Homeschooling in the Mountains

So the thread about the article on boys reading got me thinking again today particularly about the conversation I had with DH last night.  Not only are kids way way too dependent on electronic media these days but the electronic media these days are well lacking in comparison to the good 'ole days.

What I mean by this is.....    Remember back to your childhoods or at least to the  games of the early nineties.  Games like Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Myst and even games like Metroid and Contra.  Back then we actually had to think to play these games.  We'd hit a puzzle that must be solved in order to advance and we would have to sit there and actually think it through and figure out that puzzle.  I remember just how awesome it was to play through Day of the Tentacle for the first time and how accomplished I felt as I figured out each piece of that puzzle.  It was thrilling, challenging and FUN!

(Most) Games these days however are greatly lacking in these aspects.  Think about the most popular games like WOW and even most playstation games.  They all have walk throughs and help and pretty much hand you the full formula for the game before you even begin the quest.    Gone is the mystery and the challenge that used to actually make our brains think.  Now we have arrows and bright highlights that point us to our intended goals.  Now if you can't figure something out the game will help you and hold your hand while you do it.

It's sad really.  Kids expect everything to be handed to them, easy to use and ready to go.  When faced with something that makes them have to think they say it's not fun or sucks.  Now this is not all kids of course but the average kid.  I have a split in my particular household for instance.  I have my two step daughters who were raised with no reading aloud in the early years, tons of movies and a plethora of video games.  The girls each have a netbook computer that DH and I control the content and access of.  We have loaded games like Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max hit the Road ect.  You would not be able to imagine the complaints we get that the games are too hard, not fun and boring.  They would much rather sit fazed into the TV playing something like mario kart or Halo.  Heck they would even prefer laying in their beds doing nothing but listening to the local pop channel if we would let them.

it makes me sad really because kids have so much potential and society and all of it's glorious technology is squashing that for so many children.  Too many parents hear a whining child and flip on the TV and that is their cure.  Too many parents say oh your only a child once so let them be kids.  That is the most irritating thought to me.  :tongue_smilie:  So in that rationale being a child means wasting countless hours plugged into some device because it's fun?  Being a child means you should let them do and play whatever they want regardless of the outcomes?   How about changing the statement to  "You are only a child once and you will only have this miraculous ability to absorb and learn due to brain plasticity so why not learn and make it fun?"

the other split/side in my house is the boys.  We have made it a priority to read to them every day since they were born.  Our home is filled with shelves of books and fun educational games.  Behavior is rewarded by snuggling on the couch with a good book, playing a fun family board game or a brisk walk outside in the woods.  Whining is dealt with much the same way after a gentle explanation that whining is not how we communicate.  When we do watch TV you bet your buns it's going to be worthwhile and educational.  The only exception is when daddy takes them out to see a new movie or we plan a family movie night and watch a great movie like UP or Wall-E.  The only video games my oldest DS plays are leapster games and that is still very limited.

We are already seeing the differences in my oldest DS.  He LOVES to read.  He could sit there (and has) for hours curled up on his bean bag absorbed in a pile of library books.  He begs to learn and loves anything challenging.  he may get frustrated at first with something but instead of giving up and saying this is too hard, he tries again and again until he can do it.

I guess my point is that I personally think that the state of the average child today is sad.  I think the opinions of the average parent are sad.  I hate that these average parents look down their noses at the minority of us that don't have kids with a bagillion electronic devices as being mean or too strict.  I wish that someone would open up their eyes and make them see that these kids are our next generation.  They are the ones that are going to run the world when we are gone.  What do you think is going to be the most helpful tools for this, video games, Ipods, TVs?