The tablet catastrophe

THE EDITOR, Madam:

AM I the only person who is extremely worried about what is happening to the youth of Jamaica (and America too, I presume); for what I see is, the children who used to play games and read books and create things with their minds and hands – these children are now to be found all over the country holding phones and endlessly playing games on them. It has become a total obsession.

I am living in St Ann and am blessed to have time on my hands and the facilities to help these children to learn, as they cannot go to school. But, the problem is, they do not want to learn. These children have been given phones or tablets by their parents in the hope that they will school themselves hereby, but they are not doing this. The only thing exercising are their tiny fingers as they press buttons to compete against themselves in mindless rotation.

Ten years ago, the children went to school and teachers were there guiding them through the basic maths and English that they would need in order to get jobs when they got older. Today, the children do not feel it is important to learn even these basic skills. What will happen when these children reach maturity and need to fend for themselves out in the world? It has become a constant worry of mine and I cannot see the solution to this problem, which worsens every day.

I look forward to the minds of the educationalists who have thought through this and come up with a solution. SALLY HENZELL