Teaching Union in Northern Ireland: Computers Can Have Negative Impact on Children’s Ability to Learn
May 23rd, 2014When I make my weekly trip to town, it is becoming increasingly common to see very young children using smartphones and cheap Android tablets. As parents buy soda, frozen pizzas and other toxic waste at the supermarket, the children waddle behind like zombies, swiping away at the screens. Loud game noise or crap music blares out of the devices. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a baby girl sitting in a shopping cart, munching on a lollypop and entertaining herself with some sort of mobile game on a Samsung phone.
Welcome to oblivion.
Via: BBC:
A teaching union in Northern Ireland is calling for urgent action over the impact of modern technology on children’s ability to learn at school.
The Association of Teacher and Lecturers (ATL) is concerned at how long children spend on computers and digital gadgets outside school.
It said some pupils were unable to concentrate or socialise properly.
The impact of digital technology is the focus of the union’s annual regional conference in Belfast on Thursday.
Mark Langhammer of the ATL said: “We’re hearing reports of very young children who are arriving into school quite unable to concentrate or to socialise properly because they’re spending so much time on digital games or social media.
“We’d like the Department of Education to issue guidance to all parents on the maximum amount of time which young children should spend on these devices, and on how kids can use digital technology safely and sensibly.”
Screen time
He said the ATL will be requesting an early meeting with the education minister to urge action.
“We readily appreciate that digital technology can have huge benefits for children,” he said.
“But there seems to be a real lack of awareness about its potential dangers, and we think the Department of Education needs to take action to make parents much more aware of the issues.”
Emma Quinn, who teaches primary four and five, said the impact of hours spent on screens was evident in school.
“There’s a complete lack of motivation among many of my pupils – these gadgets are really destroying their ability to learn,” she said.
“They’re so used to the instant buzz which you can get with these games and gadgets that they find it really hard to focus on anything which isn’t exciting.”
It is common in lower income households for children to be babysat by TV and now an Xbox or PlayStation. These kids are probably fed a daily diet of junk food and their parents are probably young, immature, poorly educated and lack parenting and cooking skills. These kids wouldn’t get the all the proper intellectual stimulation, discipline, proper nutrition and boundaries set like kids from higher income homes with more intelligent and better educated older more mature parents. It is sad to see but to blame a toy is stupid. They should be actively discouraging people from having children before they have finished their schooling and have a proper job that can support a family. By that time hopefully the person as grown up and is ready to be a parent.
Hi All, just back from another trip to my home in New Zealand and want to report this finding that jives with this article. Since 1996 I have been through the LAX Air New Zealand lounge maybe 100 times. In the past, this international airport business class lounge has been a cozy cocoon where people can relax and get some free food and drinks and chat with others. This trip….NADA!…everyone stuck into their smart phones or laptops and no socializing….if you haven’t seen this viral movie you must…it speaks volumes as to how these “smart” phones are robbing us of our culture .
http://sftimes.co/?id=637&src=share_fb_new_637