My first word processor was a typewriter and the first search engine that I learned how to use was the Grolier's Encyclopedia that my mother had purchased when I was still in Pre-School.
In my youth, I would look up information from various journals and magazines and would independently process it to learn more about the world and the people living in it. I learned how to appreciate the act of publishing and believed that anyone who was "noble" enough to publish a book earned my respect as an intelligent human being. I read, learned and discussed all that I discovered with not only my family, but my friends at school who perceived that some of the ideas that unraveled from the reading may have been beyond their reach. The only unfortunate part of my childhood was that we spent the majority of the year in the desertified part of the Southwest; an area where the scenery and wildlife was less than desirable. I compensated for this "lack of geographical bliss" by mustering up the courage to read these books "above my level" in the other place that I called home: our public library.
Many children growing up in this day and age find that access to knowledge is, for all intents and purposes, a "nuisance". What we, at one point in time, considered valuable information and important skill sets (factual knowledge, proper application of grammar principles, proficiency in spelling, memorization of math facts) they consider "trivial". If the information being presented to them cannot be decimated to a search on "Google" or the conversion to an "app", it is a true waste of time for them. Until, they will later learn, this knowledge cannot be something that merely stays in your head to occupy the space but rather information that is synthesized for other purposes.
I had a tremendously difficult time having a conversation with a young lady who told me that she could not tell me where the Indian Ocean was or another high school student who could not answer the question, "Name one musician and one artist who you admire.". Accomplishments of individuals are not solely based on science and technology. Accomplishments of individuals are those that are shared by the entire world and are celebrated as a way to help us appreciate the one word that makes us civilized: progress.
Rather than telling your child what the answer is in the most expedient manner possible, teach them a skill set that they will be required to use for the rest of their life: how to think. Later on technology will learn everything for us, but let's hope that they do not learn to "think" for us as well.
In my youth, I would look up information from various journals and magazines and would independently process it to learn more about the world and the people living in it. I learned how to appreciate the act of publishing and believed that anyone who was "noble" enough to publish a book earned my respect as an intelligent human being. I read, learned and discussed all that I discovered with not only my family, but my friends at school who perceived that some of the ideas that unraveled from the reading may have been beyond their reach. The only unfortunate part of my childhood was that we spent the majority of the year in the desertified part of the Southwest; an area where the scenery and wildlife was less than desirable. I compensated for this "lack of geographical bliss" by mustering up the courage to read these books "above my level" in the other place that I called home: our public library.
Many children growing up in this day and age find that access to knowledge is, for all intents and purposes, a "nuisance". What we, at one point in time, considered valuable information and important skill sets (factual knowledge, proper application of grammar principles, proficiency in spelling, memorization of math facts) they consider "trivial". If the information being presented to them cannot be decimated to a search on "Google" or the conversion to an "app", it is a true waste of time for them. Until, they will later learn, this knowledge cannot be something that merely stays in your head to occupy the space but rather information that is synthesized for other purposes.
I had a tremendously difficult time having a conversation with a young lady who told me that she could not tell me where the Indian Ocean was or another high school student who could not answer the question, "Name one musician and one artist who you admire.". Accomplishments of individuals are not solely based on science and technology. Accomplishments of individuals are those that are shared by the entire world and are celebrated as a way to help us appreciate the one word that makes us civilized: progress.
Rather than telling your child what the answer is in the most expedient manner possible, teach them a skill set that they will be required to use for the rest of their life: how to think. Later on technology will learn everything for us, but let's hope that they do not learn to "think" for us as well.
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