While I can understand the value of using technology for posting comments on blogs and using Skype with others, I can not comprehend the value of a Wii in early childhood education. Using technology as a tool to communicate, if used wisely, can be a learning experience. However, a Wii used for playing games, is no more then mere entertainment. I have always seen, and I will continue to see, myself as an educator, not an entertainment provider. I question what children learn from Wii games.
The Head Teacher of the kindergarten* in the article is quoted as saying, “Wii was introduced at the start of the year as a fun introduction to numeracy, literacy and fine motor skills, while also providing social interaction.” Really?
What happened to counting apples, picking flowers and looking up bugs in nature books? What about carefully planting a seedling in the garden, measuring the amount of food to fill up the rabbit’s food bowl and finding the letter N on a compass outside? Or how about threading beads, using scissors for cutting, pasting, collage, drawing and painting, picking berries, sweeping up leaves, and watering plants? Does a three year old need a Wii to be introduced to fine motor skills. Really?
The Head Teacher continues, "It's really great to watch them teaching each other." Really? What exactly are they teaching each other?
The words of Seth Godin come to my mind. In his latest book Linchpin, Seth comments about the current public schooling system: “We train the factory workers of tomorrow. Our graduates are very good at following instructions. And we teach the power of consumption as an aid for social approval.”
Isn’t that what a Wii game does too? Head down, just follow the instruction of the game, no need to create, no need to connect. The cog is standing by, waiting for instructions (in Seth’s words).
Seth has this idea about what school should really look like: “We teach people to take initiative and become remarkable artists, to question the status quo, and to interact with transparency. And our graduates understand that consumption is not the answer to social problems.”
Seth writes about the importance of creating art. With art, he is not specific referring to music, or painting, but to a gift that causes a change in the receiver. This can be a smile, a gesture, or a product design, as long as it is a gift of generosity. Creating “art” is the work of linchpins and linchpins are the essential building blocks of our future. I am not sure how playing a Wii game during early childhood years teaches children to take initiative, to use their creativity and to become a remarkable “artist”.
Previous I wrote about wisdom and teaching in the post Grow your wisdom. Young children need concrete experiences. The best teaching occurs when the emphasis is more on joining the child in hands-on interaction and discovery than on imparting knowledge. More then anything, young children need the chance to develop their skills and attitudes and to grow their wisdom. In another post I mentioned Barry Schwartz and his 2009 TED talk on our loss of wisdom, "Wisdom depends on experience, and not just any experience". Schwartz continues how we need practical wisdom "because it's what allows other virtues -- honesty, kindness, courage and so on -- to be displayed at the right time and in the right way."
The preschool years are a critical time for brain development. While watching TV and other electronic media can increase children’s knowledge, rapid-fire stimuli and passively absorbing images can create negative outcomes for the rapidly developing brain and foster restlessness, impulsivity and disruption in attention. At our preschools, Tawa Montessori and Little Earth, we strongly believe in the value of hands-on, concrete learning experiences that are meaningful and purposeful. We believe in authentic interactions, interactions that involve people, animals and the natural world, rather than a screen or a game console. We believe in the potential of each individual child. Every minute spend on a Wii is another chance missed for great learning and creating great art.
It is sad to read that in a time when research increasingly confirms the importance of outdoor, natural, authentic, learning experiences and real life connections, an increasing number of early childhood centers, including our kindergartens, are introducing our children to more screen time, rather than more green time. Our children deserve better!
- Anja
* In New Zealand, Kindergarten is the public preschool for 2, 3 and 4 year olds
Brilliantly written Anja. I couldn't agree more. My hope is that children get the opportunity to get up close to nature at an early age before the onset of the technological world that will undoubtedly become part of their everyday life. Reading your post, technology seems to be creeping into a child's life earlier than ever....how very sad.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I am not against kids and technology but there is a time and place.
Our connection to that natural world is forged through our experience as children. We learn and grow by climbing trees, smelling flowers, making daisy chains, growing a garden, listening to the birds, splashing in puddles, counting the first stars appear ...not playing on a console. Let's keep the tech gadgets for later!
Amen! I couldn't agree with you more. Preschoolers do not need Wii! Here's to making mudpies and blowing bubbles!
ReplyDeleteI was also horrified by that article. People seem to think their children need to learn the new technology to live in the modern world, but forget that all the people living happily in it already, didn't! In any case, the world the children of today will inhabit as adults is not going to be the same and it only creates a pressure to keep up.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes hear parents pride in their preschoolers mousing skills. Yet although I had never heard of a mouse until I was at university, I'm no less capable. Unfortunately I think parents genuinely feel they are giving their child a competitive advantage. And if anything comes with an "educational" tag, it seems to be free license to use it at abandon without question.
Some of the other technological "advantages" eg TV that shows changing images faster than would be seen in real life, and social networking, without the actual basics of human interaction may rewire the brain in different ways, missing some of the most fundamental aspects.
Ironically by favouring the (current) technological world over the natural world, I think this generation will be least equipped to contribute meaningfully to the future.
Thank you so much for the wonderful post, I hope that awareness raised on this critical issue will strike a note with your readers & begin to spread.
I just cannot begin to fathom out what these people are thinking!
ReplyDeleteChildren's education is not a fad nor should the tools be that educate them, all fads are superceded and become land fills....(remember we are meant to be also looking after our planet for future generations.
Really what next...cell phones to teach communication??