Happy New Year & New World

Image from Lawrence Miller Galleries

 It was a sad season, this past holiday and for that reason I couldn't wait to pack up the tree and assorted swag on January 1st.  It has all been stashed away with hopes for a better tomorrow.  This is one reason you haven't heard from us much lately -  since we tend to be a light-hearted blog (in our ironic sort of way) we just didn't seem to have much to say.  That and in light of so much sadness in the world - does it really matter if Sally calls you Mrs. Smith or "Hey you?"  What's really important is that Sally is around to yell at you at all. 

Another reason this humble correspondent hasn't had much to say lately is due to something going on locally.  A few weeks back all fourth grade parents in our town received an email telling us about a proposed curriculum change.  Starting in September it will be mandatory that all 5th graders in our town's seven elementary schools have their own iPads.  This will be a partnership (that means families need to buy the iPads unless need is demonstrated) and the children are to use these "educational tools" in the classroom and at home.  My extensive thoughts on this can be found over at TheSwellesleyReport.  Suffice to say, I find it all a bit concerning and the arguments in favor less than convincing.

 Image from Wired.co.uk

There was a presentation last night and the parents of the children in the pilot program were most enthusiastic.  They love it and thought it added much to the classroom and helped prepare them for middle school.  Children were able to (among other things) build their own websites, create their ideal societies and present them to peers via video - sounds great.  But is this compelling enough to mandate families purchase iPads for ten year olds?  Moreover, I was disappointed by the response to the parents who raised concerns.  Essentially the response was 'this is already happening, kids use iPads for games - we will teach them to use them as tools, this is the world today, other towns are doing it, this will close the digital gap,  you should get on board.'  There was very little discussion about the rightness of giving ten year olds these devices or the merits of 1:1 screen education vs. collaborative learning. Well, here's hoping I am wrong and it is a brilliant success.

More and more, these days, this modern mother finds herself feeling like a salmon swimming up stream.   Then again, does any of it really matter as long as the children are safe in school?

Friday Frivolity - Let Us Now Praise Angry Birds

'What on earth,' the well mannered mother might have thought to herself, 'is going on with this Angry Bird nonsense?'  Ignorantly envisioning some sort of cross between Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 thriller The Birds and Space Invaders she mistakenly assumes this idiocy had nothing to do with her.  Yet, like most mass  phenomena (think Glee) these birds will seep into her subconscious until one day the game will simply appear on her iphone.

At that point her life will become both easier and harder.  Her life is easier in that her family has all agreed on a reward that is 100% parentally approved (no sugar or bad influences involved)  "Of course you can play angry birds on my phone, darling, as soon as you do your homework/empty the dishwasher/cut the lawn." One sibling's tennis practice in no longer  the torture it once was for the other, car trips, doctors' waiting rooms and security lines at the airport have become painless thanks to this absurd game where "players control a flock of multi-colored birds that are attempting to retrieve eggs that have been stolen by a group of evil green pigs." Her life is harder in terms of finding and retrieving her phone from family members, not to mention the lost hours she herself finds she is devoting to the pursuit.  Luckily, there is safety in numbers and she is not alone.  This fabulous fat and violence-free pass time is according to Wikipedia "the largest mobil app success the world has seen so far."  Have a happy weekend and if you spend it playing Angry Birds, just remember there are worse things you could be doing.

Picture from Rovio Website and Costume Express

There's an app for that

"If you want to put lipstick on a pig, there's an app for that." (App For That)

While the above quote has practically nothing to do with manners or mothers, it is nonetheless both witty and indicative of the times in which we live.  The larger point, doubtlessly not lost on the well mannered modern mother, is that there isn't really an app for applying lipstick to pigs.  Nor is there an app for the public tantrum,  dead fish, broken arm, bruised spirit, best friend moving, learning disability, or accident at the grocery store. And yet, these days, that is exactly what people/parents want.  They want a quick fix, a diagnosis, a solution.  They want to 'solve the problem' and get on down the road.   This is not to say the iPhone isn't a wonderful tool for parents/people.  Many a well mannered mother {your gentle authoress included} has survived more than a few travels thanks to the children's movies and games on her iPhone.   This is simply to say life is messy, people are variable and in most cases it is time and patience - not excel spreadsheets and parenting apps - that will 'fix' what not so long ago was simply called part of life.