TO COMPUTE OR NOT TO COMPUTE. THAT IS THE QUESTION.

I just read an article in the NY Times this morning entitled “A Silicon Valley School That Doesn’t Compute”. I feel driven to respond.

My credentials: I’m a public school teacher. The bulk of my career was in an inner city elementary school whose student population was predominantly African American. Over 80% were on free or reduced lunches, and many came from single parent households. My own children went through the Mercer Island public school system, and received good educations. Much of that time I was a single parent myself with all the financial constraints that implies.

The article states that employees of several major Silicon Valley high tech firms send their children to the Waldorf school in Los Altos, largely because of its century-old method of experiential learning, creative thinking, human interaction, movement and the teaching tools from yesteryear. Tools include blackboards, colored chalk, encyclopedias, wooden desks, workbooks, and number 2 pencils. Tools do NOT include computers, ipads or smart phones. In fact, they are not allowed in the classrooms, and students are even discouraged from using them at home. The article claimed that a study between 1994 and 2004 showed that a remarkable 95% of Waldorf graduates attended college.

For those enamoured with the Waldorf teaching approach, engagement of the students in the process seems to be the key to learning. Use of technology is seen as distracting from that engagement. One student talked about how frustrating it was to hang out with his cousins who were all wired into their various gadgets. They were not paying attention to each other or to him. It was technology vs. socializing with socializing the loser.

The picture painted in the article is compelling, but disquieting.

With an annual tuition ranging from $17,750 to $24,400, I think it is clear that unless there is a scholarship involved, most students come from high achieving families who value education. These families have undoubtedly read to their children, taken them on trips and exposed them to all kinds of cultural experiences which contribute to their knowledge base. They were probably dandled on their parents' laps, in front of a computer, from an early age.

Compare them with students of low income homes, many with single parents just eking out a living, who find that TV, with its seductive programming, is their stepparent. Often their real parents have no time, desire or energy to fully parent their children to be competitive in the school or workplace.

In this article, students come from homes where the family’s financial success is tied to one of several technology companies located in the Silicon Valley. Many of these parents want their children to have experiential learning and look for schools that will provide it. They are not concerned with Waldorf’s ban against technology as they undoubtedly provide for that within their own homes.

However, the low income student might have no opportunity to learn computer skills unless it is at school. At the same time, those of us in the public school arena know that there isn’t nearly enough quality computer instruction, computers are often not working properly, and technicians to repair them are not readily available. The result is a widening group of technology “haves and have nots.”

Sadder yet is that realization that with so much stress on academic accountability, public school teachers often are forced to sacrifice what little experiential learning they can offer to the all important test scores.

Personally I love experiential learning. I liked teaching about Ancient Egypt by turning my classroom into a pyramid, finding artifacts in an archeological dig made with cat litter, piecing together bits of broken pottery, designing a sarcophagus, making scarab necklaces, AND to visit a hieroglyphics translator site on the internet in order to transform our names.

I would not want a classroom devoid of computers and the internet. There is so much information to be learned and no one teacher can know it all. It is how teachers use the technology that makes the difference. I am happy if a computer free classroom works for the Waldorf students, but I was thrilled that the world was but a click away for mine.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following is an experience based lesson plan I designed for use in my various primary classrooms. This plan includes using the internet for activities and research. When the students have completed their learning, they put on teacher hats and invite students from other classrooms into their room for an armchair field trip.

LESSON PLAN: Ancient Egyptian Holiday

Objective: The students will learn about an ancient culture through “hands on” experiences relating to that culture. These experiences will expose the learners to a deep understanding of the concepts taught and a rich vocabulary pertaining to the concepts.

Method used: Teaching and Learning Through Multiple Intelligences

Room 103 first graders (junior archeologists) will pass on their own learning and understanding of an ancient Egyptian culture to kindergarten through second graders (junior archeologists-in- training) via classroom centers. Egyptian music will be played. Student teachers (junior archeologists) will be wearing appropriate costumes.

Vocabulary: archeologist, a dig, map, Africa, Egypt, Nile River, Pharaoh, pyramid, tomb, cartouche, papyrus, picture writing, hieroglyphics, scarab, mummy, sarcophagus, burial box, burial jar, sun god, tomb,

Centers:

1. Archeological Dig (kinesthetic) Find artifacts such as jewels and broken dishes buried in sand,

understand their importance, and attempt to reconstruct them.

2. Map Work and Pyramid Making (logical-mathematical) Find Egypt on a map of Africa. Locate and trace the Nile River. Build a paper pyramid to place on the map.

3. Make a cartouche with hieroglyphics (Verbal-Linguistic) and (Intrapersonal) Students will learn how to make their own names in hieroglyphics and find out how to check for accuracy on a special computer site.

4. Make a Scarab Necklace (visual-spatial) Learn what a scarab is and its significance. Be able to make a necklace with a scarab and several beads to show artistic balance.

5. Learn about the ancient belief that for a pharaoh to pass to his next life he wants the same body and his belongings. Learn the importance of the mummy process. Learn about the ornate coffin called a sarcophacus. (Interpersonal)

Note: Authentic background music will provide the musical intelligence.