A work colleague was in a fender bender and was experiencing back pain. She was fortunate to get a last-minute chiropractic appointment, but it was over the lunch hour. She asked if I could supervise her class while they ate lunch.
“Of course!” I was enthusiastic. I’m keen to learn the names of more students. Our school has 544 kids and I’ve been spending less time in classrooms than I’d like. It seems like the intention of “Every classroom, every day” is entirely misguided, even though I’ve blocked out times for supervision.
I brought my lunch down to the teacher’s classroom and the room was a hubbub of excitement.
“Are you going to be our teacher for the rest of the day?”
“That’s our principal!” (I’m not. I’m the vice principal. Their honest mistake is another indication that I’m not present enough.)
“I know him! He’s the vice-president! I see him on the crosswalk!”
The teacher smiled appreciatively as she grabbed her coat. On the way out the door, she paused. “You can put on a movie,” she offered. A 75-inch television dominates the front of the classroom, as it does every classroom in our building — a budgetary manoeuvre because interactive whiteboards and projectors are more expensive and don’t last as long.
“Thanks, but I’ve got this,” I confidently replied. I handed out hot dogs from the lunch program and loosened vacuum-sealed Thermos lids until every child had lunch at hand. “Would you like to play 20 Questions?” It’s a great game to develop reasoning skills and critical thinking, and I learn students’ names as they play. I was excited at the prospect of the game, but I was not ready for their response. Crickets. Ok — wait time. “Have you played 20 Questions before? I can explain how to play.” I was met with uncomfortable looks and confusion. There was something that I wasn’t getting, which was that I had deviated routine.
A little girl with red hair and freckles implored, “Aren’t you going to put on a movie?” This class was accustomed to eating in front of a television. I have observed the same in other classrooms. Kids become quiet when the television is on. It captivates their attention and has the loudest voice in the room. Quiet children while they are eating? Of course, teachers will make use of it. But should they?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that in 2017, children ages 8-10 were averaging 6 hours of screen time per day, with 4 of those hours coming from television (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). With the ubiquity of digital media, I can not see any indicators that number is decreasing. Young children with greater use of screen time are more likely to have lower social competence, emotional maturity, and language development (Kerai et al., 2022). Think of how much information is transmitted through in-person communication: the verbal message, the tone, the affect, and body language.
The number one concern that parents bring up in interviews is not academics or bullying. It is that their child feels isolated. “They don’t have any friends.” What is contributing to this trend?
Children are not practicing social skills of listening and responding, negotiating a conversation, inviting others to chime in, and using humor. They practice moderated conversations in group learning situations, with explicit teaching of roles: leader, note-taker, and reporter, but those roles don’t reflect social reality. There isn’t a discussion leader at the tire swing. Moreover, there isn’t a script of questions to answer.
I have found many children resorting to “him” or “her” in place of their classmates’ names. Naming confers value on a person as a unique individual, and is the foundation of friendship. What can we do at lunch to provide opportunities to students to practice using names, to listen, respond, or share opinions? Turn off the televisions. Embrace the hubbub of conversation. It’s less regulated, to be sure, but it is the healthier choice for the kids in our care.
We didn’t watch a movie. We played 20 Questions and kids beamed when I remembered their name, and guffawed and giggled when I said the wrong name. The first thing that I get asked when I see them again is, “Do you know me?” and the hoped-for response is, “Yes, your name is Thomas, and you like Ninjago.”
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Screen time vs. lean time. https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/multimedia/infographics/getmoving.html
Kerai, S., Almas, A., Guhn, M., Forer, B., Oberle, E. (2022). Screen time and developmental health: results from an early childhood study in Canada. BMC Public Health, 22, 310. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12701-3
