From the Desk of Dr. Stan Ward:

If you are looking for a student leadership resource, I highly recommend Dr. Tim Elmore. He has written a variety of books and blog posts, available at www.growingleaders.com. In a recent blog post, “What Can We Do with an Addiction to Technology?” he lists five proactive steps that parents and educators can take as a positive response. In summary, he suggests:

1. Make sure kids spend just as much “face time” in person as they do “screen time.”
2. Have a conversation that asks them about the advantages and disadvantages of technology.
3. When talking with someone face to face, silence your cell phone. Give priority to people in your presence over those at a distance.
4. Encourage students to talk in person with people older and younger than themselves.
5. Encourage your kids to try a scheduled “technology fast.”

Dr. Elmore also recently posted on how the impact of our digitally connected society: “Connected and Infected.”

Please don’t misunderstand me: I’m not saying that technology is bad by default, but I do think there is a very real benefit from interacting with people in person instead of over the internet. For our own family, we now have “no-screen Sundays” twice a month. I’ve been amazed at both the quality of our family interactions on these days and how much more peaceful our house seems to become.