blah-g

no, it's not my accent. it's my mood. my smartphone feels like an insufferable taskmaster - never leaving me room to even breathe before updating me with news of this, reminders of that, posts about OMG, and messages from people, groups, extended groups, groups i don't know how i got to be a part of, some of which i don't even know what they are. emailed reminders from school can be included in this list (though they are most useful in keeping me from falling behind) and so, here i am, with my phone next to me on airplane mode, so i can just catch up.

i just breezed through a unit on making good use of smartphones in school. with the stat of "94% of students check social media during the school day" supposedly inspiring an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality, i took the bait and watched a whole 6 minute video on how embracing the use of (multiple!) devices during the school day encourages responsible use of devices and helps the students feel the 7 hours of school aren't so disconnected from the other 14 hours of their day, which, presumably, are spent "device in hand".

call me crazy but i enjoy sitting with my teachers and talking, discussing, reading, learning, and, specifically, NOT HAVING MY PHONE IN MY HAND. not to mention that, even at my slightly more mature age, i find it impossible to look at my phone (say i'm looking up something or translating something for class) and completely disregard the messages coming in from my kids, my husband, my mom (what sized snow boots do i need from Costco? she's waiting for an answer. she's in the store!), about comments on my facebook posts, whatever. i also didn't see (in the video) how these inevitable distractions are avoided or minimized. i'd love to spend a day in that school district and judge for myself. not based on the 6 minute video. call me cynical. or chalk it up to my mood.

something i learned this semester which i really took to heart was a chart about effective time management. it was divided up like this:

Not Urgent                                                                     Urgent
___________________________________________________________________________
activities that instill values;                                         unanticipated emergencies;
preparedness activities (dental visits,                          exam tomorrow (forgot to study);
studying for an exam next week, etc);                         other 'lack of planning' emergencies 
quality time spent with loved ones                              (flying tomorrow, forgot to          Important
                                                                                     update passport, etc)
                                                                                                                                       

____________________________________________________________________________

pretty much all internet surfing;                                  time about to expire on
social media (FB, instagram, etc)                                the WORDCRACK game          
video games                                                                 i started last week;      
                                                                                     halftime show at the superbowl about to start;     
                                                                                     new alert on the smartphone  begging to be                                                                                                                                                            checked                               Not Important                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

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needless to say i'm that mom who brought the lesson home and taught it to my teenage kids. now, every once in a while when it's not clear they are making the best time management choices i ask them if we are hanging out in the not-urgent/not-important corner? they absolutely love this

(*insert eye-roll here*)

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