April 2026 - Kids and Technology and more

I know that many of my newsletters over the past year have had a negative tone to them as I have commented on the world around us.  I’ve never had such a hard time finding good news!  But today we’re in luck.  It’s a mere glimmer, but I have noticed an increasing number of articles coming out that are acknowledging the damage that technology is having in the classroom.  Multiple studies are showing that schools that stick with traditional books, chalkboard, pen and paper produce children with higher IQ’s and more positive self-esteem.

And this trend to kick tech out of the classroom is apparently gaining traction.  It has even been acknowledged by some tech titans that they don’t allow their own children to have cell phones or tablets!  Why is this good news for the Christian church?  Well, it’s no secret that social media in particular has led to the anti-socialization and even demonization of young minds.  Add to that the fact that tech devices and their content have reduced children’s attention spans to an all time low.  Teachers and even college professors report that their students don’t read books or write papers anymore, rather allowing AI to do all the work for them.  These behaviors just lead to dependency and easy indoctrination. It’s no wonder that young people have been leaving the church in large numbers as they travel along the wide road of self-indulgence.  Hopefully, parents and school administrators are finally waking up to the value of traditional methods of learning and the development of critical thinking skills.
 
Sixteen hundred years ago, St Augustine wrote that faith (religion) and reason (science) are intertwined; our faith motivates us to understand the world around us, and our critical thinking allows us to make good choices, including the ability to fathom the truth of the Gospel. May God open the eyes of more families to come to a saving grace in God and return to our Christian communities.