Be Tech!!

Originally written on 14th Dec., 2011

The newspaper headline screamed School "Asks" 840 students to buy iPads - the paper, "Midday" I think, is one that I normally would not be reading. Today I happened to be sitting in a meeting room at a client's office and this was the headline that glared at me accusingly, daring me to ignore it!

  

I ignored it. Took up a glass of water and quenched my thirst - curiosity aroused I just "happened" to glance at the subtext and learned that the school in question was Podar School at Santa Cruz, Mumbai. Well, not being a "Mumbaikar" despite my 9 odd years I am unaware of the pecking order in terms of snob value of schools - but I do believe Podar ranks right up there with the Bombay Scottish or the Dhirubhai Ambani types (pardon me if I'm wrong on this - as I said, I'm guilty of being a Madrasi!) Anyway, I was able to avoid reading more as the meeting commenced just as I finished reading the sub headline..

  

Finished with the meeting I was now en-route for another and, as I do quite often, switched on the FM Radio - to once again encounter an RJ posing the "outraged" question to listeners. "Should schools be allowed to ask students to use iPads? Is it good or bad?"

Listener after listener, mostly women, were quite categorical - NO, this IS bad!

• Children should not be encouraged to use computers and laptops etc because they will forget how to write.
• Kisi bhi tarah dekho technology kharaab hi hai!
• Children should not be allowed to .... because they will never learn to do arithmetic etc.
• Old is Gold. Hamara zamane mein aisa nahin tha.
• Nowadays children are being given even cellphones. That is bad. Because they have cell phones they don't come home on time.

What made the programme enjoyable was the songs the RJ continued to play and so I stayed glued to the station while also, at the same time, listening to weird views like those mentioned above...

 

Technology - can it be stopped? Impossible. The real issues, perhaps, should have been -

• Can a school be allowed to compel students to buy an iPad? 
• Can a student (this rule apparently is for students from Standard II and above) be expected to be responsible for the safety/safekeeping of such a costly asset? (Almost every other day I forget my lunch box at work!)
• How would the school monitor the content that young minds would get exposed to?

There could be many more such issues that could be framed. But to think that children should not be exposed to computers or cell phones? Why, they take to technology as easily as a fish to water! Just yesterday I noticed an "icon" on my cell phone - I knew it was a sign showing "BlueTooth" was "On" but had no clue how that had happened or how to turn it off. I showed it to my son and within a second PROBLEM SOLVED.

 

To say that one can stop technology is futile. To think that children should be "sheltered" from technology is even more futile - yes, there are some inherent risks and dangers (and show me any field where there isn't). I feel the negative reactions come from those who fear technology has made us obsolete...

 

This is the age of the youngsters. The future is already here.