Rabbis say, “Pull the Plug”
Frank Ahrens writes in Looking For Middle Ground In Forbidden Territory (WaPo) (registration required)
Religious leaders in a tightknit Orthodox Jewish community in New Jersey have instructed parents who have Internet access in their homes to unplug from the Web, else their children will face expulsion from the area’s 43 yeshivas, or Jewish private schools.
“We really . . . don’t want children to see ladies who are dressed inappropriately. . . . If that one image goes into a child’s head, it can wreak havoc with all the religious instruction,” said Rabbi Netanya Gottlieb, one of the yeshiva principals, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.
Rabbis said that the Internet is not inherently evil and acknowledged that it has some benefits for students in completing homework, but that its negatives far outweigh its positives.
The policy also prohibits students from using cell phones, Palm organizers and other handheld devices that have Internet access.
It appears that they’re not just telling parents to make efforts to keep kids off the web. They’re telling them not to have the connections in their homes at all:
In a Talmudic compromise for adults who do business from home, the Star-Ledger reports, some exceptions may be made for parents who have only e-mail access or who promise to keep the Internet locked in a room or cabinet, like a handgun, out of reach of their children.
I’m glad that I don’t have Orthodox Jewish parents living in that tight-knit community in New Jersey!
In many ways, the rabbis’ actions are admirable — if draconian — and represent the kind of strictures that almost any parent could identify with.
But on the other hand, I am a parent and I do understand that having a broadband connection into your home with no restrictions or parental control is like inviting the ilk from every alley in every seedy part of town into your living room.
As the article points out, Internet monitoring software is not “infallible”, and computers in kids bedrooms are probably not the best idea anyways.
Here comes the plug: There are other tools available that help to make life easier for parents as well as internet filters. For example, ComputerTime which lets parents set limits one how long and when their kids can be on the computer. This lets parents ensure that they are present when the kids are on the computer. It also ensures that they’re not overdosing on screen time and from what our customers have been telling us recently, it goes a long ways towards ending the fighting between siblings over a shared family computer.
The most important thing is that parents be alert and involved. Forcing families to pull the plug altogether is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
What do you think? Leave a comment.
Posted: December 8th, 2005 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 6
Comments
Comment from brettdl
Time: December 10, 2005, 10:29 am
Considering what’s out on the open web, I agree you can’t leave a kid locked in his room with a computer. I recently upgraded my Norton protection, which unbeknownest to me came with parental controls and a time feature somewhat like software time. We’ll probably use the tools when our kids are old enough.
But to keep children off of computers in today’s day in age is much like not teaching kids a language. Computers are one of the most important skills to survival in the future.
Comment from ShorelineJudo
Time: December 11, 2005, 9:22 pm
Rock and Roll is evil. Wasn’t that the saying 50 years ago?
You can’t stop advances or changes, but you can guide your children through them.
Comment from Mark Sicignano
Time: December 12, 2005, 9:50 am
…That’s right and don’t even think about letting your kids do any Dirty Dancing.
Comment from Mark Sicignano
Time: December 12, 2005, 10:54 am
brettdl - “But to keep children off of computers in today’s day in age is much like not teaching kids a language. Computers are one of the most important skills to survival in the future.”
Brett, I agree with the intent of what you’re saying, but I like to urge caution in this area.
I wasn’t even on a computer until I was a sophomore in high school and even then, there was no internet, web, email… Somehow I’ve managed. :-)
I’ve talked with people in the educational system — teachers, counselors, etc — and they tell me that computers are a major distraction and that they cause a lot of social problems. Another counselor told me that kids do not have a clue on how to do real reasearch and they have to patience for even trying. They all want to “google” for information and then cut and paste, as opposed to actually going to a library, reading books, gathering up information and thoughts and then being original and writing a thought through paper.
What’s actually more important than kids “learning computers” (whatever that actually means these days), is that they learn the skills that will help them become real problem solvers.
If you know how to research, to be hands on, to communicate and express, to be creative, thoughtful, inquisitive, and to solve problems in the real world, then you’ll have no problems picking up “computers” down the road.
I do not agree that “pulling the plug” entirely is the answer, but I think that kids actually “need” very little computers while younger, and as they get into high school, they’ll need more.
The hours most teens spend on instant messaging aren’t preparing them for anything.
Some good reads in this area:
Last Child in the Woods : Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv.
FAILURE TO CONNECT: How Computers Affect Our Children’s Minds — and What We Can Do About It, by Dr. Jane M. Healy.
Comment from brettdl
Time: December 18, 2005, 11:12 am
Oh I agree that computers do not replace other forms of learning. But I grew up without an education on how to make money, and that has haunted me to this day.
It certainly is getting more difficult to balance living skills nowadays. For example, how many parents really teach their kids about food? How many even have time? How many kids learn about food in daycare or school instead of from parents?
Somehow, we have to pass on a zillion skills with less and less time to do it.
Comment from Mark Sicignano
Time: December 20, 2005, 12:25 am
If you figure out how to make money, please, do let me know. I must have missed that class also. :-)
It’s tough for families with stretched parents to pass along skills, like cooking, as you pointed out.
It also doesn’t help that kids are so tied up with media that they don’t get involved in the basic chores the same way that we did when we were kids.
We need to shut off the screens more often and have more family time together, including teaching our kids how to do things that they’ll use later in life (but that they don’t teach you in school). They’ll be grateful that you did, as I am grateful for my parents for showing me how.
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