Serious reading takes a hit from online scanning and skimming, researchers say – The Washington Post.
This is an interesting read from the Washington Post. As we try to teach students to spend time carefully reading, we may be undoing that training in the way that we let them use the internet. I know that my own attention span is affected when I spend too much time online. Careful reading is a discipline and one that must be constantly trained in a student for them to be able to enjoy it.
Teaching my daughter to be polite can be a huge challenge. I enjoyed reading one of Tim Challies’ (www.challies.com) blog posts; he linked to this article about teaching your children to be polite. What do you think of these guidelines? What other advice would you offer?
A recently read this post: Distracted from Shepherding a Child’s Heart and was convicted about how often I am teaching my child that my things are more important that my conversation with her. What is the flavor of your family interaction? Are you teaching your children to engage or disengage by the way that you interact with them?
I especially love the conclusion to this article.
“The good news for Christian parents is that the spiritual health of our children is not ultimately dependent on our smartphone habits. Our close attention to them doesn’t create a new heart or a greater love for Christ. Salvation is of the Lord. Yet, parents are often one of the crucial means God uses to pass along His gospel. That’s why we should ask for the help of God’s Spirit as we seek to be faithful in this calling. There are no hard and fast rules for how often we should use our tablets, but we should at least make sure they’re not a hindrance as we seek to weave God’s truth into our everyday conversations.”
Irrigating Deserts 