I think that every parent needs to decide what is right for their family when it comes to media and technology. What works for my kids might not work for yours and vice versa. I can’t dictate to you how to raise your kids anymore than you can dictate the same thing to me. Each family and each child is unique and should be treated as individuals. Of course, parents should set the standard for the types of shows they allow their children to watch or games they allow their child to play and web sites they allow their child to access. A child left to his or her own devices won’t make the best decisions regarding media and technology unless the parents have given them guidelines and instructions. Active involved parenting is the best answer.
In our home, computers and video games and tv may not be turned on until 4pm when homework is done. Our computers have a program installed that allows me to see what websites my kids visit and how long they stay at each one. So far, You Tube is the only site I won’t let my kids visit without my permission based on their web surfing history. During the week I don’t set time limits, but I do require that they play outside from 5 – 6 before we eat dinner. The only tvs in our home that are connected to satellite are in my room and in my 10 year old son’s room. His tv is locked down with so many parental controls that pretty much he watches Man vs. Wild, Unwrapped or How It’s Made. The weekends are a different story, though. The tv still has parental controls, but Sponge Bob and Cartoon Network are available each day. I have found that for my kids if I am too strict about “screen” time, they fight me more than if I leave it up to them. They get bored sitting and staring a screen for hours on end. So they get up and play their own versions of Blue’s Clues or Sponge Bob. (Shh, my 10 year old might get embarrassed that I mentioned he plays Blue’s Clues with his 5 and 7 year old sisters). I guess I am fortunate there and I would like to think it is partly because I did something right as a parent raising them to be responsible time managers.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Best and Worst of Teachers
The best teacher I ever had was my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. D. She always made each day of learning interesting and exciting, yet she demanded our best. She encouraged us to explore with hands on activities. She also modified assignments for those of us who were ahead of the curve and for other students who were behind the curve without either group feeling singled out. Our book tells us that well managed classrooms have teachers who spend their time teaching, not dealing with behavior problems (Berns, 261). Mrs. D rarely had discipline problems, she always intervened before a problem developed, redirected the potential offender(s) and had a solution at the tip of her fingers. According to our text, cooperative learning happens when students work together to accomplish a goal (Berns 288). Mrs. D always wanted us to feel accepted, and fostered many cooperative learning activities.
The worst teacher I ever had – and this is hard, because I idolized most of my teachers – was probably Mr. B. He was thirty-something and taught computer class when I was in 10th grade. He had zero classroom management skills. Our book tells us that a competitive goal structure is one where students compete against other students to attain a goal that only a few can reach (Berns, 288). This was Mr. B’s philosophy. Every DOS based project was assigned a grade based on how quickly students turned the work in. His management style was what our book calls, laissez-faire, a permissive style of leadership where students are allowed to do as they please (Berns, 259). I disliked his class because we didn’t learn anything about technology. Our assignments were based on a programming language that was already out of date when we were learning it since our school couldn’t afford new technology they just keeping teaching the old, out of date stuff.
Overall I remember the content of what I learned in fifth grade – states and capitals, the solar system, and the verbs of being – because I have vivid memories of the experiences my teacher used to teach the material.
The worst teacher I ever had – and this is hard, because I idolized most of my teachers – was probably Mr. B. He was thirty-something and taught computer class when I was in 10th grade. He had zero classroom management skills. Our book tells us that a competitive goal structure is one where students compete against other students to attain a goal that only a few can reach (Berns, 288). This was Mr. B’s philosophy. Every DOS based project was assigned a grade based on how quickly students turned the work in. His management style was what our book calls, laissez-faire, a permissive style of leadership where students are allowed to do as they please (Berns, 259). I disliked his class because we didn’t learn anything about technology. Our assignments were based on a programming language that was already out of date when we were learning it since our school couldn’t afford new technology they just keeping teaching the old, out of date stuff.
Overall I remember the content of what I learned in fifth grade – states and capitals, the solar system, and the verbs of being – because I have vivid memories of the experiences my teacher used to teach the material.
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