Don’t teach your kids this stuff. Please?

August 26, 2009 by 618 Comments

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dear parent

  teacher

  administrator

  board member

     

don't teach your kids to read

  for the Web

  to scan

    RSS

    aggregate

    synthesize

 

don't teach your kids to write

  online

pen and paper aren't going anywhere

since when do kids need an audience?

no need to hyperlink

  make videos

    audio

      Flash

      

no connecting, now

no social networking

  or online chat

  or comments

  or PLNs

blogs and twitter?

  how self-absorbed

  what a bunch of crap

and definitely, absolutely, resolutely, no cell phones

block it all

lock it down

keep it out

it's evil, you know

  there's bad stuff out there

    gotta keep your children safe

    

don't you know collaboration is just another word for cheating?

don't you know how much junk is out there?

haven't you ever heard of sexting?

  of cyberbullying?

a computer 24-7? no thanks

  I don't want them

    creating

      sharing

        thinking

          learning

you know they're just going to look at porn

  and hook up with predators

we can't trust them

don't do any of it, please

  

really

'cause I'm doing all of it with my kids

can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two

can you?

  

 

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618 Responses to “Don’t teach your kids this stuff. Please?”

  1. Wannetta Fincher Reply April 11, 2013 at 10:51 pm

    Hi Dr. McLeod!
    My name is Wannetta Fincher, and I am currently taking EDM310 with Dr. Strange at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. I am going to be a health educator. First of all, I would like to thank you for sharing such a great post. I completely agree that many people can be too protective over children having access to the internet and become very frustrated when students use cellphones in class. Sometimes I can become completely lost if I become fixated on a single word that I cannot comprehend through context. Luckily, with internet or a smartphone, I can find out within seconds. Sometimes people feel threatened by technology that they are unfamiliar; I can definitely relate to that. And yes, there are downsides to the amount of information on the internet, however helping the students validate and synthesize information and informing students about the potential dangers will create a safer learning environment. Again, great delivery and diction. I look forward to more of your posts.

    W. FIncher

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