Where do the children of Silicon Valley employees go to school? Why Steve Jobs prohibited his children from using iPhones Why Silicon Valley employees restrict their children from using computers.

Studying without tablets and laptops: teaching children to think!

Employees of eBay, Google, Apple, Yahoo, Hewlett-Packard send their children to a school where there are no computers! Absolutely not. No computers, no tablets, no phones, nothing electronic. What is this? Back to stone Age? But what about modern technologies?

The name of the school is Waldorf of the Peninsula. The school has a very simple, old-fashioned look - blackboards with crayons, bookshelves with encyclopedias, wooden desks with notebooks and pencils. For training, it uses familiar, unrelated the latest technologies tools: pens, pencils, sewing needles, sometimes even clay, etc. And not a single computer. Not a single screen. Their use is prohibited in classrooms and discouraged at home.

Schools around the world are rushing to equip their classrooms with computers, and many politicians are saying it would be foolish not to do so. But the opposite view has become widespread in the heart of the high-tech economy, where some parents and educators are making it clear that school and computers don't mix.

“I completely reject the idea that computer assistance is necessary in junior school" says Alan Eagle, 50, whose daughter Andie is one of 196 Waldorf students primary school. His son William, 13, studies in a nearby high school. “The idea that an iPad can teach my kids how to write or do math better is ridiculous.”

Mr. Eagle is on a fast track with technology. He has academic degree in computer science from Dartmouth University and works at Google, where he writes speeches for general director Eric Schmidt. He has an iPad and a smartphone. But he claims his daughter, a fifth-grader, “doesn’t know how to use Google” and his son is just learning how to use it. (Beginning in eighth grade, limited use of electronic devices is permitted in school.)

The parents of most students have a direct connection to high technology. Mr. Eagle, like other parents, sees no contradiction in this. Technology has its time and place, he says: "If I worked at Miramax and made great films for adults, I wouldn't want my kids watching them before they were 17."

Last Tuesday, Andie Eagle and her classmates practiced their knitting skills by making patterns with wooden knitting needles. This type of activity teaches you to decide complex tasks, structure information, count, and also develop coordination. Final goal: knit socks.

In the hallway, the teacher tested third-grade students on multiplication by asking them to imagine themselves as lightning bolts. She asked them a question - how much is four times five - and they all shouted “20” together and flashed their fingers, drawing the right number On the desk. A full room of live calculators.

Second grade students, standing in a circle, repeated a poem after the teacher and at the same time played with a bag filled with beans. The purpose of this exercise is to synchronize the body and brain. Here, as in other classes, the day may begin with a poem about God with an emphasis on non-denominational differences.

Andy's teacher, Cathy Waheed, a former computer engineer, tries to make learning memorable and visual. Last year the children learned fractions by cutting foods - apples, cakes - into quarters, halves and sixteenths.

“For three weeks we ate fractions,” says the teacher.

Some experts believe that the desire to equip classrooms with computers is unfounded, because there is no accurate evidence that computers improve academic performance.

Proponents of equipping schools with new technologies argue that computers can hold a student's attention for a long time, and young people who were not accustomed to them will still not be able to do without them.

According to Anne Flynn, director of educational technology at the National Council on school education, computers are necessary. “If schools have access to new technology and can afford it, but don't use it, they are cheating our children,” Flynn said.

Paul Thomas former teacher and a Furman University professor who has written 12 books on educational methods disagrees, arguing that “the educational process would benefit from using computers only as aids.”

“Education is about learning for yourself,” says Paul Thomas. “The computer will only be a distraction in cases where literacy, numeracy and critical thinking are needed.”

And parents of students claim that only a real teacher with an interesting lesson plan can hold a child’s attention.

“Educational engagement is primarily about contact between people, between the teacher and his students,” says Pierre Laurent, 50, a former Intel and Microsoft employee. His three children are in school.

When proponents of equipping classrooms with computers claim that computer literacy is necessary to confront the challenges of our time, parents are surprised: why rush if all this is so easy to master?

“It's super easy. It's like learning how to brush your teeth, says Mr. Eagle. - At Google and similar places, technology is made so simple that even the brainless can use it. I don’t see any reason why a child wouldn’t be able to master them when he gets older.”

There are 40 such schools in California - quite a lot.

Such education is not cheap: the annual fee at Silicon Valley schools is $17,750 from kindergarten and up to eighth grade and $24,400 in high school, although Mrs. Wurts said parents can count on financial assistance. The typical parent of a school student, a highly educated person with a liberal way of thinking, has quite big choice elite private and public schools and gives very great importance education. When it comes to using technology, most parents are willing and able to teach it to their children at home.

The students themselves say that they are not deprived of high technology. Andy Eagle and other fifth grade students watch movies from time to time. Another girl's dad, an Apple engineer, sometimes asks her to test new games. Another boy plays with flight simulator programs on weekends.

Students say that they even get scared when they see their parents or relatives entangled different devices. Orad Kamkar, 11 years old, said that he recently went to visit cousins and sisters and found himself surrounded by five people who were playing with their gadgets, not paying any attention to him. He had to shake each of them by the hand and say, “Hey guys, I’m here!”

