|
THIS WEEK—
Monday, Apr. 4
• Hall Asian Day
• 12:30pm | Hall Yearbook meeting
Tuesday, Apr. 5
• Hall Pasta Day
• 8:30am | Superintendent search community input meeting, at NC
• 7:00pm | Superintendent search community input meeting, at Hall
Wednesday, Apr. 6
• Walk & Roll to School Day
• Hall Jamba Juice Day
• 3:10pm | Hall deadline for Hall Weekly Bulletin submissions
— submit item
• 7:00pm | School Board meeting, Hall Library;
— see agenda
• 7:30pm | Corte Madera Larkspur Schools Foundation meeting, NC Conf. Room
Thursday, Apr. 7
• Hall Pizza Day
Friday, Apr. 8
• Hall Chicken/Salad Day
NEXT WEEK—
Apr. 4–11 Spring Recess (no
school)
AHEAD —
Apr. 14: Hall PTA Executive Board
meeting, 1:15pm
Apr. 22: Hall Principal’s List/Honor
Roll Ice Cream Social, at lunchtime
Apr. 23: Hall Campus Improvement Day, 10:00am
Apr. 27: Hall 7th grade Earth Day activity,
2:23pm
Apr. 29: Hall Parent Ed: Cooling Teen
Conflict with Mary Jane DeWolf-Smith, 8:45am
Apr. 25-May 6: STAR testing
May 14: Corte Madera Larkspur Schools F
oundation 25th Anniversary Gala
— Detailed 2004-2005 District Calendar
— Year-at-a-Glance 2004-2005 District Calendar (pdf)
— NEW! Year-at-a-Glance 2005-2006
District Calendar (pdf)
 |
|
PRINCIPAL’S
MESSAGE: Apr. 4, 2005 |
Chinatown, Cell Phones and Communication
Two weeks ago I joined the seventh graders for their field trip to Chinatown.
Our guide, Uncle Gee, told a story about the phone exchange in Chinatown.
Up until relatively recently, all phone calls in Chinatown were routed
through one phone exchange. This exchange was staffed by three women
who had to be fluent in four Chinese dialects, as well as know the names
and locations of every family in Chinatown. Because every phone call
went through the exchange operators, they were involved and aware of
every phone call. You couldn’t call to ask a girl out without the
exchange operators being aware of it. And you could be sure both parents
would hear about it.
This got me talking with a couple of parents, and reflecting
on how communication has changed from the time when we were kids.
When I was young, there was one phone in the house. Eight family
members, one phone. Mounted on the wall in the kitchen. Very
few calls went in or out without public awareness. A phone call
from a friend had to navigate a form of an exchange. Our siblings
or parents acted as exchange operators, verifying who was on
the line and with whom they wanted to speak. It was impossible
to have a phone conversation without everyone else in the house
knowing about it. Our parents were generally aware of whom we
were talking to, and for how long; usually because someone would
go up to them, complaining, “He has been on the phone for
twenty minutes already! I need to make a call!”
Did we like it? No. Did we want our own phone lines? Yes. Did
we get them? No. The net result was that, even though technologically
we had very little – one rotary phone for all of us — some
aspects of our communication were better. Every phone call went
through an exchange operator and happened in the general vicinity
of everyone else. Our parents could watch out for us, and we
could watch out for each other. I could tell you who my little
sister was talking to. And that was a good thing.
After hearing Uncle Gee’s story about the Chinatown phone
exchange, one parent commented, “We got our kids cell phones
because we thought it would improve communication.” In
reality, the cell phones increased the separateness of communication.
Our children spend a lot more time in communication with one
another, and parents are increasingly unaware of those interactions.
Phone calls are now direct connections between private lines
or cell phones, bypassing the familial exchange operator. Between
individual phones in rooms, individual cell phones, and instant
messaging, parental awareness of communication has diminished.
This is not to say that I do not support adolescent privacy
or that I feel we should tap our children’s phone lines.
Privacy and autonomy are important. But so is awareness. Sometimes
simpler is better. In this case, simpler can mean more aware.
And that is a good thing.
—Daniel Norbutas, Principal
ADDITIONAL NEWS—
— on the Hall PTA
pages
— on the Hall Weekly Bulletin (full
online version; password required)
— at the Corte Madera Larkspur
(CML) Schools Foundation website
|
