A few years ago my oldest daughter was in the 8th grade. Right after school started Hurricane Ike came barreling through causing massive damage to the entire southeast Texas region. Schools were out for more than 2 weeks. I remember a small conversation that I had with my daughter and a couple of her friends as we sat in my home that was being run solely by a generator.
Cell phone usage was scarce since the hurricane knocked out a few towers, but the electricity was also out and was not restored for a few weeks. My daughter and her friends were sitting in the living room when my daughter told me that one of her friends did not have a cell phone signal either. I explained to her that she did not have a signal just like us because she lived a few blocks away and would be using the same tower as us. The tower was the issue. If it was not working we would not be able to make calls. The three girls just sat there with a puzzled look on their faces. So I asked where they thought the signal for their cell phones came from. They each looked at each other and answered almost in unison “The power lines.”
I chuckled a bit. How did these 14-year-old girls not know where a cellular signal came from? What were they being taught in school about the history of technology? Do schools not find this important content for learning?
Thinking back when I was in school, in 7th grade it was required that we took a computer history class. That was where we learned about the first massive computers and other important information that pertained to technology. I don’t believe any of my kids have ever had to take any class that had any technology content except a class in middle school that taught them the basics of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. Oh, I can’t forget about that one required elective in high school that again goes over the basics of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. I am not sure why they have to take this class since I can only remember a couple of times where my kids have had to even type up a paper to turn in. Remember my children’s ages are 17, 16, 14, and 12.
Our public schools are failing to lay the foundation for technology education. By the time they take a few classes in college about technology, the concept is so far out there. We wonder how the US is about 10 years behind in technology than other advanced countries. If we are failing to educate our children for the future we should expect nothing but the same for the future of our country.
Yes I could teach the technology to my kids myself, in fact I thought I had been. But since I am not a certified teacher, work a full-time job during the day and send my children to school for 7 hours a day, I thought this education was being taught in school. I am paying taxes to have my children educated and I never really noticed how much they were lacking.
Do you fill in the education gaps with your children? Do your children know much more than how to use technology? Ask your tween a simple question; ask them where their cell phone signal comes from.
About Jessica Benton
I never had any computer classes beyond what you described (Word, Excel, etc) and, truth be told, I think that may have been part of an English class. I did have to type up a lot of papers in HS, though. It’s interesting that you had a computer history class. I wonder if the change was simply generational? Or if perhaps we an no longer keep up with tech history or know how to condense it? Or if you just lucked out with your class because I can’t think of many people who had one who aren’t studying computers.
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Technology are being taught at school, it’s true. But I don’t see it being taught much. You still need to teach them more about it at home, so that they can know more about it.
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What about all the kids with parents that are not in the position to teach about technology, either they are just not good parents, or dont have the knowledge?
Your right. I had never thought about that before. I guess the thought never crossed my mind because all you hear about in the news is that children aren’t proficient in math or science. And now their saying that handwriting might not be taught anymore. Then there are the incompetent teachers that parents have to deal with who don’t teach well even if the subject is offered. It’s always something I guess.
The best school systems in the nation are the best because parents are engaged in the process. There is no way that schools are going to teach our kids everything that the need to know, nor should any of us expect to push our kid into a school door and a genius pop out at age 18.
In the best school systems, parents are coming in and helping with tutoring and helping in the classrooms by volunteering their skills to bring real world experiences to subjects that students are being taught.
Educating our kids is one area where it does take a village.
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You are in southeast Texas? My son, daughter-in-law, and grand daughters were out of their home for nearly 4 months after Ike–they live in Galveston where my son is a medical student at UTMB. My daughter-in-law’s mother had a beach house on Boliver that is not there any more. My daughter in The Woodlands had a tree down, but, except for being without power, her home was okay.
Speaking of talking tech, it was my daughter who talked to me. When she was about Jr High age, she taught me how to animate power points–lots of eye rolling and “Jeese, Mom, everybody knows that!” like I was the “slow” child. As for cell phones, I’m afraid to ask her, but she probably knows how to hack the companies.
Wow, as a former elementary school technology teacher for a little over 10 years… I never thought about asking that simple question of my students. Yes, I have always been focused on teaching application software along with using software that reinforces academic skills, but never thought it was important to focus on the history of technology. I would give an overview here or there mainly to my 5th graders and they were about to graduate, but never as a complete unit of instruction for all grade levels.
And you are right in saying that as we move forward in the implementation of technology in the classroom, we should teach students about it’s history, origins and basic structure.
Great posting; thanks!
HEY I KNOW NOW A DAYS GENERATION IS SO FAST THAT IT THEY DONT NEED ANY HELP FOR GUIDING THEM TO KNOW WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY THE ONLY NEED IS THAT THEY WANT IS INTERNET TO LEARN WHAT EVER THEY WANT.
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