Is it too clinical to use a psychological approach in the classroom? Have I been watching too much Dr. Phil or am I on to something here when it comes to connecting with students in Hong Kong?
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Is it too clinical to use a psychological approach in the classroom? Have I been watching too much Dr. Phil or am I on to something here when it comes to connecting with students in Hong Kong?
Feeling warm and gooey inside after listening to an episode or two? Please share the love and leave me a review here in Apple Podcasts.(Tap on “Write a Review” below)👇🏻
Podcast website:
https://hk-esl.buzzsprout.com/
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/hong_kong_esl
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/hong_kong_esl
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/hongkongesl
YouTube:
So going downstairs to a restaurant with my daughter couldn't help but notice a couple behind us looking at their phones throughout the entire dinner five months ago I would have been Wait a minute, don't even talk or socialise. But these days with these high anxiety times, is it appropriate? Is it something that's helpful during this pandemic, to sustain social distancing?
Unknown Speaker :Welcome to Hong Kong easy to
Unknown Speaker :see one apple take one
Unknown Speaker :you're listening to honking
Unknown Speaker :seen one apple take to
Unknown Speaker :welcome to Hong Kong ESL
Unknown Speaker :I love going to a restaurant. And when I look at people, I see the enjoyment. And I see families as well enjoying the interaction, no interaction, do I mean that they are actually talking to each other?
Unknown Speaker :Or are they interacting with devices? Can they still interact with devices and their family and still be genuine? I've asked myself this question because I find myself when a text message comes in, that my focus is 100% on that text message because it's work with it. And when I do that, I know that there's a very slim chance
Unknown Speaker :that I'll be able to put my mind in this space where I'm focusing on that work that I'm doing at that point. And also, listen
Unknown Speaker :To my family, while being mindful of the environment around me. Now, kids these days, they love to have those devices.
Unknown Speaker :Now I'm gonna flashback 30 years, I was 14.
Unknown Speaker :And I so heavily relied on devices. I had a Nintendo. I had this cool little game watch that had Donkey Kong on it.
Unknown Speaker :I had my dad's old computer, and it wasn't that fast, mostly for writing documents. But that was good enough for me. But in this world now, we kind of rely on what's out there and for the simplified way to communicate, which nearly replaces our social communication with people in general. Now, can social communication still be genuine through text messaging, through emails? That's up for debate. But the way I see it is that intonation usually is everything and I talked about this in the first episode, but what I really want to focus on
Unknown Speaker :on how we can compensate for that. We can be role models to illustrate points to kids, to our family, and even to our spouses about how sometimes it's important to look at several things and sort of divide the attention equally. And in doing that, we're able to focus on multiple things, surprisingly, because in this day and age, that's the requirement. Now, if you're doing three or four things at once to find that, does it mean you're eating, looking at your phone, listening to the news, and answering your daughter's questions all at the same time? Perhaps not. Because who can imagine there might be able to divide it equally?
Unknown Speaker :Is there a priority that kind of signals off in our brain when it comes to and I don't just mean work when it comes to being mindful of the spouse's needs or when it comes to simply looking up that people
Unknown Speaker :When you're in their space, and you don't really want to be the type that is like a zombie walking around with your phone. Now I wanted to make this episode because I have a few questions that I wanted to not really provide all the answers to just get some feedback based on my experience here in Hong Kong. And the experience out here in the past 10 years, could somewhat be in alignment with how things have been in the US during that time. And by that I mean, in terms of devices and work being facilitated for us with a computer in our palm, and with entertainment. A tap away. What are we to do when it comes to the balance? Do we need multiple devices in our house? Can we share one with our kids? Is it possible to have one or two games on there for kids entertainment after a hard day at school or or do they need 10 or 15 or 20? Now what can we do during these times when
Unknown Speaker :When social distancing is the norm, and that also means distance learning. Now, I love that Lately, I've been seeing a lot of these companies exhibit the power of distance learning. And my hats off to those people who cobbled up everything together and all their resources. And we're able to come up with things that were quite brilliant. And by that, I mean, we have 3d museums, underwater adventures all online. It's almost like being there. And what I want to say about that is that it is wonderfully compensating for what's not available in terms of social connection in person. And when that happens, we have to see how people are indeed doing the best for educators, parents, and professionals to be able to work around all those things that we couldn't connect to, at the start of this pandemic. So I was looking at a few questions.