Fin Heilig, 10, whose father works at Google, said he likes learning with pencils and pens more than with a computer because he can track his progress over the years. “In a few years, I will be able to open my first notebooks and see how bad I used to write. But with a computer this is impossible, all the letters are the same,” says Fin. “Besides, if you know how to write on paper, you will be able to write even if water is spilled on your computer or the electricity is cut off.”

This school has a very simple, old-fashioned look - blackboards with crayons, bookshelves with encyclopedias, wooden desks with notebooks and pencils. For training, they use familiar tools that are not associated with the latest technologies: pens, pencils, sewing needles, sometimes even clay, etc. And not a single computer. Not a single screen. Their use is prohibited in classrooms and discouraged at home.

Last Tuesday in 5th grade the children knitted small wool samples on wooden knitting needles, reviving the knitting skills they had learned in junior classes. This type of activity, according to the school, helps develop the ability to solve complex problems, structure information, count, and also develop coordination.

In 3rd grade, the teacher practiced multiplication by asking students to be as fast as lightning. She asked them a question, how much is four times five, and they all shouted “20” together and flashed their fingers, writing the required number on the board. A full room of live calculators.

2nd grade students, standing in a circle, repeated the poem after the teacher, while playing with a bag filled with beans. The purpose of this exercise is to synchronize the body and brain.

This comes at a time when schools around the world are rushing to equip their classrooms with computers, and many politicians are saying that not doing so is simply stupid. Interestingly, the opposite point of view has become widespread in the epicenter of the high-tech economy, where some parents and educators are making it clear that school and computers do not mix.

Advocates of learning without IT technologies believe that computers suppress creative thinking, mobility, human relationships and attentiveness. These parents believe that when it comes time to introduce their children to the latest technology, they will always have the necessary skills and facilities at home to do so.

According to Anne Flynn, director of educational technology for the National School Board, computers are essential. “If schools have access to new technology and can afford it, but don't use it, they are depriving our children of what they may deserve,” Flynn said.

Paul Thomas, a former teacher and professor at Furman University who has written 12 books on educational methods in government institutions, disagrees with her, arguing that it is better for the educational process if computers are used as little as possible. “Education is first and foremost a human experience,” says Paul Thomas. “Technology is a distraction when literacy, numeracy and critical thinking are needed.”

When proponents of equipping classrooms with computers argue that computer literacy is necessary to meet the challenges of our time, parents who believe that computers are not needed are surprised: why rush if it is all so easy to learn? “It's super easy. It's like learning how to brush your teeth, says Mr. Eagle, a Silicon Valley fellow. “At Google and places like that, we make technology as stupidly simple as possible. I don’t see any reason why a child wouldn’t be able to master them when he gets older.”

The students themselves do not consider themselves deprived of high technology. They watch movies from time to time, play games computer games. Children say they even get disappointed when they see their parents or relatives entangled in various devices.

Orad Kamkar, 11, said he recently went to visit his cousins ​​and found himself surrounded by five people who were playing with their gadgets, not paying any attention to him or each other. He had to shake each of them by the hand and say, “Hey guys, I’m here!”

Fin Heilig, 10, whose father works at Google, said he likes learning with pencils and pens more than with a computer because he can see his progress years later. “In a few years, I will be able to open my first notebooks and see how bad I used to write. But with a computer this is impossible, all the letters are the same,” says Fin. “Besides, if you know how to write on paper, you can write even if water is spilled on your computer or the electricity goes out.”

Steve Jobs wrote his name in history as the man who gave the world the iPhone and a number of other revolutionary inventions. But he was better known to his own children as the man... who took away these iPhones from them. It’s hard to believe, but the godfather of the digital revolution forbade his children to spend a lot of time with tablets and smartphones. One of Jobs' biographers claimed that he banned children from using gadgets at night and on weekends. In addition, cell phones were illegal when the family (Jobs had three daughters and one son) gathered for dinner in the evening. True, Steve was so interesting person that when he started talking to his children about politics, history, books or new films, none of his offspring ever had the desire to stare at the tablet screen.

Other leaders of the IT revolution also acted as “stranglers” of freedom. For example, the children of Twitter founder Evan Williams complained about the draconian laws that dad established: tablets and smartphones could only be used for an hour a day. When they tried to organize a protest, the father said: “There are several hundred paper books at home. If you want to have fun, read as much as you like!”

If people who have let the computer genie out of the bottle are trying to protect their children from the influence of the Internet, what can we say about ordinary users?

Many parents limit their offspring not only in the use of gadgets and computer consoles, but also categorically prohibit the use of social networks. For example, an active supporter of such bans is ex-member of VIA Gra Anna Sedokova.

“I myself am widely represented on social networks, it’s part of my job,” says the pop star. “But kids have absolutely nothing to do on social networks.” Social networks are toys for adults, not children. When I read comments on social networks, I want to cry. Why so much anger and hatred? By the way, the most offensive and obscene comments are left by children. My daughter has asked me more than once to allow me to create an account, but I firmly tell her: “No way in the world!”

