Reply to Recent Experiences (K-5): Garrison, ITS, John Francis, Lee, John Lewis, Haynes, Seaton

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Reply to "Recent Experiences (K-5): Garrison, ITS, John Francis, Lee, John Lewis, Haynes, Seaton"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Hi OP, we've been very happy at Lewis (child started in PK3) and plan to stay through at least 4th. I would say a handful of kids leave every year, mostly because they move or lottery into schools WOTP that feed into Deal or Hardy.

We plan to do the lottery for 5th grade but also hope that more Lewis families go to MacFarland. We know a few families who have 6th graders at MacFarland and are happy and I look forward to touring the school and learning more about it when we are closer to middle school.

For those folks who are super concerned with screen time, I wonder if you could say more about your concerns?  For example, DCPS doesn't have IAs starting in 1st grade. Without screens, it would be extremely difficult for teachers to do small groups. Of course, it would be great if there were 2-3 teachers in every class so screens weren't as necessary, but as a center rotation I think it's totally fine.  I will say that I think it's important that students aren't ONLY on screens during center rotations (e.g., there should be independent work stations, writing stations, etc) but I understand that screen time can be beneficial so students can work on things more individualized for them.

For folks with screen time concerns, would love to hear more about what you've seen that you DON'T like and/or what you wish was different.[/quote]

I'm the OP here. Thanks so much for your thoughts on Lewis.

I'm not an absolutist on screens. I can see their value - for example, my kids did a unit on Insects in PK and watched a bunch of videos on bugs. I mean, that's really the best way to watch, for example, praying mantis behavior. My kindergartener also does iReady right now, and I don't object to 30 minutes of self paced math/reading a day on an iPad. Another poster mentioned using computer games to drill math facts at ITDS - that seems really smart to me. We're not Amish - if there's a good use for a screen, use a screen.

What I object to is HUGE quantities of time on screens (more than an hour or so in K-1, more than 2 hours in 2-5, roughly?), a default to all learning being on screens, and a lack of writing with a pen or pencil which study after study after study shows is linked to better learning, better retention, more student engagement, etc. You also need to have time away from a screen for your brain, for your emotions, for your learning to settle in. I object strongly to screens being used as a pacifier. Yup, they'll be quiet and calm if you hand them a screen. This is BAD not good. Kids aren't supposed to be quiet and calm all day.

Additionally, particularly young kids need to move their bodies - I hate screens as a replacement for indoor recess. There should really never been any screens for specials IMHO - Spanish, PE, Music, Art, Library, etc - these should all be active for kids and there is no reason (beyond like, a movie the one week there's a sub) that they should be using screens for these classes for elementary schoolers.

I will say that at least for my tour of John Lewis, they really seemed to be using screens the way you describe - lots of small groups (the principal said they aim to spend half their classroom time in small groups, which sounds great and was very much the case on our tour) and there'd be one group with one teacher, one with another, one doing something more engaging (writing, drawing, using manipulatives, whatever) and then one group on iPads. That seems totally reasonable to me.

Seeing every single kid in every single room I looked at (hint: I look at all the rooms as we walk, not just the ones we're going to visit) on screens at Thomson, was incredibly jarring and not at all what I'm looking for in a school.

And before someone jumps down my throat about parents using screens as pacifiers all the time, that is not us. We allow screens on airplanes and when our kids are sick, and then we watch a movie as a family about once a month, and that's IT. Screens are not a part of my kids' day to day lives at home (they're 4 and 6) and part of the reason we have been so limited about it at home is that we're not comfortable with the amount they're getting at school, it's just too much. [/quote]

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