Topical Teaching

Blaming technology for making our kids show signs of “autism” seems insensitive to those with legitimate cases 0f autism and unfair on kids for enjoying the same gadgets we adults do:

Dr Iain McGilchrist believes the significant time many young kids are spending with smartphones and tablet devices has resulted in children as young as five struggling to read others’ emotions and being less empathetic.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Dr McGilchrist said he had a growing awareness of teachers needing to explain to their students how to make sense of human faces.

Kids are “increasingly finding it difficult to communicate at an emotional level in what appears to be features of autism,” he said.

“Children spend more time engaging with machines and with virtual reality than they used to in the past where they don’t have to face the consequences of real life,” he told The Telegraph.

In Australia, the debate has raged over the appropriate age to give children smartphones and how much time they should spend using them each day.

Research released by Telstra this year showed that more than two thirds (68 per cent) of Aussie children aged three to 17 own a smartphone and spend an average of 21 hours and 48 minutes per week on the devices.

Sydney-based family researcher and father of six Dr Justin Coulson recommends a minimum age of 12 or 13 for children to be given a phone. “And then make it a dumb one. Smart parents give their kids dumb phones,” he said.

That’s exactly what Victorian woman and mother of three, Laura Marchese did. She bought a “dumb” phone for her 10-year-old son to carry when he walks home from school.

“I don’t want him to have the world at his fingertips; a phone is in your pocket and he’s more likely to get it out and use it all the time,” she told the Herald Sunlast month.

Click on the link to read 5 Apps You May Not Want Your Kids Using

Click on the link to read 11 Valuable Digital Media Tips for Students

Click on the link to read The 10 Best Educational Apps for Children

Click on the link to read The Must Have iPad Apps for the Classroom

Schools should stick to their core responsibilities and refrain from shaming the very stakeholders they should be working together with:

A busy mum who ran out of fruits and vegetables was sent a “strongly worded note” for packing Oreos for her daughter in her lunch box. The school felt that it was reminding the parent about the nutritional practices, but many feel that it was an over the top reaction.

Colorado mum Leeza Pearson had packed a routine lunch box for her daughter which included string cheese and a sandwich. Since she had run out of fruits and vegetables, she packed in Oreos for her daughter Natalie. But the pre-schooler returned home without eating her snack and brought home a note from the teacher advising parents of the importance of eating healthy.

According to ABC news, the school did not allow the pre-schooler to eat her lunch, sending the mum an advisory note instead. The note said “this is a public school setting and all children are required to bring in fruits, vegetables and a healthy snack along with milk. Lunchables, chips, peanut butter and snacks are not considered healthy.” This reaction has been considered by many as “over the top.” Pearson told ABC news that she had packed in a vegetable sandwich along with cheese in the lunch box and this was also ignored.

The spokeswoman for Aurora Public Schools, Patty Moon, (via 9News) said that the note sent out was not a standard practice and should be viewed as an advisory. The Director of Children’s Academy, where Pearson’s daughter is a student, also added that it would conduct a thorough investigation and acknowledged that the note should not have been sent to a parent. Pearson, on the other hand, said that the school was not consistent about its policies. She said that the school had asked students to bring in candy for Easter celebrations and provided students with jelly beans during after-care.

Lunch Shaming the parents has got the fancy of social media with tweets supporting the mum coming in. In USA, there is a strong movement for healthy school lunches. First Lady Michelle Obama has been a vocal supporter of campaigns for eating healthy.

Click on the link to read Healthy Easter Treat Options for Kids

Click on the link to read How School Lunches Compare Around the World

Click on the link to read Tips to Get Kids to Eat More Fruit

Click on the link to read 6 Year Old Suspended for 4 Days Because of Cheese in his Lunchbox