Technology and Children

The parents, in today`s time are very much concerned about the progress of their children and all of them work hard for the same. They provide all possible help so that the children can get best of the ranks in the school and their name can be taken with pride in the society. But in many a cases this has been observed that if the children keep doing all right the parents do not bother to see what is the learning taking place. They would even not bother about the behavioral issues of the children. If we do not consider the metros and pay attention to the semi urban and rural area where the mothers may not be much educated and the fathers dominate the family, there the situation is more serious. The mother at times, hides the problems of the child from the father because she does not want him to get angry with the child and scold him/her. Also, many fathers have long hours job and they come back late at home and by that time either the children go to sleep or might be studying in their rooms. In smaller places the parents are still not comfortable with the use of internet. They feel that if the children use laptop/computer then they must be involved in something negative and they demand that the schools should not be giving any work which requires the use of internet. Ironically, this is not discussed during the course of the year but after the result is declared and the child might not have performed well, all the queries come into existence. In many a cases, when questioned about their not sharing the same earlier, the answer given is that they did not have time. Very recently a parent asked the teacher the same question and told him that their child was wasting a lot of time on computers  because of the work given by the teachers and hence could not perform well in the examination. When he was asked why he did not check what the child was doing, his reply was that he did not have time to check that. I agree that in some cases the parents may not be able to give enough time to the need of their children, but to blame somebody else for the problem is not correct. The worst thing is that the child does not get benefited at all. In such situations, the mothers usually remain silent though they might have known about the fluctuating performance of the child through the year.

Again there is nothing wrong in asking the teacher but should it be after the result has been declared or the same should have been discussed earlier because the child might have been spending a lot of time using computers. Furthermore, the use of computer or net is not always bad because the kind of information and support which is available on net is quite a help. The speed with which the information is available is time saving and the saved time can be used by the children in some additional things. Here, I would also propose that right in the beginning of the session the parent and teacher must meet and evolve some do’s and don’ts for the child and ensure that they are followed throughout the year. From the same platform, the teacher can also convey about the assignments given online and the duration of net usage required in totality to complete the school assignments or projects.

The concept of collation government is much into fashion these days, hence, the parents, teachers and children can collimate to step into the gizmo world and adopt the rapid changes happening around. The juxtaposition of ideas must take place here so as to device such a program which is flexible and not as fixed as to cause anxiety to the child to complete his task using technology (on laptop, I pad or tablet). However, the teacher’s responsibility increases at this stage to plan out the number of hours he/she expects the students to sit and browse about relevant and related topics on the net. The same should then be conveyed to the parents, in the parent teacher meetings suggesting them to keep a close vigil on their children and check them the moment they exceed the duration. This will not only curb their habit of violating net usage but also control the voyeuristic tendencies in teenagers. The boon and bane of technology have to be discussed with the children candidly, lest they should get trapped in the addictive whirl of gadget quagmire.

I raised this issue to suggest and counsel parents that their focus should be that the children not only manage to pass the examination but also pass with promising results. To qualify an examination is important but doing the same without learning may not be of much use. I wrote a few years back that though the parents and teachers have the interest of the child in their mind and both want the child to perform well, then why should there be trust deficit. Why should parents and the teachers not work in tandem? Blaming each other at the end of the session would not yield any good result. Sometimes parents ask that they were not ever informed by the school in writing. Right, but if the parents and the schools were in contact and discussed the progress of the child during the year then where is the need of giving anything in writing. Should the school be safeguarding itself from any litigation in future by putting things in black and white? This appears to be an appropriate step but in this trust and faith which will help the child perform seems to be lost somewhere.

Moreover, in all cases the mother and father should also discuss about the problems faced by their child or if the child was going a wrong way due to some reasons. The mother should share her observation with the father of the child, if they observe any abnormal behavior in the child they must try to sort it out at the earliest with mutual understanding. The same should be communicated to the teachers concerned so all can work in a manner that the child is brought back to the right track. As there is no use crying over spilt milk. Hence, much before the situation reaches to an irreversible condition, it should be acted upon. Technology is here to stay. People need to change their perspective and have to live in a dynamic state rather than a static one. Just like the food choices differ in different seasons, we need to be accustomed to the prolific usage of technology. Today, even a child of age two or three years can handle a mobile so confidently that leaves the family members bewildered, then why can’t  the matured people make  judicious use of the same. Children of today are actually born in the digital world and grow with it, they feel lost without it as they are techno friendly. Of course, the misuse or overuse of technology in any case should be avoided, yet its realms must be explored. Please remember, the future is of e-learning through tablets and laptops, and it cannot be undone. Therefore, the wisdom is to embrace it rather than curse it.  As for the approach of children, all the three stakeholders, that is, the parents, teachers and children themselves have to follow a strict protocol of supervising, guiding and using technology respectively. The case which I mentioned above is not an isolated one and need to be seen a wider perspective.