Today, the internet went down for our entire district. I couldn’t work on the lesson I have scheduled for tomorrow. My observation is for this specific lesson. Sigh…
It also happened during one of our busiest times. Most kids pop in to the library not to read books, but to play video games or watch YouTube videos. Got to sites they shouldn’t visit. What must we do to pry the devices out of their hands? We’re 1:1, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing. In theory it works, but there are so many important steps that were missed when the Big C forced it on us.
What did the teachers do? Some turned on a movie. (Yawn.) Some had students read. Others allowed students to play board games. Whip out real paper and writing sticks. What do we do with these?
Our group of regulars who come in every day during lunch skipped their usual comfy spots and made their way to the tables. Instead of taking out their Chromebooks, they sat there and talked. They made eye contact with one another. They spoke about favorite uncles. Not so favorite aunts. Getting in trouble. Bed times. Finishing a journal. I’m actually almost finished writing on every page! Wondering what they’ll do in the next class after the bell rings. Will the bell even ring? Mentioning all types of crafts they like to make.
They spoke with one another. They were smiling. It was glorious.
Nerds Beget Nerds 
Alice, in the beginning of your slice, I thought, “unfortunately, students are migrating toward computers to ‘play’ rather than building their reading or communication skills. Then, you shared good news: children socializing, making eye contact…Hopefully, the pendulum will swing back toward reading books, magazines, or articles.
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I sure hope so. It was nice to see them doing something other than something in front of a screen.
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We all need the internet to go down once in a while! It slows us down, and force us to actually have a conversation with each other.
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It was a nice little break and reminder not to rely so much on our devices.
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it is always a bit scary when the internet goes down, but then we relearn what life was like before the internet, and younger ones learn and often like it.
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I wasn’t too worried about it since I didn’t have lessons scheduled. However, the classes coming in for book checkouts had to wait a bit for us to write down their book barcode numbers and ID numbers. The kids were fine. I think the teachers panicked more than the students.
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This made me so happy. The club coordinator decided this semester that students needed to leave their computers and phones in their backpacks while waiting for club sponsors to pick them up from the gym. I was pleasantly surprised to see the same thing you did–kids actually talking to one another. There is hope!
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How wonderful is that. So much communication happening, your last line says it all, glorious!
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