Happenings

One thing I have tried to avoid in myself and my kids is to NOT become a slave to technology and all of it’s “gadgets”. That’s the reason why 9 times out of 10 you won’t be able to reach me on my cell phone because I can’t seem to remember to turn the darn thing on or to even charge it for that matter! That’s one of the reason why I’ve avoided the numerous hand-held gaming devices for as long as I could. That is until recently…I gave in last Christmas & got the kids (and my husband) a PS2…we don’t have too many games for it though, and the one the kids use the most I actually like as well (DDR) because it’s good exercise (and fun!!!!). Well, a few weeks ago my kids (and husband again) convinced me that the kids needed Nintendo DS Lites for our upcoming trip (and the future road trips we always take). I held out as long as I could until I was ultimately defeated by the three “gamers”. I really struggled with myself on this one. After all, as a teacher I know that when the kids have more electronic gadgets to play with they are less likely to sit down and read. But in reality, my kids don’t do a lot of that anyway-much to my dismay! So in a last ditch effort to encourage more summer reading I decided I’d hold the DS’s HOSTAGE! I told the kids as we walked out of the store that “A chapter a day gets them the DS to play!”…bribery I know…but it’s working! My daughter is about halfway through her Harry Potter book now & my son is getting up in the morning and reading before he ever even asks to watch TV. WOW! They even agreed that they couldn’t have new games until they had finished their chapter books. So, I guess the realization that I have come to is that in today’s electronically centered society…I can’t keep my kids from wanting the latest trendy object…but I guess that’s not so bad if I can find a way to make it work in a positive way for me…err….them I mean!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2007 at 11:30 pm and is filed under Teacher Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.