Are we really on the verge of an information epidemic that could become much worse than common childhood diseases like mumps and chickenpox?

Signs of Internet addiction

Constantly waiting for the next time to go online

Loss of interest in other hobbies

Increasing opposition to parents, friends, significant emotional alienation

The child ceases to control the time spent on the Internet and cannot stop

Forgets to eat, neglects personal hygiene, may sit at the tablet all night long

Feeling good or euphoria at the computer

Aimless travel on the Internet, constant search for some often unnecessary information.

EXPERT COMMENT

Binge reading caused the same fears in parents

Psychologists believe: there is no need to be afraid of the Internet, you need to learn how to handle it correctly.

How to save children from moving to the virtual world? We decided to ask a candidate of sciences, associate professor of the department general psychology Moscow State University Yulia Babaeva. She is a co-author of one of the first studies in Russia on the topic of Internet addiction.

- Yulia Davidovna, is it necessary to limit the time that children spend on a computer or smartphone?

The problem of Internet addiction is very acute; I am asked about this even more often than about childhood drug addiction. But it seems to me that we have the wrong idea of ​​a ban as the only way to solve all problems. Internet addiction is an external manifestation of some internal problems in a child. First of all, parents need to understand what makes him go into the virtual world? There is no one reason that gives rise to Internet addiction. Sometimes this is a lack of communication with peers in real world, a state of depression or anxiety. Or maybe a child in online communities is looking for understanding, support and approval that he does not meet at home. Well, if there was no Internet, he would kill time differently - he would hang around in the gateways. We don't know which is worse. Then what is a ban? This is an attempt to take the problem beyond the child's will. And you need to negotiate with him.

- What if, as is now fashionable, we simply introduce “sanctions”?

This can cause the child to become aggressive towards the parent. I know that now in some schools they “disarm” students before classes - they take away their gadgets. But do you really think that schoolchildren then begin to study with all their might? Don't fool yourself. If the situation is advanced, time spent communicating with the computer should be limited (pornography and extremist sites should be illegal). But the “keep and keep out” policy itself is not a panacea.

- What can help, except for a ban?

Parents must first understand themselves. Firstly, sometimes they themselves “help” the child get confused on the World Wide Web. Let's say mom needs to do something, she turns on the computer and says: “Play, baby, while I cook something to eat.” Secondly, we need to think: why is my child’s company less interesting than the monitor screen? We need to find time to play with him. Be able to find interesting topics for discussion. It is necessary to form a harmonious circle of interests in the child: sports, books, friends, hobbies. But it’s much easier to show yourself as a tough “leader” and draw up a schedule in the spirit of: “You play for two hours, then do your homework.”

- With the advent of the Internet, a large number of phobias have arisen: that people will forget how to remember, will stop thinking, since it is easier to find ready-made solutions on the Internet. Are these fears justified?

Horror stories are very popular here. But the Internet is just a tool; it is neutral in itself. Moreover, this is a tool that provides fantastic opportunities. It's all about how we use it. For example, you can use a violin bow to cut firewood. True, productivity will be low.

- At one time, similar concerns were caused by the distribution of books. Parents were shocked when romance novels were found under a girl’s pillow. Remember Famusov “To stop evil, collect all the books and burn them.” Are there similarities in how society perceived the emergence of these two media?

We know that the advent of printing gave a huge impetus to the development of civilization. Thanks to this, during Famusov’s time there lived a large number of fantastically intelligent and educated people. They treated books differently. For example, Chatsky could not utter such words. Humanity received the same, if not more powerful, impetus for development with the invention of the Internet. There is no need to be afraid of him. A child can be enriched by both books and new information Technology. You just need to teach him how to handle them correctly.

Interviews with Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and other representatives of the US tech elite show that Silicon Valley parents limit their children from using newfangled gadgets and devices.

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs raised their children away from technology

Alena Somova

Bill Gates didn't allow his daughter to use a phone until she was 14 years old. Photo: Shutterstock Rex

Jobs, who was Apple's CEO until his death, told the New York Times in 2011 that he banned his children from using the iPad. “We try to limit the use of technology in our home as much as possible,” Jobs told the reporter.

In Screen Kids, Clement and Miles argue that wealthy Silicon Valley parents are more aware of the harmful potential of smartphones, tablets and computers than the general public. And this despite the fact that these parents often earn their living by creating and investing in technology.

Just imagine that in modern public school where children should use electronic devices, such as the iPad,” the authors wrote, “Steve Jobs’ children would be among the few who would refuse this initiative.”

Unfortunately, Jobs's children have already finished school, so one can only wonder how he would react to modern educational technologies co-founder of the corporation. But Clement and Miles believe that if they went to the average American school today, they would use technology in the classroom much more than they did at home when growing up.

According to the co-authors of the book, things are different in specialized training. A number of Silicon Valley magnet schools, such as Waldorf schools, take a low-tech approach to education. They use regular chalk boards and pencils. Instead of learning to code, children learn skills of cooperation and mutual respect. At Brightworks School, children learn to be creative through DIY crafts and tree house activities.