Monday, November 15, 2010

But why do they do that?

How many times have you said to a colleague, or thought to yourself, "But why do kids want to do that?" whether it is texting across the room or posting comments on Facebook two minutes after talking with someone on the phone, or some other weird use of totally unnecessary technology? Adults have an annoying habit of deciding once and for all how people should communicate and which tools they should use--and all of us fall into that trap sometimes. YALSA has a great blog posting every librarian (and teacher and parent) should read pointing out that we don't need to understand why our patrons want to use technology in a certain way. All we need to do is provide the means for them to do it. If we can't fathom why any tween would want to read every graphic novel on the shelves and then go back and start over, so be it. We don't need to understand. We only need to observe and help kids do whatever enriches their lives, whether or not we think it makes sense. We should always avoid immediate judgments about new technology and new formats. Curiosity and a willingness to suspend judgment is a great trait for anyone who works with young people.

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