I Can Certainly Say That Technology Can Never Replace Us

The COVID-19 has given the opportunity for technology to become the pivot of teaching and learning. Okay, so we all got that, perfect. “Now, before, after, during, the pandemic has not allowed any technology to take over, it was always there”. That’s what we might all assume as well to say. However, whoever is on that team I just wanted to say yes you’re right technology was pretty much already the pivot of our daily lives. However, not to the same proportion as seen now. Everyone’s on Zoom. Everyone’s on Blackboard. Everyone’s on Google Classroom. Everyone’s behind a screen.

Again, I’m not going into how excessive technology usage is terrible for a child or whatnot. Certainly, that’s one issue already discussed by many. The argument I’m presenting is a simple understanding that technology can never replace us, us the being human that has been lacked for a while because of the pandemic, and whoever says either can go give it a go, a life of no one except themselves, a screen, and a click but wait you’re already there with us. As many already know, I try to keep my discussion according to what I know solely about: teaching and learning. I’ve browsed them all, watched them all, seen them all, and shared them all. Teachers simply miss their students and students simply miss their teachers. The videos, the photos, the poems, the rants, and the raves all signify that we can’t do it anymore. We can’t stay out of our classrooms, we can’t use that square thing in front of us that is forcefully there because we have no other choice.

Yes, it has helped us and always will. Technology has enabled us to do something about it rather than do nothing. If we go back a hundred years, when pandemics happened, or anything that puts us away from a classroom, it would have been practically impossible to give teaching for a group of students a go. That has all changed now. Now we can actually give a class without being in class. We can discuss, analyze, carry our activities, read, write, and just do whatever needs to be done to progress our pupils and allow them the right to learn.

However, those who believe that technology should be much more used, to the degree that it seems as though the teacher can just leave the classroom. “Look, teacher, you’re great but someone can make your life a whole lotta easier for both you and the students. You don’t need to be here and they don’t need to either. We’ve got technology now”. That’s the problem there, after experience all of this pandemic stuff, it’s pretty much universally agreed that technology, you’re great, you’re terrific but you’re there to help us and only that. An assistant, a second hand, an enabler of severality whilst on a check but you can never ever replace us.

“Humans need Humans” (Hirsh-Pasek, Schlesinger, Golinkoff, Care, 2018) this is where we start to get a bit scientific. Okay, guys so what we’re talking about here is something called human interactions. Brainspire presents a perfect explanation, stating that “Human interaction can be defined as any action that is taken between two humans, for better or for worse.” so in other words its anything that includes two people and interactions, pretty easy. Now, when such things are left out from people especially children things are only bound to get worse. In a recent study provided by Brookings, it was revealed that human interaction left learning students a greater win than if left to be taught without it. An insight to what I mean can be seen when two groups of students are left with no human interactions, once one group went on a 5-day trip it was revealed that those who went on the trip got a far superior grading on a test prepared by the researchers and that’s all because of human interactions.

So, again, technology you’re great, but you can never replace us. The best is to assume a balance between a techy obsession and a face to face human interaction. That and only that is the comprise which allows a progression. But, now, let’s just go past all of this, our classroom awaits us all. Like Alex Beard wrote on his latest book, Natural Born Learners:

“And if the robots do take the jobs, it’s our human qualities that will count…The greatest impact of technology on learning may paradoxically be to push us towards the human (p. 306).”

The Invention Of Childhood And Its Impact On Education

Servants, apprentices, knitters, chore doers, etc... were the norm of what one would call childhood before the 19th century. It was no surprise to be put under such a condition, even in the account of Abraham Lincoln, it was well known that his childhood is described as being a slave, a slave to his father. Making it unsurprising to why he never reached out to him during his final moments.

However, nothing remains the same and time simply pulls and pushes different and sometimes opposing novel reasonings. For a child was once seen as a small adult awaiting to have a full-grown body, currently such a concept has discontinued and the understanding of what childhood simply differs from its predecessor.

Child Labor And Childhood

Child Labor can be explained as the hiring of children to work for different professions considered as adult work such as working in the factory, chimneys, etc… So one would argue that childhood is an adult in a smaller and ungrown body.

Steven Mintz, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin, explains childhood as “adult-structured, adult-supervised activities”. Nonetheless, he continues and asserts that what was once “adult-structured, adult-supervised activities” became “free, unstructured, outdoor play”. As such, childhood’s history can be seen as a history of liberation from what can be described as metaphorically an escape from the umbilical cord of what halted a childhood experience, who was the parent, making it harder to create an independent identity opposing to that of a mini adult. Furthermore, the functional object of a child was not solely seen as an extra hand that can be of assistance in different tasks but also an extra mouth to feed if such a child was not used for any particular purpose, making it a constraint on low social classes.

To note: readers might misunderstand my words of blaming parents for what was done to children. Although my thoughts do not blame parents particularly, however, the problem was the idea of what was correct parent action during those times was incorrect.

