Although I am not necessarily a fan of Orion magazine's reflexive "Left Green" politics, they often have something to say against "progress" for the sake of progress. Recently, I was struck by this article about how computers are getting between children and the real world.
"Computers not only divert students from recess and other unstructured experiences, but also replace those authentic experiences with virtual ones. According to surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation and others, school-age children spend, on average, around five hours a day in front of screens for recreational purposes. All that screen time is supplemented by the hundreds of impressive computer projects now taking place in schools. Yet these projects—the steady diet of virtual trips to the Antarctic, virtual climbs to the summit of Mount Everest, and trips into cyber-orbit that represent one technological high after another—generate only vicarious thrills. The student doesn't actually soar above the Earth, doesn't trek across icy terrain, doesn't climb a mountain. Increasingly, she isn't even allowed to climb to the top of the jungle gym.
"During the decade that I spent teaching a course called Advanced Computer Technology, I repeatedly found that after engaging in Internet projects, students came back down to the Earth of their immediate surroundings with boredom and disinterest—and a desire to get back online. Having watched Discovery Channel and worked with computer simulations that severely compress both time and space, children are typically disappointed when they first approach a pond or stream: the fish aren't jumping, the frogs aren't croaking, the deer aren't drinking, the otters aren't playing, and the raccoons (not to mention bears) aren't fishing. Their electronic experiences have led them to expect to see these things happening—all at once and with no effort on their part. The result is that the child becomes less animated and less capable of appreciating what it means to be alive, what it means to belong in the world as a biological, social being".
I am OUT of here!
2 comments:
my dear mr. bodio,
this is not, unfortunately, a thoughtful response to your post, but rather -- a link -- because although the chances of you remembering me are quite slim, i do remember you, keep the books you gave to me close at hand, and as evidenced by the waking thoughts that are in this linked post, you come to mind from time to time...
on a whim, i searched your name here, Believing without Knowing that although you might not ever give up your montblanc pen, you would most assuredly find a home here, too.
i'm delighted to find you and will enjoy reading your posts.
all best.
http://definitelyplanb.blogspot.com/2005/09/what-is-remembered-and-held-close-to.html
One of Rich Louv's comments in "Last Child in the Woods, Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder" (Algonquin, 2005) is that kids today know more about the ozone threat and the devastation in the rain forest (good things, all) than they do about the vacant lot down the street or the creatures in their back yard. Of course, that presumes a vacant lot and back yard is available. Have you read the book?
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