Re: [Slightly OT] Philosophy (was Re: Replacement for Abiword: LyX? Openoffice?)
On Tue, 2003-10-21 at 18:20, Ariannah Armstrong wrote:
> On Tue, 2003-10-21 at 18:13, Ron Johnson wrote:
> > Why expose children to computers at such a young age? Shouldn't
> > they be running and jumping, playing with toys, coloring, cutting,
> > riding bike/scooter, etc, instead?
>
> Do you own a television? That is even more of a passive activity than
> computers. :-)
And they hardly watch that, either. It's not our babysitter.
> Our children do all of the above, but they developed an interest in
> computers, *in addition* to all of that. I find a lot of intellectual
> growth and development takes place when they are able to google a few
> key words related to what they are interested in. Our 5 year old
> learned all her letters a couple of years ago as well as much of their
> phonetic sounds by constantly playing with L-Letters. Computers, if
> used properly and with proper guidance by parents and caregivers, can be
> a fascinating tool that can help children learn more.
We screwed a board on the long wall in the hallway, and glued
those interconnecting foam "letter squares" onto it. The actual
letters are removable.
Thus, we were able to teach the kids the alphabet by making a
"fetch the letter" game.
Ian, my son, complained to me that all the other kids know how
to read better than he does. I'm not worried, though, since he's
only 5, and is progressing well.
Really, I'm complaining less about computers than about the modern
philosophy that emphasizes early academics rather than early activity.
> We did not "push" it on any of them. Like Ben said, we'd have had to
> keep them in a bubble to avoid exposure to computers.
My kids see me in front of the computer all the time (I telecommute
full time), but they are more interested in the shapes on the screen-
saver
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ron Johnson, Jr. ron.l.johnson@cox.net
Jefferson, LA USA
"Those who would give up essential Liberty to purchase a little
temporary safety, deserve neither Liberty nor safety." or
something like that
Ben Franklin, maybe
Reply to: