I get it, I’m old.

Keith Richards has better hearing than me (that would be a Rolling Stones guitar player reference kids).

My eye site gets worse by the day.  I wear contacts, but also need glasses to read anything smaller than a 24 font.

I just know my next pet will be a guide dog (sorry Buddy, but I need more than your sweet sweet love).

But old doesn’t have to mean naive.

Or just plain stupid.

If you have kids, I’m begging you to be aware.

Here is what I see and experience on a daily basis.

Technology is great.  But just like alcohol and cars, students are sometimes to young and/or immature to handle it.

The great thing about the world today is all of this new technology making the world smaller.

The bad thing for parents with teenagers is it’s making the world smaller.

Trust your kids, but don’t be a moron.

Check their Twitter accounts.

Then check their cell phone texts.

If you ask them if you can and they get mad or defensive, you’re on to something.

As a tired old school administrator, I’ve learned a few things over the years.

One, never eat food prepared by a student (figured this one out the hard way).

Two, never ever smell anything when a student says "Hey, smell this!"  Odds aren’t in your favor that it’s going to be good (if it’s food they’ve prepared, revert back to my last sentence).

Lastly, anyone between the ages of 8 and 18 is a lot smarter than you might think.

My hope is when parents check their children’s phone or social media they aren’t surprised by what they see.

But I won’t be surprised if they are.

Follow your kids on Twitter and Facebook.  It can’t hurt.

Comments: 6
Tags: Buddy the Dog, cell phones, Facebook, Keith Richards, texting, Twitter

az parNts we nEd 2 undRstNd dat email iz fst BcumN an out of D8 teknoloG (d kds dEz dAz don’t roL w d email). teknoloG iz changing, & we (old people) can’t possibly kEp ^. kds nEd somTIN faster & rght nw it iz txt msgN.

f U R foolish Enuf 2 tink dat emailing frm yor desktop iz kEpn ^ w d tImz, I M bout 2 GIV U som bad nuz, old prsn.

My six-year old skul LuvN, SpongeBob watchN (evry episode @ lEst 39 times- I M ded serious), bYk riding, roller blading, giggling ltl 3:o) knOz mo bout teknoloG n d 1st 6 yr.z of her Lyf, thN I knew aftR getin my Master’s Dgre frm a somwot accredited uni..

We nEd 2 cum 2 grips w our futR. az parNts, we R raising a smarter, mo advncd race of ppl whuz onlE purpose on erth iz 2 replAc us.

un4tuN8ly, ther iz Nuttin fune bout DIS. f U R rEDN DIS blog, ther iz n doubt dat U R old & out of D8. evN wen we tink we R cutting edge w our email, mAbE evN a laptop, our ceL phones- we R faLN farther & farther Bhind n UzN teknoloG Ech & evry dA.

We R Pac-Man n an iPod wrld. We live n d presnt, dey (d nu advncd race) R LernN 4 d futR.

dEz v smrt, v ltl ppl R grON ^ n a dfrnt wrld. dey hav n knowLdG of rotary fonez, Y calculators wer kewl, typewriters, Donkey Kong, Polaroid cameras, 8 track tapes, metL ice cube trays, o Y ther wer fone booths @ d gas statN.

dEz kds wiL nevr hav a checkbook, L%k @ a (o) 2 teL tym (dey uz thR ceL phones), coRec thR own spLN on a writiN assignment, o knO d fear of wot wiL hpn @ om f dey R snt 2 d principal’s OPIS @ skul.

dey wiL nevr remMbR a wrld w/o MySpace, iTunes, Facebook, o YouTube.

We R so out of tuch dat students tAk [abc]N, 10 yr.z aftR dey R 1st on a cmptr.

It iz tym 2 admit it. We R old. Not jst a ltl old, I mean rly old teknoloG wise. d wrld iz changing qixlE. It hz advncd since I stRtD typing DIS blog, 3 mins ago (I typ fst; n my previous Lyf I wz a [abc]N Teacher).

yung ppl R not onlE smarter thN we wer @ d sAm age, bt dey R smarter thN us nw. & dey R getin smarter. & smarter. & smarter.

