This installment will focus on the most important obstacle to face educators in the history of education.  No, it’s not NCLB!  I want to point out a sign of the times that has materialized over the past few years without my knowledge.  I guess I have been in the dark about “gadgets” until now because I haven’t owned one.  Now, I have a 12-year old son with an iPod Touch (and a 10-year old daughter with one also), and I have been introduced to the reality of what I have named “Gadget Immersion Syndrome”…or GIS.  I am hoping that this term will catch on, since I am the one who made it up.  Yes, the term GIS was born on March 28^th, 2010…by Shannon Holden!   

 

What is GIS?  Thanks for asking!  GIS happens when your kids multitask all day long, and one of their “tasks” always involves their gadget.  Have you tried to have a nice “family supper”, and discover that your kids are not engaging in a conversation with you because they are looking under the table at their gadget?  Have you decided to let your kids watch what they want to watch on T.V. so that you can be sensitive to their needs…then notice a problem as they “watch” T.V.?  They are not watching T.V., they are glancing at the T.V. for a few seconds, then looking at their gadget!  How can they keep up with the plotline of Hannah Montana if they are not paying full attention?

 

Even when I make them set the gadget down, it calls them back again with a “ting ting”.  Our conversation is interrupted because my daughter’s friend Melanie is texting (with important news, I’m sure).  Has she changed her Facebook status from “single” to “in a relationship”?  Kids all over the country are not getting at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep because they are bringing their gadget to bed with them…and texting each other all night.  The gadget can be a phone, iPod, MP3 player, or other handheld device…it doesn’t matter.  The bottom line is that these gadgets are slowly taking over the minds of our children.

 

Is GIS only affecting our children?  You may be surprised to find out that adults are guilty as well.  Do some research for me…the next time you are out driving around, look at the eyes of the other drivers on the road.  Are their eyes on the road?  Chances are they are not!  Chances are that you will notice drivers looking down at something…yes, you guessed it!  They are looking at their gadget.  States are discussing legislation that will make “texting while driving” illegal.  I applaud any law that will make our roads safer…my only question is this:  How can the law be enforced?

 

It is quite possible that I am wrong, and gadgets are a GOOD thing.  There are great uses for these gadgets, like parents who are able to keep track of their child’s whereabouts…or the feeling of power one gets when they realize the amount of knowledge they are holding in their hand.  Long car trips used to be terrible for my family, but now I could drive to Canada if I wanted to…with no whining, crying, or fighting going on in the back seat.  I can drive for hundreds of miles in total silence, while each of my kids plays with their gadget.  What about the potential of “attitude adjustment” for your children?  Do you want them to work towards a positive goal?  Offer to buy them the latest gadget if they attain the goal.  Is their behavior deteriorating?  Take away the gadget for a period of time.  I have seen the results…they ARE encouraging!

 

The one thing that scares me, though, is the further deterioration of our youth’s attention spans.  Here you have kids with devices that let them talk to anyone with a phone, text message anyone with a similar device, listen to any song ever recorded, visit any website on the Internet, view any of the millions of videos available on YouTube, download games and movies, take pictures and send them to anyone…and what do kids text each other most often?  “I’m bored.”  Teachers used to think that kids watching T.V. with a remote control caused a shortening of attention spans?  That’s the “Good Ol’ Days” compared to what’s happening now.  We are at a whole new level of attention-deficit as a society.  It is not out of the ordinary to see a youngster listening to music, texting, talking on the phone, watching T.V., logged in to Facebook on her laptop (and IM’ing with multiple people)…all at the same time!

 

What does this mean for educators?  Well, I hate to be the one to break this to you…but the days of putting students in rows and lecturing them are long gone.  Unfortunately, this is the method that most teachers use because they were lectured to when they were in school.  When they get to college, they are lectured to by their professors because the professors were lectured to when they were in school…and the cycle repeats itself.

 

Proponents of the status quo (usually snobby high school teachers) sneer at anyone who proposes reforms:  “How can students be prepared for college if you don’t lecture to them?”  Uh, less than 50% of college students have actually earned a degree SIX years after beginning college.  To quote Dr. Phil… “How’s THAT working out for you?”  Wouldn’t students be prepared for college if they actually learned the material taught in high school?  I will offer solutions to this problem in the coming weeks because I despise people who complain about a situation without having a better way of doing things.  I have a better way!  I will not share it in this column because I have already written a thousand words, and I don’t want this to turn into a book.  Stay tuned to www.newteacherhelp.com as we list ways to increase student engagement!


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