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Re: [LUG] iPad in school

 
On 11 Nov, 2011, at 8:52 pm, Simon Waters wrote:


On 11/11/11 15:35, Tony Sumner wrote:


The school, which enrols children of parents from Google, Apple,
Yahoo, ebay, and Hewlett-Packard, is the Waldorf School of the
Peninsula, one of around 160 Waldorf schools in the country that
subscribe to a teaching philosophy focused on physical activity and
learning through creative, hands-on tasks. Those who endorse this
approach say computers inhibit creative thinking, movement, human
interaction, and attention spans.... The school’s chief teaching tools 
are anything but high-tech: pens and paper, knitting needles and,
occasionally, mud. Not a computer to be found. No screens at all. They 
are not allowed in the classroom, and the school even frowns on their
use at home.


One of the problems though with Waldorf is that Steiner (the
inspiration) wasn't very good at critical thinking, and came up with a
load of spiritual mumbo jumbo. As a result the schools attract the hippy 
parenting fraternity with equally doubtful critical thinking skills.

So even where they, and I include Steiner, have good ideas it tends to
be hard to get them taken seriously because it is surrounded by a load
of balmy talk.

I suspect the ideas of teaching to children's strength, encouraging
story telling, lots of outdoor (and indoor) play and exercise,
encouraging baking and practical skills, encouraging/mandating parental participation, are all to the good. And these ideas are gaining traction 
in mainstream education as the psychologist find these things do work.

On the other hand in California the Waldorf schools as a group had the
lowest vaccination uptake rates of any of the types of school, which is 
a sad reflection on the quality of parenting.
As a Steiner parent, I endorse every word. It's a constant worry, the absence of rigor, the prevalence of dualism, the serious exposition of utterly bankrupt ideas like the alchemical humors or temperaments (phlegmatic, sanguine, etc). However, I reassure myself that the proof is in the pudding. The ethos is undeniably excellent. It is possible to have concerns heard (and listened to, as long as they don't overtly challenge dualism). And when you've seen a truly shambolic Steiner school, like our old one in Bruton, Somerset, this one, which is undeniably well-run, is a revelation and a relief. Recently a sign appeared at the kindergarten saying "Mobile free zone". I have no problem with that, even as an Android addict, in terms of the kindergarten's ethos; but in tiny letters at the bottom, it says "Health and Safety", for which I am pretty sure there is no justification. This bothers me enormously. It seems so trivial to object, but it also seems wrong to allow it to persist. What would you all do? 

--
Phil Hudson                  http://hudson-it.no-ip.biz
@UWascalWabbit                 PGP/GnuPG ID: 0x887DCA63


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