I have three millennial children and a millennial daughter-in-law. They all have cell phone appendages that, I swear, they were born with, because those gadgets do not detach from their bodies. This is their lifeline. It's how they communicate with each other, and, as a reality check from today's MIT class in technology, it's how I mainly communicate with them, as well. I knew that, of course, but sometimes the minute minutiae doesn't compute until, well, later.
I am constantly battling with my 30-something daughter about putting her phone away and looking at someone in the eye when they talk to her; that someone, namely being me. It's been a battle for a long time. My kids were raised to be polite, and they are, but to them texting on the phone and talking to someone in person, is not akin to being rude. This is a battle I loose, every time. Why?
In class, we talked about the importance of technology, social media in particular, to the rising generations. It's their normal way of communication, and that includes parents communicating with their children. Jeff had a quick story today about a child who found out in class, via social media from her mother, that a family member had died. The teacher warned the child multiple times to put away the social media; when that didn't happen, the teacher forcibly shut the media, and then the student revealed to the teacher that her mom had just told her, her grandmother had died. I don't ever want to be that teacher. Was it handled right by the parent. No, probably not, but again, this is the generation that texts absolutely everything so it might be perfectly acceptable in the mom's mind. Should she have communicated in that manner during school hours? Again, probably not but, who are we to judge? It happened, and I'm going to guess that children get frequent bad news via text or Facebook messenger. Perhaps, it needs to be incumbent upon the teachers to at least make sure the child is OK first, before insisting that social media be put away. When my children first got cell phones, since I paid for them, the rule was, I call, you pick up. Perhaps this was a similar case. Let's find out first, before jumping to conclusions.
It's such a small but powerful lesson. Since cell phones, and other social media, are a major and sometimes sole means of communication, make sure the child is OK, and don't assume that they're planing an after school get together while in class. It could be the parent communicating with the child in the way that they're comfortable. I thought this was an interesting article, https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2018/08/14/should-smartphones-allowed-classroom/959154002/, that shouts out the pros and cons of cell phones in the classroom. This article intrigued me also because I went to school in one of the quoted districts.
And in the meantime, it's past due to end the battle with my daughter regarding her texting when we're talking. White flag. She wins. Besides, I've done it to her a couple times out of sheer frustration. It doesn't bother her a bit.
Susan
Hey Susan, Nice post! As a gen-z or millennial (I honestly don't know what I am) I can totally confirm I'm pretty attached to my phone, however I've become aware of since we've started this program since I no longer have hours upon end to waste on the lovely internet looking at memes or watching videos. Now that I have a limited time I really only use my phone what it was made for: communication. The story Jeff told us really stuck out to me as well, though it was probably not the best way for the girl's mother to inform her of the loss I understand. Last year my abuelo (grandpa) was diagnosed with cancer and in his final days me and the rest of my family updated one another about ANYTHING via snapchat or facebook. Was it the best way to communicate? No, but it was the most efficient and I guess speediest way to let everyone know updates. I love that you pointed out we need to ensure students are ok first, when Jeff covered that I knew that was going to be something I will implement. it's great to hear you will too! Great post!
ReplyDeleteMy phone is on me wherever I go, but i don't like to constantly refer to it all the time. In fact, I used to do social media for a company and it wasn't fun. My phone was constantly buzzing and it was my job to constantly respond. it was horrible, i didn't like it. I was never present wherever i was. I think that's our challenge as teachers is to get students to engage in the real world as much as possible and learn real world like skills. It wont be long until phones are a thing of the past and we are all stuck behind our smart glasses staring off into space as our eye balls guide a curser thorough the sub eons of the internet. The future is gonna get weird, how are we gong to deal with it in our classrooms? The iphone is only 10 years old. What's going to happen in the next 10 years!? crazy.
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