Childhood Change And A Start Of Education

Developments and Reforms abolished child labor. Think about it as changing a 17th-century habit of teaching a child to be an adult and integrating them into adult farm labor versus a child who has been sheltered away from adult work and engaged with unique childhood activities and types of education. Furthermore, as laws and acts to abolish child labor were enacted, what was ensured is that every child must have some form of education/schooling, including an emphasis on good health in the form of better diets and an active outdoor lifestyle.

An exemplification of this can be seen in the Meiji Reforms in Japan, a reform which aims at restoring the imperial rule in Japan in 1868. Part of the reforms, however, was the establishment of a contemporary educational policy across all public schools in Japan. Such policies include the introduction of Western-style schools and the dedication of time during childhood to the reading of children’s books, playing with educational toys and schooling specifically aimed at different age groups.

Other reasons for changes to childhood are because of changes in parenting. Currently, our time is witnessing declines of birth rates, criminalization of child abuse and child labor, and the growing fear that any irreparable accident carried out on a child will lead to a lifelong punishment. As such, parents have become much more sensitive in comparison to preceding times.

There’s Still More That Has To Be Done

Geographically, there are still many countries and areas that witness child labor. Ideal childhood is being deprived of children from different parts of the world. Still, poverty and unemployment have pushed many low-income adults to utilize children as an object for monetary desires (without falling into any significant expenses and costs).

Furthermore, with more screen time and close parent to child supervision (lifestyle), the concept of a free and unstructured childhood loses its meaning and what is left is a “toxic childhood” as mentioned by researcher Sue Palmer. In a sense, you can’t blame the parents, for the primary inner state of the child is their central importance. Time constraints because of extended work hours in comparison to the past have caused the communication and bond between a child and parent to diminish. So, parents have become very sensitive to their children. That is why the greatest challenge for a parent is to be able to grant freedom the child deserves to have. Many of us have forgotten the notion of age-appropriate learning, which suggests that as a child grows, their brain capacity develops. As such, when you give a chance for a child … a chance for freedom, then the challenges they face become an experience and a confidence build-up that shapes them towards understanding themselves better.

The Importance Of Music In Children's Daily Life

A lullaby song is usually used by an adult to get a baby to sleep. How does music achieve that? Using music on a daily basis in children’s’ lives is a very old habit worldwide, which is something that shows us the importance of music in the upbringing of a child. Lullabies are just simple melodies that help babies to relax and fall asleep. Many parents use simple baby songs to play and entertain their kids. Further, music is very important in children's lives, something that all parents know by instinct but recent research proves the importance and the benefits that kids can get through their interaction with music.

Older studies referred to the improvement of human capabilities as also to brain development as a result of studies on certain musical instruments. Recent research has focused on the influence of music groups towards babies. Referring to music groups, we do not mention preliminary music classes with sole goal to create the next Mozart, but workshops in which children with their parents’ help, make music and learn its basic concepts through singing, rhymes, percussions play, music and movement actions and listening to music always through a fun and enjoyable way. A study applied by the Mc Master Institute of Music and Mind emphasizes the importance of music lessons for babies (Article: ‘Babies’ brain benefit from a music lesson, researchers find’ Hamilton, Ont. May 09, 2012). A certain study proved that one-year-old babies, who participated in music groups with their parents, communicate better, smiled more often and had better reactions towards music. Furthermore, babies who participated in music workshops appeared to have more sensitiveness to the pitch, compared to those who were just passive listeners while doing other activities. Also, it was observed that babies who participated in music workshops were calmer and improved their communication skills earlier, like showing things that they would like to reach or even waving bye-bye.

In addition, by participating in a music workshop, the baby and the parent improve their emotional bond since they have to cooperate to make music together either singing, playing instruments or even participating in a music & movement activity in which the carer has to enchase his child to participate. Further, the improvement of self – confidence; children develop their creativity, their communication skills, and their cooperation, since they have to work with other group members for better results.

It is very important, at this point to underline that apart from participating in music workshops, it could be very useful if parents could spend some time with their kids that would be constructive for their development. Here is some advice that parents but also teachers can follow:

1. Become active Singer!!! Do not just listen to the kids’ songs, you have to participate in singing and encourage your children to follow

2. Sing to children songs you remember from when you were young or even one of your favorite songs. Singing your favorite song makes both adults and children happier.

3. Dance with them and encourage them to participate and express their feelings through dancing

4. Make some music with children. You can use simple objects and make a small orchestra to play together. Kids will love this!

5. Try to sing a song using proper representations for its content. This will help them to remember the tune and words better.

Do not hesitate to express your feelings through music. Show how much you enjoy music cause they enjoy it equally.

Dare to make music and bring joy to the children and to your life too!

A Little Thing Called “Routines”

To surpass any exercise there’s a warm-up routine, to surpass any business operations there’s a planning routine, and to surpass any classroom management there must be classroom routines.

