Anonymous
Post 05/15/2015 12:12     Subject: Re:screen-free kindergarten classrooms
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

The idea that the "spiritual philosophy" of an Austrian mystic born in 1861 can better teach children, that's ridiculous.


The founder may have been a gnome-phobic loon, but the actual principle of a Waldorf education serve a lot of kids very well.

Margaret Sanger had some creepy beliefs, too. That doesn't make birth control a bad idea.


I don't think that contraceptive methods are comparable to educational methods. Contraceptive methods are testable technology based on science. Educational methods are...
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2015 11:27     Subject: Re:screen-free kindergarten classrooms
Anonymous wrote:

The idea that the "spiritual philosophy" of an Austrian mystic born in 1861 can better teach children, that's ridiculous.


The founder may have been a gnome-phobic loon, but the actual principle of a Waldorf education serve a lot of kids very well.

Margaret Sanger had some creepy beliefs, too. That doesn't make birth control a bad idea.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2015 05:57     Subject: screen-free kindergarten classrooms
Not for OP but for the rest of you, these highly regarded individuals in the tech field believe in limiting for their children. More does not equal better. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html?referrer=
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 21:38     Subject: Re:screen-free kindergarten classrooms
Anonymous wrote:
From an article about a Waldorf school in Silicon Valley:


“I fundamentally reject the notion you need technology aids in grammar school,” said Alan Eagle, 50, whose daughter, Andie, is one of the 196 children at the Waldorf elementary school; his son William, 13, is at the nearby middle school. “The idea that an app on an iPad can better teach my kids to read or do arithmetic, that’s ridiculous.”

Mr. Eagle knows a bit about technology. He holds a computer science degree from Dartmouth and works in executive communications at Google, where he has written speeches for the chairman, Eric E. Schmidt. He uses an iPad and a smartphone. But he says his daughter, a fifth grader, “doesn’t know how to use Google,” and his son is just learning. (Starting in eighth grade, the school endorses the limited use of gadgets.)

Three-quarters of the students here have parents with a strong high-tech connection. Mr. Eagle, like other parents, sees no contradiction. Technology, he says, has its time and place:


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html


The idea that the "spiritual philosophy" of an Austrian mystic born in 1861 can better teach children, that's ridiculous.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 21:15     Subject: Re:screen-free kindergarten classrooms
Balance, people, balance.

Having a couple of computers in the classroom and giving the kids a change to learn to use them properly is one thing. The question should be: will the student learn this better, understand it more, and retain it longer if learned on the computer? I suspect the answer is "no" in many cases where a computer is being used.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 21:11     Subject: Re:screen-free kindergarten classrooms

From an article about a Waldorf school in Silicon Valley:


“I fundamentally reject the notion you need technology aids in grammar school,” said Alan Eagle, 50, whose daughter, Andie, is one of the 196 children at the Waldorf elementary school; his son William, 13, is at the nearby middle school. “The idea that an app on an iPad can better teach my kids to read or do arithmetic, that’s ridiculous.”

Mr. Eagle knows a bit about technology. He holds a computer science degree from Dartmouth and works in executive communications at Google, where he has written speeches for the chairman, Eric E. Schmidt. He uses an iPad and a smartphone. But he says his daughter, a fifth grader, “doesn’t know how to use Google,” and his son is just learning. (Starting in eighth grade, the school endorses the limited use of gadgets.)

Three-quarters of the students here have parents with a strong high-tech connection. Mr. Eagle, like other parents, sees no contradiction. Technology, he says, has its time and place:



http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 19:53     Subject: screen-free kindergarten classrooms
Anonymous wrote:I'm another teacher and I believe schools are pushing technology way too much. I see it used simply because it can be and not to promote learning in any way. This is being almost forced at my high school and I see it at my child's elementary school. A computer, IPad or screen of some sort does not always make a lesson better and sometimes makes it worse. I would have loved a screen free kindergarten. They will have plenty of screen time later.


I am the OP, and agree with this completely. What I observed in the classroom did not make me think the children using the tools were really learning. I was horrified.

I use a computer all day, every day, at work. I sit in front of it, bleary eyed, and I am constantly engaged in learning using it (academia). But I do not want my 5 year old in front of a screen for education...I'd rather he learn from a book, a teacher, or a peer. He has a lifetime to learn in front of a screen.

To the PP that said the research does not support being screen-free, there is actually plenty to suggest that screen time can be harmful.

However, I didn't post this to debate this, actually! I really just wanted to know if I could avoid it. It makes me so sad that I can't!

Worried for this generation in about 20 years after lifetimes of quick hits and rapid gratification.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 19:26     Subject: screen-free kindergarten classrooms
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We're in MCPS and all the classrooms have a huge Prometheum (sp?) board in the front of the room. Last year in K, they watched lots of short videos and some movies on it. Pretty much daily.


The promethean board is mainly for flipcharts (interactive activities).
We are told to put a visual component to theory, thus teachers have to create these flipcharts or buy them. They are not really videos even thought they may appeal to be such.


There are videos also - and really dumb interactive activities. Those boards are all hype imo.


What are your qualifications? Have you used the Promethean boards in your teaching?
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 18:17     Subject: screen-free kindergarten classrooms
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We're in MCPS and all the classrooms have a huge Prometheum (sp?) board in the front of the room. Last year in K, they watched lots of short videos and some movies on it. Pretty much daily.


The promethean board is mainly for flipcharts (interactive activities).
We are told to put a visual component to theory, thus teachers have to create these flipcharts or buy them. They are not really videos even thought they may appeal to be such.


There are videos also - and really dumb interactive activities. Those boards are all hype imo.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 18:11     Subject: screen-free kindergarten classrooms
Anonymous wrote:We're in MCPS and all the classrooms have a huge Prometheum (sp?) board in the front of the room. Last year in K, they watched lots of short videos and some movies on it. Pretty much daily.


The promethean board is mainly for flipcharts (interactive activities).
We are told to put a visual component to theory, thus teachers have to create these flipcharts or buy them. They are not really videos even thought they may appeal to be such.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 18:06     Subject: screen-free kindergarten classrooms
The schools aren't using technology because it's the best way to teach, they're using it because it's the easiest way to teach. When you have a class of kindergarteners on iPads, you can have everybody under control glued to their screens.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 17:50     Subject: screen-free kindergarten classrooms
I'm another teacher and I believe schools are pushing technology way too much. I see it used simply because it can be and not to promote learning in any way. This is being almost forced at my high school and I see it at my child's elementary school. A computer, IPad or screen of some sort does not always make a lesson better and sometimes makes it worse. I would have loved a screen free kindergarten. They will have plenty of screen time later.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 16:08     Subject: screen-free kindergarten classrooms
Anonymous wrote:^ Use your head. There's nothing wrong with unwinding with passive entertainment. And I'm a teacher, one who feels we use screens way too much in school.


Who said there was? If you want to let your children to unwind with passive entertainment, then go ahead.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 16:03     Subject: screen-free kindergarten classrooms
^ Use your head. There's nothing wrong with unwinding with passive entertainment. And I'm a teacher, one who feels we use screens way too much in school.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2015 15:52     Subject: screen-free kindergarten classrooms
Anonymous wrote:

And then the teachers will suggest to the parents to limit screentime at home. Well if they're using iPads and Smartboards in school, and they have to get on Blackboard to get to their assignments and use online textbooks, when the hell are they supposed to enjoy a half-hour of downtime in front of the TV?

Thanks, schools, for so much damn screentime.


Darn those schools for making it harder for me to allow the kids to watch TV at home!