Unknown Speaker :In a psychology book, child psychology about how it's essential that not just parents, but that we all reflect on ourselves and on children when it comes to internet usage devices of any sort, even without a Wi Fi connection, even though it comes to looking at a screen for too long, at a Kindle nook, and, and we have to think about those things in terms of necessity. So, I talked before about necessity and what we need in terms of cost. But in this episode, I want to reflect on it in terms of need, and what's essential during these times, especially. So how much time do children of different ages spend viewing television? You can easily look on your smartphone or your tablet, to see how many hours I've been logged in. Do all of us do that? Do we set security so that our kids have that limitation? Because so much time goes by and there's so much entertainment
Unknown Speaker :That's being had, that that time literally flies right by. And before you know what three and a half hours have gone by video games on our smartphones and tablets are only a temporary stimulus for kids, teens and adults. What we have to do is find the enjoyment in it, but not become completely consumed to the point where we have to rely on it. Now, what kinds of programmes are children attending to? And how are they watching them? are they watching them on a very small screen? On the right home from school? Is the brightness up? Is it down? understandably, parents don't want their kids looking at a bright screen all the time, especially with all the classes that they have nowadays online. So understandably, there is information out there, perhaps another parent advises them. My child is not watching that until after their classes. And even if he does, it's for no more than 30 minutes.
Unknown Speaker :And the brightness is all the way down. So I find that when I see that, I can imagine that it's helpful. However, I do understand that every person's eyesight is different.
Unknown Speaker :So I one time saw an adult, a professional, a business guy with his iPad in a landscape position, which means he was playing a game and Okay, maybe I was being a little presumptuous, was it a game, I peered over and I saw that, in fact, was a game. I think that this is the stimulus that we need as adults as well. It is calming and soothing. music can be as well, different forms of entertainment, or even a concentration that we would like to have, whether in the form of just collecting our thoughts, or playing a game that really taps into our comfort zone. Unlike reading a book. Now, it's not the same as looking at a screen and reading the book. I like to read the words
Unknown Speaker :From the pages, I like to feel the book in my hand. I like the sound that it makes when I turn a page. This is just me. But if I'm at the beach, and the sun is shining down, and I happen to have a ebook reader, then I think it's incredibly convenient. It does not replace the old fashioned notion of having a book in my hand, however, but is it more than just convenient? Is it making our lives easy? Or is it making our lives too easy as a parent and as a child or teen?
Unknown Speaker :So as you all know, kids enjoy YouTube. I mean, who doesn't there's something out there for everyone. There are millions of hours being uploaded every day.
Unknown Speaker :And with that comes a whole host of subcategories. Under topics that kids and family enjoy. Whether it comes to learning how to play chess, or Washington dishes or even boiling water. Maybe not as much fun for kids.
Unknown Speaker :Who have at the power of their fingertips to be able to control and access anything they want to. But with that comes an additional layer that we do have to be concerned about as parents. YouTube is something that, I think, has helped me tremendously in more ways than one. I didn't know anything about coding. I looked it up. I didn't know how to make a spreadsheet A few years ago, but then I looked it up on YouTube. So with that in mind, is it going to become the norm, that some sort of graphical interface will be necessary to hold our attention and I don't mean just kids. These days we love when we see an article. And I'm talking to the professionals out there who certainly have a smartphone or a tablet at least in addition to their computer, that there's a degree of stimulus that courses through us when we see images and
Unknown Speaker :been tempted myself to click on things that maybe are not interesting to me articles. I'll see a thumbnail that's so captivating that I want to simply to see if that article encapsulates something that correlates to that image.
Unknown Speaker :What do children comprehend about television programming, they see it as visual stimuli and want to absorb all the high definition glory with games and videos. This is something that's completely out of control. In some respects. We don't even have a notion these days of what it's like to not have a device in our hands. And I don't mean just a smartwatch. Back in the 90s I had a smartwatch and all it was was a Casio with a calculator on it. And I was one of the most popular guys at school for a couple of days because of that watch. But these days, everyone has some sort of device that facilitates or life entertains them
Unknown Speaker :And even educates them on a daily basis. Now, is there a wide disparity between those three? Does it depend on the parental unit to enforce whether or not the learning aspect within a device is 70%? or higher? Or is there an interest that is generated within a child or teen from seeing something else, whether it be imagery of the outback in Australia, or of a certain animal that's on the threshold of becoming extinct. There are things that raise awareness within something that's so accessible and so quickly. And on that basis, it's so essential that this doors open for all of us to see what could perhaps be our next area of interest, perhaps that interest that we
Unknown Speaker :acquired
Unknown Speaker :become something that turns into business, even a career, even something that turns into philanthropy, we never will know, until we learn enough about it, as opposed to having to go to a library and doing independent research. We just have something in the palm of our hand to be able to look it up within a couple of seconds, and then have an answer for us.
