By Rachel Collis
And we start by wrestling that two-by-six device from their unwilling fingers. It will not be easy, but we have to do it with wisdom and tough love.
You see, that device is creating of your children beings that would be unrecognizable, even to you who have had them for their entire lives.
For it is not only their future, but your future and the future of the nation that rest in their hands.
Let’s make the case with some realities. How many parents are aware that as soon as their children leave the classroom, the first thing they reach for is their phone to see who is, or what dance is the latest Tik Tok sensation; or what is trending on Instagram. Or for that matter, what their classmate who is sitting two seats away has said to them.
Are they talking about the class lesson they just had? You can bet your life they’re not. They share no desire to discuss what just happened in the lesson, or even to fact-check any of the information imparted in the lesson.
Retention is now a thing of the past. Why bother? They have their phones for instant recollection. Except that that would work if they were preparing for open-book exams. CXC is just one of the exam organisations that are reporting wide-spread cheating by students who just refuse to commit any of the information they need to memory and take devices, notes, etc, into the exam room.
Foreign languages which demand a certain amount of memory work, especially in the learning of vocabulary and grammatical principles are dead in the water, because they refuse to commit any of this by heart. Of course, the proponents of electronic devices would say examiners should put it in a form that would make it ingestive. But isn’t that pandering to the whims and peeves of these students? You either know the word for a cow in French, or you do not? What should the examiner do? Leave out that word because it might be too difficult for them? CXC is guilty enough of doing that, as it is, because they keep removing topics from the exams that they feel might give the students too much trouble, and so reduce success figures.
At this time when children are falling prey to their parent’s vanity and thirst for bragging rights by having them do more subjects than they could manage at one sitting, it is important that we take a second look at ways to improve our scholastic expectations for our children.
Most of the learning today is encapsulated in a time period of 8:00am to 1:30pm, which breaks down to an allocation of 35-40 minutes per subject, and add-ons like assembly, breaks, going to church, etc. You do the math.
Let us also talk about the after-school classes, most of which horde them into a similar setting like the one they just left, receiving the same attention like in the one they just left, from perhaps the same teacher who is giving them the same attention they got. Or they are joining other students in a class with a different tutor.
But the children don’t mind. They have less supervision, and more time for their phones, tablets, downloaded games, etc. Some sit in the class and use these at their own whim and fancy. Others sit at the back and watch “unmentionables”.
Latchkey children are in heaven. The phone rings. “Are you doing your homework?” “Yes, Mom”. “Is that the game I hear there?” “No, Mom. It’s something outside.”
There is a reason why with all the hype about electronics replacing paper, trees are still dying. There is no hurry to replace paper; maybe with those who have completed their learning. Just take a look. We see world leaders signing agreements – on paper.
It is not advisable for children whose minds are being made receptive for learning to be joined at the hip by a cellphone. In their innocence, or misguided way, they think that the cell phones in their hands are the solutions to their learning problems. Even some teachers have bought into this. So when they use Google Classroom as a crutch and just cut and paste information and exercises for their students, then just drop them wholesale in the Google Classroom, that is deceptive.
We are preening about how bright and how smart our children are, and how well they can manipulate Facebook and their favourite cartoons, and even adult content on their phones (yes, the 5-year-old have their phones too), but these same children do not know their ABCs, they do not know the multiplication tables, they cannot read simple text, and they cannot write properly. And I am also talking about those about to write entrance and exit exams.
It is time to take the phone out of the hands of our children, unplug the game consoles, and find a place to bury them until they have earned the right to have them. I’m not asking you to do like one parent of an 8-year-old and put them in the driveway and run the car over them. After all, you paid good money for them.
And that is the crux of the matter. Why are we as parents buying these expensive gifts for our children? Why are we as parents buying all the latest and most expensive brand name clothes and shoes for our children, but refusing to spend on proper personalised tuition for them to help fix their problems, which for the most part were caused by us?
Even if your child eventually becomes a whiz at gaming and a big time Tik Tok influencer (or whatever would be the rage at that time) he still has to talk and have a strong presence in the business in which he chooses to specialise. Will he be sitting in a chair with a drink in his hand, afraid to join the conversation with his peers, or scared to engage the boss because words are not coming easily?
A great writer said “Books are lighthouses erected in the great sea of time.” We do not talk about lighthouses anymore, but we get his meaning. For these holidays, give your children a gift of books that will help them learn to read and discover a world of knowledge and adventure through their imagination and sense of wonder.
Get them a good personal tutor that would help bring them up to a standard that would engender confidence and broaden their ability to think creatively.
Pay attention to what is going on in those Google Classrooms by sharing their passwords with them. Ensure that when the teacher gives an assignment, it is completed on time, handed in, and marked and returned by the teacher, in good time.
Mix their television viewing with programmes that can stimulate their minds and heighten their thirst for knowledge.
Stop writing their SBAs and doing their homework assignments. It is hurting them. You’re supposed to be their home guide, not do the work while your little darlings are on the phone or doing battle with someone miles away. When it’s handed in to the teacher, it is your work that will be graded. Think how you would feel if the result says sub par effort.
Most of all, be their parents and not your children’s friends. They have a whole school full of those. Tough love is what it says it is – tough. But for a child, it is good love. And like the Nugenix ad says, they will thank you for it.
And take the phone out of their hands. Do it for the children’s sake.
Thoughts and views expressed in Observations do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Observer Newsco, its management or staff.