life, it should not be forced to remove it from school. Of course we must remember about common sense - technology should be used as a toll for teaching, not being a teacher. Funny thing is that all those Google and Intel workers who send their kids to school like mentioned one in article are probably that kind of person that spend whole their childhood with computers, playing games or learning how to program and that may be the factor that made them Silicon Valley workers.
On the one hand it is good that kids are developing creativity, that there is a lot of physical activity, so they are well coordinated.
But on the other hand - technology is around us and kids should know something about. Playing games is not important, but computer and TV are not only entertainment - there is many programs and documentaries, which are source of knowledge. You can find many educational games on computer, which I really enjoyed when I was a kid.
Technology is a tool, but you have to know how to use it - it may improve process of learning.
What a great words! In my opinion, hands-on tasks are very good. "Those who endorse this approach say computers inhibit creative thinking, movement, human interaction and attention spans." I agree with that words, because children have to think what is this task about and which are the ways to complete it. What is important, they will share their ideas with each other, what increases their comunication skills. I think it's a "must have" in human relations. On the other hand, I wouldn't say, that technology is bad. Nowadays, it's growing rapidly and we have to know how to use it properly. For me, it's easy to use and hard to master. We're surfing the Internet all the time, but sometimes we don't know how to gather valuable informations and that's the thing that children have to learn.
And if I would ask myself "Does the child without a gadget in his hand is potentially a smarter child?", the answer would be "It depends on what does he holds instead of it". Gadgets are full of games, videos and other useless things that are harming to our concentration. It's not meant that live without them makes children smarter though - and I hope that Waldorf makes learning both interesting and useful.
The thing I didn't understand in their education system is that line from the article: "The day can start with a recitation or verse about God that reflects a nondenominational emphasis on the divine". I think that religion should not be mixed with study.
The important thing in schools is the practical approach, not learning children only a lot of theory, but also about how to really use it. "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." - says a famous quote, and that is a great approach to use in schools. Lots of raw knowledge is nothing without knowing how to utilize it. This combined with carefully choosing content used at schools to educate and making classes stimulating, i.e. making children want to participate and be creative is in my opinion key to a good education, regardless of whether it is an amish school or a school filled with electronics.
I can't agree with people who think that way. Maybe there is some truth in this sentence - we are becoming more lazy using computers. We prefer to write the essey on a computer than using pen. Before we do homework we look for ready-made solutions. I can list hundreds of examples which shows how computers are bad. But we should also focus on positive aspects. Internet supplies us in many tools which can stimulate our creative thinking. The perfect example is programming. For those who love art, there is a Photoshop in which lot of people create amazing things. It's worth to mention that internet gives us billions of researches or articles and most of them are free.
Summarizing, computers are very usefull tool but only if we use them in a proper way.
Also such kind of education requires best teachers and books. In normal school if you don't know something you just google it and in Waldorf school responsibility for knowledge falls on teachers shoulders, so teacher should really know how to teach and it bothers me, because not everyone could be the best teacher.
If I were to choose I wouldn't send my child to such school.
I didn't say technology (computers, smartphones and tablets) are in the first place in learning but this is priceless education supplement. It's hard to oversee young people to don't abuse technology, because computers, smartphones are very interesting and addictive for them but we must strive for it to show them power of technology, how they can use this, in what situation is this helpful for them, and in what situation is unnecessary.
Summarizing newest technology is important in learning and for me that would be one of the main subject in school but remember we have one's feet on the ground.
As a programmer I can easy understand that people which are aware of high-tech don't want to let their kids to use e.g. a Google. It is really destructive believe that Google can answer on every your question. You have to be smart enought to filter information which you find. It concerns not only the Internet but also TV. School like the Waldorf in Silicon Valley tries to protect their students from become a mindless zombies.
I don't want to offend anybode, but most of the people are stupid. And Internet provides a possibility for stupid people to be heard. And they are not just giving their opinion, they are shouting them out, "destroying" everyone who disagree with them. So the purpouse of such schools is really clear - to teach children that technologies are only tools, and first of all, you need to rely on yourself, not on Google. You need to learn, how to process the data before accept it. And if you don't, you'll become a slave of ones and zeros, and the most horryfying part of such slavery - you can't be freed from it.
The truth is, technology doesn't make learning easier by definition. Computers, smartphones, tablets - they are just tools. How we use them is up to us. Of course, some advantages tablets have over traditional books are undeniable. Single tablet can store thousands of books and can do much more but we must remember that "great power comes with great responsibility". If we let children use such devices, we, as adults, are obliged to teach them how to use them properly.
What I think matters the most, is not whether we let children use computers at school or not, but do teachers actually do their job correctly. Majority of schools in the world use the educational system created and popularized in XIX century Prussia. This is the system we all know too well - sitting in a class, listening to teacher's lecture, doing boring, monothematic tasks both at school and at home and then cramming for the test, probably one day before. This cancerous system spread to other countries of the world, as everybody was impressed by how "well organised" the prussian education was.
