What bothers me about media? It bothers me when I find out my child has accepted text messages from someone or some organization that he or she is not familiar with despite frequent warnings. It bothers me when my children hound me throughout the day, on a daily basis, to play XBOX or Webkinz. I am concerned when I can see they are cleaning, or completing school work, or playing their music just to get through it so they can return to media. I am incensed when my husband sits at the computer and plays solitaire for hours on end....while watching scores and play by play action of his favorite baseball team via the web. I am not against Facebook; infact, I love Facebook but I don't like to look up from work to see my daughter on Facebook and distracted from her studies. I loathe the constant banter of sportscasters in the background knowing that we could all be outside throwing a frisbee, riding bikes or walking the dogs; yet, we allow ourselves to be held captive as mere spectators. For me, I am often distracted from my reading and note taking as I wander aimlessly in the world wide web looking for new resources or reading the latest news! Then finally, I was furious that I left my volunteer position at prom early to return home because my husband and son were having a disagreement over the amount of time that should be spent with media. In the end, I believe they were both right and they were both wrong. Still, I missed out on watching my daughter make her grand entrance (this prom was phenomenal and the decorations were breath taking - I couldn't wait to see her face) and I missed out on getting photos with her. Everyone else has a photo with her - even my husband and boys; but, I am painfully absent as I was busy working behind the scenes and then busy rushing home to keep peace. So, I have had it.....
My plan is this: I will suspend all incoming media, such as internet and satellite, in our living space (our home) for all of May, June and July. I want to keep a journal to see how we fare without media as it has become an integral part of our life. And, I do not say this lightly. We have five computers in our home, one for each of us!
The internet, in particular, has become a very important tool that we use daily. For example, I home school and my daughter has one online class that meets three times a week. We have to have access to the internet for this. I also have a wiki that I use for some of our studies. I have begun work on a world history class that my daughter is using to meet this high school requirement. I love my wiki and I am amazed at the number of resources I have found to help us enjoy learning about world history. I think of Guns, Germs and Steel - this is but one of the many resources I've found. This documentary is a fascinating look at why some civilizations may have become more powerful, or advanced, than other civilizations. To use this wiki, we will have to travel to a library or internet cafe. I imagine this will be a very difficult adjustment for both student and teacher!
My boys use media for their studies as well. We have enjoyed Teaching Textbooks and Switched on Schoolhouse(SOS). While they can use these without internet access, SOS provides links to outside web resources that may enhance learning. I utilize internet games to help with rote memorization drills. One of my favorite sites is Arcademic Skill Builders (yes, it's really spelled that way). Here, my boys can play math games with other students online. They enjoy it and it helps them with instant recall. I have no doubt we will miss this.
It's easy to see how I will miss the internet as a homeschool mom. But, as the manager of our household, I use the internet to balance my checkbook, make grocery lists and prepare my menus. I love MyRecipes.com - this, along with my blog and wiki, is a perfect example of cloud computing. I hold all of my recipes, menus and shopping lists here and I never have to hunt for a recipe again. The idea of having to travel somewhere to access these tools makes this plan of mine difficult to swallow. I don't know if I can do this!!
On top of everything else, my husband and I both, like many - if not most - Americans, use the internet in our everyday jobs. Brad often comes home to take care of things he did not have time for at the office. There are fewer interruptions here at home. I assist in an online class. Plus, as a doctoral student who has comprehensive exams and dissertation looming ahead (not to mention several research projects), I rather dread a daily trek to the library when I could easily walk to my lap top each day to complete much of my literature review and grading. This may be hardest on me; but, I feel as though our family needs some sort of intervention and this is what comes to mind. Negotiating and making life style changes have not yet worked as I must still wrestle with the monster on a daily basis. The monster is incoming media and the negotiating comes through my family - can I finish watching this, can I finish this match, can I call Josh to play on Webkinz, can you hand me the romote, change the channel, mute this, mute that and on and on it goes!!!!! Are the rewards greater than the hassles associated with media in the home? Can we keep media at bay by keeping it out of the home while we will go to it, rather than it coming to us? I don't know if this will work; but, I'm going to try. Here after, this will be my journal documenting this little adventure I have set before us!
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