Tablets and Smartphones: Smart Nannies?

The above picture is a familiar sight all over America and in Korea as well. I know life is much easier when your child is distracted by video games and movies, but how much is too much? That is the question I want to explore in my simulation.

I want to try to raise my 9 month old boy and his unborn siblings without using smartphones or tablets as a crutch. The problem is my wife and I both use our phones so often, my boy is already interested in it. What to do?

Week 1 Issues and Trends

Part 1.

For the first part of my assignment, I contacted two Korean early childhood professionals. The first was the President of the OMEP Korean National Committee, Dr. Soon-Lye Lee, and the second was vice president of the same committee, Dr. Eun-Hye Park.

I wrote the email in English and my wife helped me translate it into Korean, as well. I haven't received a response, but I am looking forward to the correspondence.

Part 2.

For the second part of my assignment, I have chosen The Global Fund for Children. For me, this is a brand new organization. I found their mission statement and goals to be very interesting and uplifting. I am also looking forward to exploring this website closely.

My Supports

My support is absolutely my wife. As a stranger in a strange land, my wife, Soo Young, is my rock. She picks me up when I'm down, and gives me strength when I'm weak. Cliches aside, I can't imagine what my life in Korea would be without her. 

The language barrier that I face is very difficult for me. Although I can speak Korean passably, Soo Young does things for me in seconds that would take me hours. She opened up a whole new world of conveniences that most foreigners in Korea can't imagine such as shopping on the internet! I would be able to survive without her, but she allows me the freedom to enjoy our lives as opposed to be held down by the minutiae of daily life. 

Again, because of this experience, I can relate to those who don't speak English well back home. I empathize with them and I think it will make me a better educator as a result of it.

My Connections to Play

People tend to forget that play is serious.

David Hockney

Contemporary British painter

Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.

Michael Jordan

American basketball player

My first love was playing basketball. I learned how to compete and I learned how to make friends.

I loved to play with cardboard boxes. Like Calvin and his friend, Hobbes, I could do anything with a cardboard box.

     It's hard to talk about play and not smile. Play and I have had a longstanding relationship. I love play. As a child, my brother and I played in forts made of cardboard boxes, blankets and pillows. We made a mess, but my parents didn't mind. They encouraged us to develop our imagination by not getting us toys. Who knows if they actually had a plan or were just too cheap to spring for a toy. In retrospect, I am glad they made us play with cardboard boxes. I plan on doing the same for my son. 

      I haven't lived in the US for 3 years now, but here in Korea, I see children playing with smartphones! Games are so easy to play on the smartphone that even 3 and 4 years old can pick it up within 5 minutes. This does not bode well for the future of the children of Korea. Although they maybe more savvy with the internet, I feel that this will disrupt the creativity that can develop from imaginative play. I fear that children in most developed countries will adopt technology to soon and it will hinder them in the long run.

Relationship Reflection

This is my family!

My wife, Soo Young, and my son, Sung Yong.

They are the most important people in my life. My wife is the love of my life who I lean on in times of stress. She supports me without question, but challenges me to be a better man, husband and father. My son is the light of my life. I smile and laugh every day because of him. And I'd like to think he laughs and smiles every day because of me. He's the reason I am in the Master's program at Walden. In order to secure our future, I am undertaking this task.

The best part of my relationship with my wife is the way we communicate. Although my first language is English and hers is Korean, we have no problem (well, sometimes we have a little problem) with communication. We are always forthright with each other and even though sometimes we don't want to hear it, we always tell the truth. I think this is the way people should be with each other. Not blunt or offensive, but truthful. I think taking this outlook on all relationships will strengthen them. I will certainly never lie to a parent or a student and hopefully they will respect me for it.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Quotes and a word of thanks!

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” 
― Margaret Mead

“Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy.” 
― Robert A. Heinlein

“Children see magic because they look for it.” 
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

“Nothing you do for children is ever wasted.” 
― Garrison Keillor, Leaving Home


Thanks to all my colleagues who helped guide throughout this class. I enjoyed your thought-provoking discussions and questions. Good luck with the rest of your education and to all your future endeavors.

IQ Tests... overrated?

IQ tests are an important tool to help educators and parents determine what paths their young children might take. The problem, however, exists if ONLY the IQ test is used. There are different types of intelligence that cannot be measured simply by a test. Although lacking in what others perceive as intelligence, a child could be emotionally intelligent or overflowing with creativity. I think that the if a holistic approach to child development is used, an IQ test should be only a small aspect to consider. People are not just computers that you can fill the hard drive with information, rather people, especially young children, are dynamic and always growing. Case in point, it is accept that IQ's change as people get older. They can rise or they can fall. A child who is slightly delayed could end up being the most gifted of adults and the opposite is true as well. 

There was an interesting study done in Kenya about intelligence. The Luo people in Kenya measure intelligence using four categories: 

"rieko, which largely corresponds to the Western idea of academic intelligence, but also includes specific skills; luoro, which includes social qualities like respect, responsibility and consideration; paro, or practical thinking; and winjo, or comprehension. Only one of the four--rieko--is correlated with traditional Western measures of intelligence."  (Benson 2003)

I think the Luo would be hard pressed to come up with an intelligence test that would measure these aspects of intelligence, nor do I think they would want to. I think having a system like this in our culture would alleviate some of the pressures associated with education and intelligence. If a child is a little behind in one aspect but a little more advanced in another, that child is not ostracized but rather praised. I think there is a lot of undue pressure from parents, schools, teachers, governments in the US for students to achieve at a basic level according to a standardized test. If things were like in Kenya, would we have the educational problems we have?

Reference

Benson, E. (2003, February) Intelligence across cultures: Research in Africa, Asia and Latin America is showing how culture and intelligence interact. American Psychological Association. Retreived August 5, 2012 from http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/intelligence.aspx.