Ok, so call me a father behind the times…I haven’t been exactly enthusiastic about the kids working on the computer. Don’t get me wrong, I have a computer at home for general use purposes (although I must admit it is 6 years old and overdue to be put out to pasture) but I haven’t really been encouraging the kids to use it. Call me old school (and strange to be coming from an IT professional) but my theory is that it is important for kids these days to start by learning how to do things the “manual” way, and as they grow appreciate automation through that learning experience. Take math as a simple example – do they give kids calculators in Grade 1 to do their math homework with? That’s how I was brought up – I don’t rush to my Blackberry to calculate the tip on a $40.00 lunch bill.
Last year, when my eldest was in Grade 3, he came home from school with a book report project. He needed to read a book and then prepare a written report as well a Bristol board presentation with text and pictures to present to the class. The teacher provided a grading matrix which clearly defined how the project would be marked and encouraged parents to assist their children in completing the project. I got called in to assist, and I eagerly jumped in with all fours. Here was a perfect opportunity to do things the “manual” way and teach my son the art of preparing a book report and presentation.
First things first – we both headed out to Staples and bought some Bristol board, coloured paper, glue and a stencil for tracing letters. Supplies in hand, I waited for my son to read the book he wanted to write about and then we sat down together and planned out the content of the book report. He wrote up his rough copy on lined paper while I started to spec out how we were going to present it on the Bristol board. Soon enough, we were tracing letters with the stencils and then colouring them in. Additional text was written on white paper with a colour paper background and then pasted onto the Bristol board. All told, it took us a good 6 hours to trace all the words, colour everything in, and get it all spic and span. Next came practicing the verbal presentation so that he did not need to use notes (eye contact was an important point in the grading matrix). Boy, this was a lot of work!
So off to school he went – everyday I would ask him, “did you get your mark back for your presentation?” “Nope”. I was starting the fret. Finally the grade came through – a B+! I was shocked! B+? I quickly scanned the marking matrix to find where he got a low grade. Lo and behold, the Bristol board presentation was the weakest link. All that effort for naught? I whipped out a piece of paper and wrote a letter to the teacher asking her politely if she could provide more details as it pertains to why the Bristol board failed to make the grade. Her response was, in this day and age, your son should have used a computer to generate the content of the Bristol board….and oh by the way, next time you write a note Mr. Faris, could you please type it? I’m having a hard time reading your cursive handwriting….
Just a few weeks ago, I noticed my son was spending quite a significant time on the computer. Curiosity got the better of me, so I took a peek while he sat in front of the computer. Open on the screen was Microsoft Word, with a centered title, fully justified paragraphs and him plugging away, entering in content. “Who taught you how to use Microsoft Word?” “Nobody”, he responded. So much for doing things the “manual” way – an important lesson for me as a parent and IT professional that technology is ubiquitous, easy to learn and inevitable.
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