This is an essay I wrote for my "Teacher of the Year" portfolio. Let me me know what you think.
“Every child,” wrote pioneer botanist Luther Burbank, “should have mud pies, grasshoppers, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb. Brooks to wade, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pinecones, rocks to roll, snakes, huckleberries and hornets. Any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best parts of education.”
The average child spends only 30 minutes a day outside. Kindergarteners start school with 5,000 hours of TV under their belts. With technological innovations such as Google, iPod, Twitter, Wii, Facebook, and YouTube, these statistics will only become more alarming. Smell. Touch. Taste. Temperature. None of these exist in virtual realms. Our students can name dozens of corporate logos and celebrities on sight but cannot name three plants in their neighborhood. A child can sing every lyric to a popular song but cannot identify the sounds in nature.
While this is clearly a problem with society, our school systems are only exacerbating the situation. We chain our kids to a desk with number 2 pencils or laptops glued to their hands all the while the natural world around them is neglected and abandoned. This retreat from the great outdoors is the greatest health and education risk facing our kids. Numerous studies indicate that kids who spend time outdoors and in nature and mentally and physically healthier than kids who watch too much TV and the like. Asthma, attention-deficit disorders, obesity, diabetes linked to weight, and depression all have rates that are climbing as the amount of time spent outdoors and in nature is diminishing. We have also seen the rise of mental illnesses with this transition. The digital revolution may be rewiring our students’ brains in unhealthy ways.
Studies show that the type of multitasking necessary when using technology hinders our ability to think deeply. We are reduced to a skimming and scanning form of thinking with no opportunity for contemplation, introspection, or reflection. Our deepest thoughts and conceptual knowledge immerge when we are able to focus on one thing while technology has a way of constantly bombarding us with information. This short circuits our mental processes and can even change our brains at a cellular level.
I do, however, believe in the value of technology in our schools. As one of the leaders for the use of instructional technology in my school, I often do presentations to teachers in my grade level about ways to use technology to differentiate our lessons and support our students. Our students’ favorite technologies can be tools towards student learning, but should never take the place of authentic, natural learning experiences. We are preparing our students to be globally competitive in the 21st century and the need for technology integration is undeniable. The fact remains, we need balance. We need to help our students break out of the media trance and start thinking critically about their world.
I am in support of nature-based curricula where the school day is given to studying the environment to integrate math, language, science, and social studies into the real world. We are creating a generation of zombies with excellent test scores. A generation that performs but cannot think. A generation that is being left in a digital daze: unable to concentrate, feeling foggy, anxious and fatigued. Our students are drowning in an endless stream of connectivity, unable to follow a sustained line of thought. It is time to unplug our students and take them outside to discover the richness that has eluded them for far too long. To discover. To marvel. And make mud pies.