Right now, we are still slaves of this system even though scientific researchers show us it's highly inefficient. Having said that, I see, that the biggest success of the school described in the blog post, is that it uses new teaching techniques that help children memorise new information and entertains them at the same time.
For those fo you that are interested in education and efficient way of learning, I recommend Radek Kotarski's new book - "Włam się do mózgu". It opened my eyes.
Everyday technology is expanding and new devices are created on new days. Computers are used by millions of users and have become everyday images in every home. Once it was impossible and it was considered an invention. Today each of us improves our daily work using modern technology. We can not stop development and it is beautiful. I hope that the solutions will soon reach other planets. Do you think this is possible?
It is hard for elderly to understand that, because nowadays children use computers and other devices maybe even more frequently than their teachers. Games described in article, on the other hand, were something primitive for me and other children of my generation. And of course children from new generations won't feel any enthusiasm too.
In addition computers may assist teachers, children and parents in schools. For example bringing less books(when having them on laptop), having online marks system and many others features.
Certainly we should use technology but not 100% of time, as it can be distracting, and addicting.
When it comes to Waldorf schools I do welcome the philosophy ingrained in their way of doing things. Paradoxically knitting needles and mud, while not as flashy as computer screens, have something that makes them much more customizable and new every time we use them. That thing is human interaction, face to face human interaction, which is not hidden beside some electrical box. There is something to the saying that the more connected we are the more lonely we feel and maybe that's the biggest selling point for these schools, that is parents wanting their children's youth to somewhat resemble their own upbringing. Maybe, when at some point in the future the lights go off for good, they will be the ones who will manage to survive in the new world and be responsible for creating a different, much warmer society, but then it might be possible that detachment from the surrounding world is inherently associated with technology.
If we speak about children, I think that it is important to teach them how to use technology wisely because we have tendency to addict to technology. So technology in children education - yes but prudently.
If you ask me, I strongly believe that children should be taught both - using creativity and hard ways of achieving something, as well as how to use available technology to make those tasks easier. Refraining from using computers totally will only lead to being actually less smart and experienced than other kids, and computer knowledge is absolutely critical today in almost every kind of a job, and it'll be even more critical in the future. It is important to show kids the right way to use them, not saying they're bad and they should be forgotten.
Let's also remember that it's still the children living in the Sillicon Valley, they can't really escape from technology so it shouldn't be that bad for them after all.
Anyway, Americans tend to make themselves more and more stupid so maybe it's one of their methods.
I think people working on new technologies every day know they are not reliable. They also know that to comprehend how a computer works, you first have to understand many other things. They don't want bad future for their childrens so they want to provoke them to start thinking and developing their brains. I think that's okay.
What about me and my shool... I was in a school similar to that described in the article. It was irritating me to learn things that I would never use, but I know it had purpose. What's more, the things I thought I'd never get used to suddenly became useful.
Second, those parents are giving a happy childhood to their kids and it is awesome. Because not only education and skills matter. It is very important for children to grow up being healthy - physically and mentally. With such educational system they have a chance to interact and socialize, to solve simple problems, to learn basic things, essential for a normal life.
I don't think that computers and gadgets should be hidden away, but parents just have to show, that life can be interesting and amazing without it. So the kid would be informed about the existence of technology, but also would be busy with some other useful stuff not to beg his parents to play PlayStation or surf the web. And this is the super skill in parenting and pedagogy - to explain, to interest in a calm way.
I wish my potential children could visit such school)
What about the school, I think that Idea is not so bad, but when we are discussing the education for children in Silicone Valley, than this is just one more awesome way to earn some money by educating the rich kids by "different thinking". There is also a lit of things I can say on this topic, but the main idea is expressed.
On one hand, yeah, there’s no need for computers in classrooms. Teachers should be able to keep the kids engaged in the class without electronics. Relying solely on technology during classes should never be a thing.
On the other, technology is almost everywhere now so kids should learn to live with it as soon as possible. The big problem that we can see even now is that there’s too much information available to us and the challenge is to know what is correct and what isn’t. That’s what kids should learn.
Technology is a great tool, we just need to know how to use it properly.
If you think of how many people waste time, destroy relationships or simply don’t make them because of all the technology distractions you start wondering what is the proper way of raising a generation, so they can avoid that by their own judgement.
To be a parent is to be responsible, and although it’s hard to make a final judgement and evaluate how bringing tech into schools affects the young ones I believe that the rule one should be not to cause any harm. You can’t say that about exposing children to distorted technology world.
Every school that teaches critical thinking and has dedicated, highly skilled teachers who can give enough attention to every kid is beneficial. I believe these factors contribute significantly to the success of Waldorf School of the Peninsula.
I am not convinced that completely banning the use of technology is a good solution. Especially that, contrary to what Mr. Eagle says, technological skills are not "supereasy". It is crucial not only to learn how to use the technology but also how the technology works and why it works.
Maybe the key is to balance the use of technology with human contact in order to stimulate the creative thought process and human engagement but not to create technologically disabled kids. There are plenty of technological toys for kids, like Lego robotics, which they can work on together to create fun and innovative solutions.