But what are classroom routines? The best way to explain it is to refer to “educationworld.com” who state that routines are simply: “a well-rehearsed response to a teacher's directive.” Its antonym usually results in students nagging, shouting, whining, and time-wasting while the teacher attempts to control the classroom on and on throughout the year. Therefore with the use of routines within the classroom teachers can save up on labor time whilst students benefit from being thoroughly taught.

In the following article, the vitality of classroom routines will be revealed while exemplifying it with real-life scenarios.

Benefits of Routines

Routines are the backbone of daily classroom life. They facilitate teaching and learning…. Routines don’t just make your life easier, they save valuable classroom time. And what’s most important, efficient routines make it easier for students to learn and achieve more.

—Learning to Teach…not just for beginners by Linda Shalaway

Mdm. Shalaway already gives us a clear idea of why routines benefit teachers, highlighting that it saves time and nurtures knowledge in children in a much more efficient and effective manner. To add to this, routines can also minimize guesswork, frustration, and inconvenience. In other words, it can get rid of student distractions that waste time and regress the learning process in the classroom. Looking at it from the teacher’s end, it can lessen workload and stress, protecting the well-being of the teacher.

Routines can be seen as an automated task manager, it gives directions and collectively manages student activity canceling any halts or interferences. Students can know how to pass their papers, where to sit, how to enter a classroom, and when talking is allowed or not through routines. For every repetitive action within a classroom, a routine is its guide.

I know … I know, it sounds like we’re in the army. Certainly, routines were never meant to be made to lock students’ happiness and joy away. More so, it is meant to keep them safe and teach them something considered important. So routines that are absent of amusement even at a minimal level is no routine at all. It’s simply a teacher mirroring an army general, whose characteristics closely resemble an individual who has no spirit of fun and enjoyment.

You can keep everything in order without the need for cutting out happiness from the child.

Some Routines We Heard About

A while back an educator named Rick Morrison suggested that music can lead routines in the classroom. Each piece of music can initiate a different routine. For example on one occasion during his teaching career, he used “The Simpsons” theme song to alert students that it was time for them to leave their desks, sit on the classroom carpet, and get ready for a read-aloud session. The uniqueness of this comes in the fact that it’s all about the time it takes for them to finish the task. So when Rick Morrison played “The Simpsons” theme song, students had to get the task done before the theme song finished. Students love such activities because the songs are silly making the routine seem less of a routine and more of a challenge.

Other teachers create routines that seek to manage the paperwork presented to them by students. So they set up some trays and label them according to what is expected to be placed in it, i.e: homework, project ...such utilization teaches kids independence, self-responsibility, and organization during work.

One routine I've seen displayed in Lebanon is a yoga session teachers carry out for their students. During exam week, stress and anxiety among students sky-rockets. So the best thing a teacher can do is make them focus more and worry less because as we all know exams worry kids. So with the use of yoga, such built-up stress is relieved and students can focus more on their work and their studies.

Another routine we’ve heard of is done by English language arts teacher guru Kelly Gallagher called, “The Reading Minute”. The following routine demands that a teacher reads a random passage from a story, essay, poem … they’ve found online to the students once a day or a week depending on each teacher’s preference. The students from their side open their notebooks and write down a short summary or thesis regarding its significance to them. By the end of the month or year, students are asked to stand up and read aloud what they wrote recollecting what that passage meant to them back then and why so. In my opinion, such routine teaches students to be listeners and thinkers since on one aspect they are required to listen to the teacher as she reads the passage and in another aspect it allows students to think about what they wrote, why they wrote it, and what it meant to them.

Noelle Pickering, an educator, discusses a routine he calls “The Panther Express Card”. He discusses how he loves using it in class. Explaining that: “Basically every student receives one each grading period. I copy it onto colored card stock and they glue it into their journal. It keeps track of bathroom passes, minor behavior incidents, tardies, and positives.” At the end of every week, he collects the paper and sees whether a student deserves to be rewarded or not according to what he did during the week written on his express card. When the class is successful they are rewarded with fun activities such as carrying out classes outside. And as for the positive section, the more stamps each individual student receives the more rewards they achieve. Such stamps are simple to get all it needs is an engaging student, who answers teacher questions and works well during group work …

Another routine I found online is a routine developed by Fifth-grade teacher Barry White Jr. of Ashley Park Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina. As seen in the video, his routine is a personalized handshake for every student in his classroom. It creates an immense amount of positivity and joy for the student since they feel as though the teacher cares about them and is more than a teacher … a friend they can always come to. Furthermore, with the use of this routine teachers can also make sure that all students are present in the classroom without the need of using the traditional method of raising their hands when their name is called.

(Video Below)

- North Carolina teacher has personalized handshakes with each of his students. "It was just one or two students and then it became contagious. I saw how much it meant to them."

I think now we know why routines are essential and important. They manage the classroom effectively and move away from any halts that might cancel the learning experience of the student. However, it is important that teachers do not make the routine an enemy to the student. After all, a student who enjoys the routine they do is much more likely to grasp the important aspects the teacher wishes to plant unto them through the use of that particular routine.