The horrors of war and the odd perversions of the Victorian era might be a little much for an eight year old. But Twitter, blogging, podcasting, and Wikipedia might just be the 21st century ticket to learning.
Educators in Britain are mulling proposed changes to primary school curriculum that would require kids be taught modern Web-based communication and information retrieval skills instead of teaching them about World War II. War they can learn about in high school.
If approved, kids younger than 11 would learn the art of tweeting alongside phonics, handwriting, math, and more basic historical knowledge. Teaching in depth about major historical movements would be made optional at the school level.
One educator defended the idea, saying that computer skills and keyboarding skills had become just as important as other basic skills in modern times. Another teacher expressed concern there wasn’t enough literature related drama emphasized. Easy fix: have them act out “Our Town” on YouTube.
Though many had worried modern texting and Web habits were hurting young people’s writing abilities, more than one study has shown kids who text a lot have better skills than kids who don’t and that they know when and how to switch into formal writing.
Twitter is an interesting choice, but it’s not hard to see the value in it. With 140 character limits it can teach budding writers how to make big statements with a few words, making them better writers.