Unknown Speaker :How our cognitive and language development influenced by viewing television. Now, those are a couple of psychiatric words there. The good news is that in small doses, and especially for children during their formative years, this is absolutely essential for them to build upon language development, and also to be able to articulate their thoughts when it comes to something especially when it's a point of interest that they're very passionate about. Now, there are different viewpoints about what is in fact, something that's not excessive
Unknown Speaker :Have increments in 1530 minutes, I had a student that told me that they are so happy. Because after school when they get home, they're allowed 20 minutes on the iPad. And even with that, there are only certain apps that they're allowed to access. 20 minutes is so precious to them. It goes by so quick, though, is that enough? Is that enough to garner an interest in something, or to supplement for their school projects, or even to help them about social distancing? Current Events, something that may assist in helping them understand why students and classmates do the things they do, or to identify with other people in YouTube videos, who are experiencing teachers who are maybe too strict perceptions from other classmates that help them understand why it is that they are not the only ones that are experiencing those kind of issues. Those are the benefits of having something like that, especially when it's narrowed down by parental
Unknown Speaker :units in terms of what they're allowed to watch, and how often they can and for how long each day? What influence does television viewing have on social development? So depending on the shows kids watch these days, their formative years, it can go both ways, either a negative or a positive impact. Are the characters in the show.
Unknown Speaker :even remotely representative of those in real life now, cartoons are lots of fun. I mean, I had my enjoyment as a kid, Tom and Jerry, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Garfield, are they role models? Probably not. I think at the most Scooby Doo at least had the characters worked with things as a team and I was able to be influenced by that in a positive fashion. So not everything is going to be peachy keen when it comes to the content and and how its represented. Because there are an assortment of ideas from producers of that content.
Unknown Speaker :that don't necessarily get aligned with your own views. And I think this is important for us to weigh in on and see what exactly is best for our kids, ourselves, and even our friends and family.
Unknown Speaker :As I discussed before, in a previous episode, it's the norm to have a caretaker in the family out in Hong Kong. And some people see it as well. Is that a replacement for parental unit? The culture out here is relying on it because this is a busy and bustling city. Kids need to be taken to school. Not everyone has a car, and there are dual career families. So to me, in my own view, is quite essential. We need to have a bit of help when it comes to that. So I don't see it as a hack. I see it as essential help, especially when it comes to raising a family. Now does it get out of hand sometimes? Most certainly it does. When that happens, I'm not wanting to
Unknown Speaker :But I do see it happen. Being in the education field, sometimes kids are so reliant on almost everything as a result of having a little bit too much care at home. So, with that in mind, it's quite tempting to have a caretaker perhaps allow that child watch another 20 or 30 minutes more than they should have. Or maybe it was a really rough day for that caretaker and they just want to take a load off and why not give them another 30 or 40 minutes on that smartphone or tablet.
Unknown Speaker :Okay, so how about the just one more thing in relation to today's topic. So for the past couple of months, our idea of an outing
Unknown Speaker :is going down to Ruby Tuesday's and getting takeaway and bringing it home, or going down and getting some boba milk tea and bringing it back. This has been something that we truly look forward to, given the stay at home orders. because quite honestly, aside from the work that we have at home, and now that it's summer, there's really nothing else to do. So, with that said, I've been witness to more situations in matters that show me how people are reacting during this time, especially when it's a bit high on the anxiety levels. So, so I am seeing more of people zoning out on their phones while walking. I'm seeing people on the subway, forgetting their phones. Everything that I am seeing is in relation to a device of some sort. And it's probably unfair to judge these people or even characterise their personalities.
Unknown Speaker :clumsy, forgetful, or mindless, when, for more reason, they've been using these devices even more so lately, and are relying on them to gain more knowledge to communicate to their bosses, to communicate to their colleagues, to their friends and to their family. I see it as something that is teetering on the annoyance side. But for the most part, it's pretty fun, because at least those people are having larger doses of entertainment on their commute home. And their life is made simple by being able to communicate with text messaging right there in the palm of our hand. But it's happening so much to the point where you have to worry about the safety of individuals and of their kids. Because if we were to demonstrate something to our kids or to our students in regards to limiting the time on the phone, or to making sure that baby sister is being spoken to once in a while, even though she's quite young.
Unknown Speaker :It's that recognition that is particularly important at a young age. And it also helps to build confidence in the older sibling so that they can see that they were a role model at quite a young age as well. So when I see all of the ongoing things that happen, that sometimes results in minds appearing very preoccupied, that we just have to sit back and hope that those situations are for the better because ultimately what it comes down to is that we are not ones to judge and we certainly have a lot of things to learn ourselves, especially when it comes to improvising and most importantly, when we have to alter lifestyle, and become more aware, as things may escalate in our respective cities.
Unknown Speaker :I had a good time talking about this. I can go probably another hour talking about things in Hong Kong. And I think what I would like to focus on next time is more on my growth.
Unknown Speaker :In Hong Kong with the help of others who have been there, to give me a nudge when it comes to advice on business, but also when it comes to interacting with the locals. So I'm not appearing to be someone that is a newbie, for lack of a better term, or someone who is trying too hard to blend in and appreciate the walk down memory lane and for you to join me for it. Hope to see you next time. Thanks for listening and keep the education alive.
Unknown Speaker :Hello