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d.tech families,
The d.tech staff works very hard to teach students both important content and also skills that will help them thrive. One of the most important skills our students can develop is the ability to control their attention. A parent recently shared with me the article, “Addicted to Distraction” by Tony Schwartz. This article reaffirms what we’ve been teaching our students the past year. We tell students that the battle for their attention is not a fair fight. On the back end of every app and website are teams of people employing every tactic possible to keep your eyes on the screen. Just as some food companies design products in an effort to hit that magic combination of “salt, sugar, fat,” much of what is on the Internet is designed to provide constant stimulation; think of Facebook’s endless scroll. According to Schwartz, much of our online life easily falls into the category of addiction:
Addiction is the relentless pull to a substance or an activity that becomes so compulsive it ultimately interferes with everyday life. By that definition, nearly everyone I know is addicted in some measure to the Internet. It has arguably replaced work itself as our most socially sanctioned addiction.
I am sharing this with you before we go on break to encourage you and your family to unplug and resist digital temptations. I’m also going to try a technology-free break, and I’m encouraging staff to try it as well (so emails will not be returned in a timely manner over winter break). When we return, we will share our experiences with our students and hope to hear some of their stories as well.
Schwartz ends his article with a sobering story that seems commonplace now but would not have occurred 10 years ago.
Occasionally, I find myself returning to a haunting image from the last day of my vacation. I was sitting in a restaurant with my family when a man in his early 40s came in and sat down with his daughter, perhaps 4 or 5 years old and adorable. Almost immediately, the man turned his attention to his phone. Meanwhile, his daughter was a whirlwind of energy and restlessness, standing up on her seat, walking around the table, waving and making faces to get her father’s attention. Except for brief moments, she didn’t succeed and after a while, she glumly gave up. The silence felt deafening.
We all know that learning self-control has tremendous long-term benefits for students as illustrated by the Marshmallow test. Our students must face this challenge head-on, and the benefits of mastering attention will be tremendous both for them and your family.
I hope everyone has a safe and rejuvenating winter break. I look forward to seeing you all in 2016.
best,
Ken
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Please be mindful that the Disabled Persons Parking Spaces are for our families who need to use them. Our parking lot monitors have noticed parents using these spaces as a holding area while awaiting their student’s arrival.
Our next opportunity to order BART tickets is here. If you need more tickets, please bring your check to the Front Office by Wednesday, December 16.
RSVP for “Life After d.tech: a College Conversation” featuring Deans of Admissions from Olin Engineering College, Minerva Project, and Santa Clara University. RSVP encouraged by December 18, and no later than January 4. Recommended for 10th grade families. Ninth grade parents/students also welcomed.
