Leaping From The Box

Wow! Another great article at Life Without School

Unschooling and the Digital Native by Laureen

What is a Digital Native? From Laureen’s essay:

The term digital native was coined by Marc Prensky, who explains it like this:

They are native speakers of technology, fluent in the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet. I refer to those of us who were not born into the digital world as digital immigrants. We have adopted many aspects of the technology, but just like those who learn another language later in life, we retain an “accent” because we still have one foot in the past.

Laureen writes:

I’ve read through some of the literature on this phenomenon, and I’m convinced that it falls short, because it’s being written by people who self-identify as professional educators. As an unschooler, I don’t believe in educators, I believe in learners. My personal paradigm rests firmly on the assumption that children are self-starters, and that the information they absorb is the information most necessary to them in the environment they inhabit, so I’m exploring this digital native idea with that in mind.

Prensky states,

Today’s students have not just changed incrementally from those of the past, nor simply changed their slang, clothes, body adornments, or styles, as has happened between generations previously. A really big discontinuity has taken place. One might even call it a “singularity” – an event which changes things so fundamentally that there is absolutely no going back. This so-called “singularity” is the arrival and rapid dissemination of digital technology in the last decades of the 20th century.

Today’s students – K through college – represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, video games, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age. Today’s average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV). Computer games, email, the Internet, cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives.

Her family sounds much like ours! Check out her essay and see what you think!

I have been reading several of Philippa Gregory’s books recently, enjoying her historical fiction. A Respectable Trade, though, is much more than just historical fiction. It is an introduction into the harsh realities of the slave trade and it’s economic, social and moral consequences, good and bad, for all those involved, whether willingly or not.

Chronicling the lives of one household in Bristol, England, A Respectable Trade illustrates how the slave trade of the late 1700s affected all of society. The story begins in 1787 and brings together Frances Scott, the impoverished niece of a peer of the realm, Josiah Cole, a small-time trader with ambitions to better his station in life, and Mehuru, a priest from Africa who has been enslaved. We experience only two years of their lives, but during that time we see how each member of the family confronts the issues of the slave trade (a respectable trade) and we learn how the slave trade has become an integral part of England’s economic success. We also get a glimpse, albeit brief, of how the slave trade affected the ancient societies in Africa for generations to come; the strife and civil wars taking place there today are likely only one of the most evident results.

I highly recommend A Respectable Trade to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and to anyone looking for something a bit pithier than Gregory’s usual novels. And you might also want to check out her Gardens For Gambia program:

http://www.philippagregory.com/Gambia.shtml
Gardens for The Gambia is a charity set up by author Philippa Gregory to provide water for wells in the gardens of rural schools in The Gambia.

I just read a really good article at the Life Without School blog:

Unconditional Teaching, by Tammy Takahashi
How and why do we impart our knowledge on our children? Now, that’s an important question! I guess it depends on what we want for our children.

You can read it here:
Unconditional Teaching

I have the good fortune to be on a few lists with Tammy and always enjoy reading her work.