We hav n choice. az elderly adults, we must b proactive. We must git out of thR way b4 dey (d sml people) crush us lIk bugs. It iz tym 2 run & hide & sAv wot ltl prId we hav L.

I M goin 2 lEd d chRj. I M getin out. It iz official, I M dn. n mo blogs. d NXT tym U rED DIS blog it wiL b typed (o possibly voiced) by a technologically advncd six-year old.

She can’t Dcide wot she wiL blog bout. She hz it narrowed dwn 2 dat cinematic classic- hI skul Musical 2, o mAbE a blog bout d world’s greatest ;-o, Justin Timberlake, o mAbE d best invention n d lst twenty-five years- Webkinz (it’s g9, stuffed animLz + cmptr website).

whIl she iz doin dat, I M goin 2 wrk on d VCR- it hz Bin 12:00 pm n our living r%m since we bought d LUG machine 9 yr.z ago.

My dAutr wz goin 2 hlp me, bt she nEdz 2 post an assignment on her claS Wiki (f U R old, U R goin 2 nEd 2 g%gle Wiki…that iz ok…I did).

Comments: 2
Tags: email, texting

As parents we need to understand that email is fast becoming an out of date technology (the kids these days don’t roll with the email). Technology is changing, and we (old people) can’t possibly keep up. Kids need something faster and right now it is text messaging.

If you are foolish enough to think that emailing from your desktop is keeping up with the times, I am about to give you some bad news, old person.

My six-year old school loving, SpongeBob watching (every episode at least 39 times- I am dead serious), bike riding, roller blading, giggling little girl knows more about technology in the first 6 years of her life, than I knew after getting my Master’s Degree from a somewhat accredited university.

We need to come to grips with our future. As parents, we are raising a smarter, more advanced race of people whose only purpose on Earth is to replace us.

Unfortunately, there is nothing funny about this. If you are reading this blog, there is no doubt that you are old and out of date. Even when we think we are cutting edge with our email, maybe even a laptop, our cell phones- we are falling farther and farther behind in using technology each and every day.

We are Pac-Man in an iPod world. We live in the present, they (the new advanced race) are learning for the future.

These very smart, very little people are growing up in a different world. They have no knowledge of rotary phones, why calculators were cool, typewriters, Donkey Kong, Polaroid cameras, 8 track tapes, metal ice cube trays, or why there were phone booths at the gas station.

These kids will never have a checkbook, look at a clock to tell time (they use their cell phones), correct their own spelling on a writing assignment, or know the fear of what will happen at home if they are sent to the principal’s office at school.

They will never remember a world without MySpace, iTunes, Facebook, or YouTube.

We are so out of touch that students take keyboarding, ten years after they are first on a computer.

It is time to admit it. We are old. Not just a little old, I mean really old technology wise. The world is changing quickly. It has advanced since I started typing this blog, three minutes ago (I type fast; in my previous life I was a Keyboarding Teacher).

Young people are not only smarter than we were at the same age, but they are smarter than us now. And they are getting smarter. And smarter. And smarter.

We have no choice. As elderly adults, we must be proactive. We must get out of their way before they (the small people) crush us like bugs. It is time to run and hide and save what little pride we have left.

I am going to lead the charge. I am getting out. It is official, I am done. No more blogs. The next time you read this blog it will be typed (or possibly voiced) by a technologically advanced six-year old.

She can’t decide what she will blog about. She has it narrowed down to that cinematic classic- High School Musical 2, or maybe a blog about the world’s greatest singer, Justin Timberlake, or maybe the best invention in the last twenty-five years- Webkinz (it’s genius, stuffed animals + computer website).

While she is doing that, I am going to work on the VCR- it has been 12:00 pm in our living room since we bought the stupid machine 9 years ago.

My daughter was going to help me, but she needs to post an assignment on her class Wiki (if you are old, you are going to need to Google Wiki…that is ok…I did).

Comments: 3
Tags: email, texting