Are Computers Ruining Our Children's Ability to Write?

More often than not, your kids' homework is nowhere close to the kind that you used to get. My kids are no exception; in fact, it got so bad when my oldest son started middle school that we had to get him his own computer. I read an interesting article from an English teacher in Philly.com who says this:

"Students today are a product of an instant-gratification society. Writing a quality paper takes time, and most teenagers aren't willing to make that sacrifice. Like steroids in major-league baseball, technology has become a way for students to cheat - to bypass hard work and cut right to the end result."

I personally think his opinion is a bit general. Besides, in order for this to be true, all schools in our country would have to educate kids that all have easy access to a computer (which I don't think is the case just yet). However, I do believe that the possibility is great if teachers and parents aren't careful. I believe half the battle is staying involved in your child's education - which is no different than 100 years ago; the only difference is that we have the opportunity to use computers as a supplement. 

The word "cheat" is a harsh word for this teacher to use in my view. Most of the time, the child simply needs to be taught how to use a computer properly - like reminding them to use a spell checker, or teaching them the difference between typing a paper for school versus typing an e-mail to a friend. I've made my children retype and edit their schoolwork many times (much to their dismay) because it was sloppy and incomplete. On the flipside, I've been able to teach my children how to make their homework better than it would have been without a computer.

Quite frankly, I think the teacher that wrote this article is a bit too "old school" and needs a lesson on how computers have and will continue to improve our way of life, especially in the classroom. Computers are here to stay; and if we keep looking back to the past, the future will leave us behind. And I'm pretty sure you don't want your chid left behind. I know I don't!