About 15 years ago, when my children were still in elementary school, I was very active in the Parent Teacher Association. At one of the monthly meetings the topic of discussion was the new curriculum (课程) that the state of Michigan was presenting. Many concerns were voiced at that meeting, and one of them was my own. My concern was that the children were being taught things that were once taught at a much later age.
Let's face it：children today have to learn and adapt to (适应) a more technological society, one where if you're not a peak performer you're just not well received. Some say that the children of today have it so much easier than 10—20 years ago. They're given so much more, not having to work for their toys and little extras. They sit all day long in front of a computer playing games. . . How hard can that be?
I, for one, think that today's child is missing out on so many wonderful experiences because of technology. What type of people skills are they learning? They can thumbtype faster than any other generation before them, but they can't pick up the phone and have a really deep conversation.
There is an elementary school not far behind my home and I used to see children on the playground every day. Weekdays and weekends, there would be children playing，shouting with joy. But now I don't see many children there after school, nor on the weekend. Has the playground gone from our children's life?
I know many teachers, some of whom are my friends, may throw_a_shoe_at me when I say play doesn't always need to have a purpose. And it doesn't always have to have a teaching module included. To compete in today's world, the children have to be experts at multitasking (多任务处理), and on top of their game at all times. I, for one, think this is a shame.
