Article originally posted on Commercial Integrator, Europe.
Installers working in a commercial environment will be well aware that technology can enrich a child’s education, but one independent school in London has banned its use – including at home.
Pupils at the London Acorn School, which was founded in 2013 and has annual fees of up to £11,000, are taught using more traditional methods, such as blackboards or outside learning.
Speaking about the ban, Andrew Thorne, chair of the board of directors at Acorn School, referred to the success that has been achieved at similar schools that employ similar measures.
“The purpose [of the ban on technology] is to allow children space to grow. So instead of turning them into consumers of technology and television, they have to learn to create their own activities,” Andrew notes.
“It is about encouraging creativity so that the children are active creators rather than passive consumers.”
While many schools ban the use of smartphones during school time, the Acorn School has taken it one step further – banning use of all screens whether at home or at school.
Pupils are forbidden from watching television before the age of 12 and upon reaching that age are restricted in what they are allowed to watch; namely documentaries that have been approved by parents.
Surfing the web is also strictly forbidden until the age of 16 and computers can only be used as part of the school’s curriculum when a child is over 14.
The school charter reads: “We are against all forms of electronics for small children and only gradual integration towards it in adolescence. That includes the Internet.
“In choosing this school, you have undertaken to support that view, no matter what you may feel personally.”
The school has just 42 pupils with parents reportedly pleased about the results the non-tech approach has achieved.
The Acorn School’s methods are in direct contrast with the UK Government’s stance on IT – with the UK government hoping to make the subject more exciting and encourage children to use technology.
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