is it possible to opt out of using computers within the state system?

[zebramummy]

i hate computers - i know, i am sitting here staring at one - however, i managed to avoid them until i started working in my twenties and yes, they were around prior to this mainly for wordprocessing, designing and games although email and internet had not really taken off. i have always felt privately disgusted by the two computers at ds' nursery and i strongly believe that they are completely uneccesary and have no place within an early years setting. i have heard about ICT at school and i am starting to get the feeling that it is a non-negotiable part of school-life. am i the only person who feels this way?

it seems to be ok to laugh at those who do not embrace the computer culture ....

I have raised two 'sets' of dcs ( large age gaps)

I prefer the way i raise the second set and see their lives as being far emptier of screens but so much more enriched in other ways

my friends raise their children dufferently

i dont pour scorn or titter or label them as luddites

oh FFS what is the mindset that those who use computers don't have enriched lives??

It's not different to wanting to sit for another hour reading a book/playing a quiet game instead of getting off their backsides to do something.

I honestly don't understand this total "ban" on letting them use it,

And how do you explain it to them when you use the computer at home????

not saying that if you read the post FAQ
just talking about my experience

no need to swear

Nao _ that's because we live in a computer run world - if you don't embrace it - then sorry is rather like those people in the 1980's saying "well we never had washing machines when I was growing up so why should I get one now" (my mother did finally relent in 1985).

There are so few jobs where using a computer or screen of some description isn't part of the working life that to suggest you don't want your children "sat in front of a screen" is rather hindering their choice of jobs.

i wont be doing any choosing of jobs for them

truly i am stunned - MN can be a lonely place sometimes. i never even realised that this was an alternative way of raising ds. i cannot understand at which point those mums who try and detoxify childhood from day 1 with cloth nappies, organic mush and limited TV willingly allow their child to be converted into an android under Nulabs watchful eye

earlier in the thread

"at home they do different stuff "

so therefore those that have a computer at home and use it don't do different stuff.

"Sorry if this does not answer your question re primary but education is too short for grils to spend it on msn and boys on lord knows what..."

so all children who have access to a computer go on those - not if you set the computer up so that they can't.

"his year head said his social skills for a boy of that ability made him stand out from the crowd "

so therefore those children who use computers have poorer social skills.

it's so bloody tiresome.

Technology is all around us it IS a part of life now - we can't go back (thank god) 20yrs where the epitomy of technology was an old Beeb computer. Where all children were expected to write all their essays by hand - even those who struggled with writing by hand - and no some kids it doesn't matter how much you practice it still takes hours and hours.

Artistic flow lessened by a computer - -what?????

Faq - i concede that there might be something in your washing machine theory - my mum has had one (a laundry room, infact) for around 20 years though has never used it - infact she chooses to wash her clothes in the bath. neither is she interested in learning how to operate a computer - she is one of the best-informed, brightest people i have ever met

no but you'd be saddened if they end up in a job using computers - which means if they don't want to upset you they'll be limited on choice of career.

they will choose their own careers with my blessing regardless

ds has already chosen his and it is not my ideal choice but hey

i want them to live life to the full and IMO and IMO only - screens do not encourage this in young people

my opinion only and irl i never preach it

i stand by my beliefs

well said notanotter

I hate milk, but still let my DCs drink it at snack time at school.

Living with a dyslexic/dysgraphic man and a daughter who is the same, I'm thrilled that computers are available to DD1 at school!

They are terrific aids to her literacy.

I said you may be stupid, OP. You are definitely strange.

As you and NAT have taken this down the nutter Steiner segue, I'm starting to feel like backing slowly out of the room. Using a computer doesn't make anyone a NuLab android - are you one? Or are you alone so robust as to be able to use the dreaded ICT without corruption?

so you DO think that children that have "screen time" don't do a wide range of activities and don't live life to the full.

It's bizarre. I mean, you're posting from home, I assume.

So you own a computer.

If you're so against them, why buy one?

I mean, plenty of people here don't have televisions because they don't agree with them.

get with the program. Technology is part of our world. It's not Bad, people

I want to know whether NAO feels she is living life to the full despite her extensive MNing, and if so, surely she could communicate this skill to her children?

Are there any jobs where ICT is totally unavoidable in all its forms? I seriously doubt it.

Where does the idea come from that children who play on computers don't have a life which is rich in other things?

If we consider our own lives, we all use a computer in our free time (as we are on MN) but I'm sure that most of us also read books, go for a walk in the park, go our with friends etc.

Am also relieved to find myself of same mind as some of the MNers I respect most. So glad I am not the only intelligent person who has become a "NuLab android" without noticing.

zebramummy - I too am on your side

I spend ages on my laptop its true, but I like to think that I am an adult

My kids spend a maximum of an hour online/computer/dvd on any one day as an average - normally to busy doing otherstuff to spend longer in front of a screen

They use the internet to research things they are interested in and play games on 'mostly' educational website - that is their choice btw, what they want to do

We dont own a tv or any flashing, beeping etc battery operated toys - hurrah - and the kids are fine with that

How to deal with the computers and school issue - Im not sure its possible tbh, school is a fit all kind of place

HTH

Most schools in my neck of the woods have two computers in a classroom. Two computers among 30. Not a lot, is it? And every class only has one - very occasionally two - hours in teh computer suite each week where two pupils share a computer. It's rubbish. So thank heaven there is extra technology involving screens available for those individuals who really need it.

What are people afraid of?

TBH whilst at home we are mostly computer/tv/battery etc free, its easier to go with the flow of what is available at school- ie not fussing about this or that

My son couldnt cope at school for other reasons (mental health and bored senseless) so we are now Home Educating.....

i am an adult

I want what i feel to be best for my children

AT what age can children decide what they think is best?