So I was browsing one of the groups I am a member of onFacebook the other day, and one of the conversations was about school supplies. When I was younger, parents didn’t buy school supplies. Shockingly, school districts had enough money for all the necessities such as pencils, crayons, paper, etc. Now, the school supply lists grow longer and longer by the year and get more expensive. The lists are things not only needed for your student, but also things needed for the class and for the teacher. I don’t complain about this, because if all the parents don’t pitch in, the teacher is left to purchase all these things on their own, and I don’t think that’s right. My dad is a high school history teacher and I know how much he spends out of his own pocket for supplies and snacks. His expense may be higher since he teaches at a low income school with a lot of students coming from single parent households. So as the Facebook conversation went on, it morphed into the technological advances schools have made and whether or not that is a good thing.
When I went to school, it was chalk and chalkboards. I saw my first computer in fifth grade and it was an Apple. It had a black screen, green letters and all I remember doing on it was making crossword puzzles. Now, the classrooms are totally different. Teachers have Smartboards. There are computer labs with computers for every kid in the class. Some schools even require students to take computer classes. Some days I think my kids know more about computers than I do!
I personally think it’s a good thing. We live in a technology-filled world. Kids need to know this stuff. But with that said, I don’t think technology should take the place of good old fashioned learning: write instead of type, use scratch paper instead of a calculator and actually learn cursive. Can you believe some schools aren’t teaching this anymore? Kids need to know how to do things in the absence of a computer, a cell phone and a calculator. So while I am very pro-new school, I am also pro-old school as well. Balance, that’s the key.
