Internet Bus

A school district in Arizona has incorporated WiFi technology into one of their school buses allowing students to access the internet while riding to or from school.  This internet bus has virtually eliminated bus rowdiness and replaced it with engaged teenagers working (or playing) on the net.

I love this idea.  Homework seems to be out of control.  It is not unusual for my son to have 2 1/2 hours of homework a night.  This makes for a long school day.  Why not use technology to give kids the choice to work on the way home?  If that means they are focused on a productive task instead of using idle hands and minds to cause trouble, great.

However, I do think it raises some questions regarding this generation and our societal shift.  Our efficiency has become so good that we can continue to add more tasks to our days.  Don't our kids need some downtown?  I remember a 2 hour commute I did for over a year while living in Chicago.  Although traffic made me a little crazy, it did give me time to clear my head from the work day.  When do our kids get to relax?  After homework it is rushing to a sport or music practice or community service requirements.  Are we teaching them that a little time during the day to be "off" is not permitted or regarded well?

It's obviously beneficial to the bus drivers that the internet has eliminated or vastly reduced poor behavior.  But I think that is the easy way out.  Our kids need to be taught how to occupy themselves constructively and how to behavior appropriately when a distraction like the web isn't available.  The problem exists, this is just a cover up.  This internet bus is a new thing so of course the kids are interested in it, but if manners and self control are not taught the kids will simply get over this distraction and we will have to find another way to reduce poor bus behavior.

I would be curious to see the quality of work produced on the bus versus at home.  Can our teenagers avoid the bus distractions and friends to produce thoughtful work?  I would hope so.  Or is the bus another option for homework procrastinators?  With this option we should also talk about time management.  This would be a terrific research project.

I guess in the long run it doesn't matter too much.  I would argue for WiFi everywhere.