http://www.evalu8.org/staticpage?page=review&siteid=6480

During the discussions we were reminded of the work of Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate that point out the challenges that parents are having connecting with their children.  They attribute this to a general lack of intergenerational exchange in society.  Alana Mitchel’s article in the Globe & Mail (2004)  offers an overview of their findings.  This lack of connectedness is significant to all families but even moreso to First Nations families or even to families of African Americans.  These are families that have been torn apart and uprooted and systemically denied basic human rights over the past few centuries.  Trying to rebuild those connections is an enormous challenge.  When we are planning to introduce technology into the classroom are we ensuring that there are inter-generational opportunities?  While I’m exploring using technology with young children in our schools, I’ll need to see how much of it is peer-to-peer and how much other generations are involved.