Posted on 04/11/2011 9:46:09 AM PDT by pillut48
I read ‘level the playing field’ not as a socialist agenda, but that ALL children will be motivated by this tool, regardless of age, ethnicity, abilities, gender, etc. There are so many apps for each and every child’s specific learning abilities, the possibilities for them to achieve successes on a daily basis are incalculable.
The alternate to using advanced technology in the classroom, taught by many liberal, nanny-state unionized teachers?? Just check out the standardized test scores across the nation. :*(
ping!
“Higher intellectual pursuits should only be taught after someone has a firm grasp on how to care for themselves physically.”
That may be one of the dumbest things I’ve seen on FR in ALL my time here. :-O
You have just discounted EVERY child under the age of 4/5 years old from learning ANYTHING. What are earth are you thinking?
You are aware, aren’t you, that Maslow was a socialist?
I found as a homeschooler that it is better to let kids be kids and save the fancy “tools” for later when they are more mature. I waited for a long time to give my daughter her calculator. Let them have the basics and make a firm foundation FIRST.
I also homeschooled because I cared about content. With apps and such, how much will be leftist drivel? How much will they edit? Will it be like the MSM? What else will be left out?
Getting the foundation right sets the stage for REAL learning, critical thinking and all else that goes to the foundation of freedom, academic freedom and even spiritual freedom. Use only one tool, and you will be limited to only that tool.
I’ve taught my twins to watch the little battery icon in the upper right corner, and they know when the white part starts going away, it’s time to ‘put more batteries in’ the iPad.
And my 2 y/o daughter is now on level 6 of Angry Birds (I can’t get past level 1!) ON HER OWN. If that’s not motivational, I don’t know what is! ;-)
*sigh*
No one is advocating using ONLY the iPad in educating children. I’m saying, as a teacher, it will be a WONDERFUL tool to add to a teacher’s arsenal for learning, motivating, and reinforcement of various skills and concepts.
Textbooks are fine. Computers might be; they seem to work at our school, though I think my children’s reading skills are a bit low. I try to teach them, but they refuse to learn to me. I don’t know if that is related to the use of computers over textbooks.
In any case, my kids are already carrying their web-books to school - the ones I paid for.
However, iPads are TOYS. I have checked them out and talked with developers, and their utility is limited. Games, music, video; yes you can read a book on one. Whoopee. Is an interactive workbook on an iPad cheaper than a paper one?
IN any case, if the state is going to provide the kids with laptops, then the parents should pay. Ditto for the iPads. This is based on the assumption that that the student will be keeping the device - which is logical given that new generations of “i-Devices” seem to come out every six months.
If they’re not keeping the device, then the parents need to decided if they want to be held responsible for $500 devices their student might destroy. Maybe the school needs to require the parent to buy insurance for their student’s assigned device?
iPads are NOT just toys, sorry so many folks are not seeing the positives on this TOOL and would rather rely on unionized teachers. :-(
I suspect that this is nothing more than a ploy to get mom and dad a 'free' iPad.
No need for insults, especially to a reading teacher, thankyouverymuch.
Two different articles, same subject...should JimRob now make a rule that only a single article per subject may be discussed here on FR??
Did you suspect this when computers first started coming into classrooms? That they would only be used for ‘fun and games’ so the parents could get a free computer out of it? < puzzled >
I’ve always been a big fan of sci-fi shows like ‘The Outer Limits’ because some of their plots seem so far out there, but then things like this happen and make you think. I remember an episode that was set in the future in which everyone in the world was literally hardwired into a massive world information network via a wireless receiver implanted in their heads. They had preteens performing surgeries and talking like a monotone adult simply by downloading the information. The protagonist of the story, because of a genetic anomaly, couldn’t plug into the network and so had to learn everything from books, and taught himself. Long story short, at the end of the episode the whole network crashed and reduced everyone but the protagonist to the state of an infant, and he had to start teaching them from scratch. Sounds stupid, but with more and more kids these days relying on technology, it doesn’t seem so far off.
There is just something bizarre about much of this discussion. You write as if the PC never existed until the introduction of the iPad, or maybe the iPad II. And you write as if no computer software to aid learning at various ages existed before the iPad.
Such things have actually been around since the mid-1980s, and many articles have been written about school districts that planned to buy a lap top for every student and all the wonders that would result. Many of those articles were written ten and more years ago.
Computers can be learning aids, but to the extent that any of them (including calculators) perform the math or the logic of any learning task, then they are a hindrance to learning and not an enhancement.
But I guess the iPad and wireless connections will make it much easier for kids to access those pre-written English papers and research papers and other writing intended to be performed by the student.
You do realize that there is a significant difference between a stationary in-school PC and a highly portable iPad?
That said, I would also argue that children at a young age are much better off with as much physical activities as possible and activities that will allow them to develop creativity with simple means (”wooden building blocks” etc.). Just MHO, of course.
Let’s just say I was at that age fortunate enough to have parents that provided a lot of intellectually stimulating interaction (e.g., practicing the basic multiplication tables during car trips - no calculator, just gray matter!) and not just sitting me in front of some electronic box. I’ll grant that all this modern technology was not available in those days.
Who knows how young Einstein would’ve turned out if only he had an iPad? ;-)
Arth ping to another tread about this.
So taxpayers are going to have to buy school kids fancy electronic toys which they would love to have themselves but can’t afford.
Alright, I wasn’t sure if you were or not.
But, I still contend with young eyes and young minds, that the “old fashioned” way is better. It allows their nervous system to mature. It allows them to NOT become addicted to “easy and fun” only. The kids that can’t do basic math were given calculators way too young. The kids couldn’t be bothered to learn those facts because they didn’t HAVE to.
I am sure you are thrilled with all the kids are doing.
I kept my daughter from calculators, and only one 30 minute show (with NO 3sec scenes intervals) when she was young. It helped her to develop an attention span that so many kids today lack.
In ALL of your time here? We’ve been here about the same amount of time. Surely you could find other examples of inanity over the last 7 years.
I said HIGHER intellectual pursuits. Think: college. We’re putting kids through educational curricula that teach to rote memorization and standardized tests. No one thinks for themselves any more. “Groupthink” is what our public education system has devolved to.
And yes, Maslow was a socialist. I learned about his pyramid in high school health class and then again studying psychology in college. While his “self-actualization” crap is exactly that, the base needs are certainly necessary. I don’t agree with all of them, but being able to tend to one’s base needs such as food, shelter, safety, physical and financial security are certainly tantamount to learning chemical engineering and such, wouldn’t you agree?
The way you’re framing it makes me sound like I’m advocating that kids go into the forests until they’re 15 and live like Davy Crockett. I’m simply saying that we’re now giving kids these digital devices and teaching them to rely on them while there are much more basic needs that should be understood as necessary over some battery-operated baby sitter.
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