The Downfalls of Screen Time

Giggling echoed over the gently sloping hills that border the schoolyard, as my children and their friends tobogganed this afternoon. The crisp winter air and the endless trips up and down the hill painted round, rosy patches on their cheeks. It was a magical day.

An old fashioned play-date, one friend each for an entire afternoon and evening of fun. Lego, popcorn, Twister, tobogganing, hot chocolate and laughing. You'll notice that nowhere on that list did I include, video games, DS, Game-boy, X-Box, PS3, Wii, Tablets, Kindles, computers or Touches. No screens whatsoever! I'll admit to owning one 19 inch TV, a computer and a Wii, but my children are not obsessed with technology. They don't 'plug-in' every chance they get and as a result, they are still children.

As a Learning Support Teacher, I spend a large portion of my day coaching teachers around participation techniques. How can we teach curriculum in a way that engages students? It used to be that participation from our students was a given. Students were expected to focus and learn. Now, teachers are expected to constantly engage all of their students, all of the time. No pressure there... we're just competing with all those screens that flash, beep, and hold today's youth spellbound. The problem I see with too much technology is the tendency for youth to be drawn into a world so far removed from reality that when they do unplug, momentarily even, they struggle to communicate, focus and succeed in the real world.

The old fashion playing that happened in my home this afternoon is the norm for my family. I acknowledge that technology has a place in our world, our society and in our classrooms, but there must be a balance. Screens, remotes and keyboards will never replace whispering under the sheets of a dinning-room fort and they can't compete with the thrill of coasting down the hill on a toboggan with a friend. These childhood experiences must remain sacred.

And before you say it, yes I am aware that I'm posting my thoughts on my blog, using the same technology that I caution can intrude on our lives. The difference is, I'm going to unplug right now, instead of surfing the Net, reading gossip and rubbish. I'm going to snuggle down with a good book. A real book, with pages and a cover, not a Kindle, a Kobo or an E-reader, but a real book.

P.S. I might even dog-ear the page before I fall asleep. Don't tell the Librarian. Librarian? you ask. Don't even get me started on that...