The Country School is an independent, coeducational, Pre-K through 8 school founded in 1934.
News
Smart Watches
A good friend of mine received an Apple Watch this Christmas as a gift. She absolutely loves it! She receives texts, sends and receives phone calls, checks her email and gets news and weather updates. Even more importantly, it tracks her exercise, displays her heart rate, alerts her that she has been sitting too long, and that it’s time for some meditation! What can’t it do?! It sounds wonderful and I have seen many of my friends and colleagues sporting these electronic devices. I became a little worried, though, when I began to see these same electronic devices on the wrists of our students.
I decided it was time to look a little more deeply into the pros and cons of children using smart watches. So I read a few articles on them and researched the manufacturers’ websites and here are six things I think parents should know about smart watches before jumping aboard this tech trend:
- Kids will become even more connected! Vibrations will alert your child that they have received a text message or some other social media notification. With a smart watch, your child is literally attached to his or her device. It’s just a little too easy to access.
- You will be able to track your child via GPS on his or her smart watch. This can be a good thing or a bad thing.
- Smart watches will definitely factor into the classroom. They have the potential of being a major distraction from school work. That is one of the reasons we have said they cannot be out or on in school.
- Children will be able to track their level of activity. This has the potential of making fitness more fun for kids.
- For parents who are worried about the amount of time their children spend looking at a screen, this is just one more screen to monitor. It’s already hard to tell if your child is being cyber-bullied or talking to unsavory characters via text message. Keeping track of all of this gets even worse when the device is actually affixed to your child’s wrist.
- There are likely some type of parental controls. What they are and how well they work, I’m not sure. I had a hard time finding much information on what is out there.
I vote no to children wearing smart watches. As an educator, I believe children should be wearing analog watches to help them better learn how to tell time, but you as parents need to make your own decisions about children having these devices outside of school. For now, we know they are too disruptive in our classrooms and on our playgrounds.
Recent News
List of 5 news stories.
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Kindergarten Students Serving Others!
Kindergarteners have been participating in a 3 part HOHO (Helping Others; Helping Ourselves) project lead by Ferris and Laura Butler. Students packed boxes to be shipped to veterans and their families. The boxeswere filled with child friendly, donated items. Also in the boxes were handwritten letters from the students along with a handmade American flag craft. The Butlers carefully orchestrated this project, and we are very grateful for their time and efforts. -
Spring Athletic Award Winners
Congratulations to all our spring athletics award winners and to all our Cougar athletes who participated in sports and clubs! This spring, TCS offered Boys’ and Girls’ Lacrosse, Pickleball Club, Running Club, and Volleyball Club. Providing so many athletic opportunities took a village—thank you to our amazing coaches, volunteers, and parent drivers for making it all possible! And thank you to our students for setting an example of dedication and sportsmanship!Read More -
Summer Trips for Upper School Students in 2025
It is with great excitement that The Country School announces the addition of 2025 summer trips for our Upper School students!Read More -
The Country School Celebrates 90 Years and Installs Jay Parker
Read MoreThe Country School is proud to be celebrating its 90th school year. This milestone year also marks the beginning of a new chapter with the appointment of Jay Parker as the 7th Head of School. -
Conversation & Homecoming - Saturday, February 24, 2024
Read MoreThe Country School, Talbot County Free Library, and the Avalon Foundation, sponsors, join with fourteen other community organizations to present Conversation & Homecoming with Carole Boston Weatherford and her son, Jeffery Boston Weatherford, a program free and open to all.
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