" Our boys and girls will spend much of their lives online professionally, and interact with others on social media, but the social dilemma is that it is not there that they will learn to form true and lasting relationships, or develop the resilience to form real character and experience true joy in life."


IMPORTANCE OF TRADITIONAL GROUNDING


Brain science shows that information is retained more effectively in long-term memory if pupils write rather than type. We think they need to be able to do both. Handwriting in exercise books may seem quaint as the primary method of learning, but the evidence suggests that pupils will operate more effectively online if they have a traditional grounding in grammar, mental maths, and the kind of linear thinking required in composing on paper. There is something of an analogy with science; you need to understand Newtonian physics before you can make the paradigm shift to Relativity Theory. We’ve lost count of the number of employers, reinforced by annual messages from the CBI, who have told us that they want job applicants who can write a decent letter of application, express themselves accurately and cogently on paper and in person, and demonstrate


effective numeracy. An educational


leader in the UK recently said that learning times tables was redundant, as pupils could look them up on their phones. We would regard that as a fundamental educational misconception; it’s back to that metaphor of servant or master.


BALANCED APPROACH


Simon Sinek is a contemporary commentator who advocates restriction and balance in the use of technology, particularly for adolescents. Because of its addictive nature, it can tie the brain into unhelpful coping strategies (in the same way that most alcoholics


32 | Think Global People & Relocate Magazine | relocateglobal.com |


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