Volume X, Number III

What does it mean to be alive at this moment? How is modern technology impacting our world and our experiences? Join KidSpirit contributors as they grapple with change, balance, and authenticity in their lives. Through creative work by kids around the world, this issue and discussion guide invite you to examine the habits, concerns, and joys of modern-day life.

1. Each issue of KidSpirit revolves around a Big Question, and this quarter the editors ask, “How Has Technology Altered the Way We View Ourselves?” In her response, contributor Olivia Bailey recalls a trip to Texas that inspired an appreciation for embracing reality and the present moment. From happiness to labels to beauty, she identifies several ways in which technology can warp our view of the world. Read her piece and think of three ways technology affects your life. Are these influences positive, negative, or somewhere in between? Is this the first time you’ve explored technology’s impact, or have you thought about it before? Do you think you may want to do anything differently based on your list?

2. The Interfaith Connections department features an article by Ayla Schultz, who shares her appreciation for the traditional cooking methods used by her grandmother and other ancestors before her. Even as times change, maintaining traditions can help us stay connected to our families and cultures. Do your or your family maintain any traditions even though they may be considered old-fashioned? Why do you think these traditions are important? How do they influence your life?

3. In her poem “Don’t Stop,” middle schooler Jocelyn Ruffner explores the many pressures she faces in daily life. Turn to a neighbor and discuss the demands and expectations she struggles with. Do you face similar pressures? Do you think stress is a fact of life for students today? Why or why not? With your neighbor, take a few moments to share any techniques you may have developed for coping with the tensions of everyday life.

4. John Palfrey, an educator and expert on digital media, contributes this issue’s PerSpectives column. He writes that, despite some downsides, there are many benefits of growing up in the digital age. “Young people have access to more knowledge than any human has ever been able to get their hands on, at virtually no cost, any time, for instance. Young people are engaged in wonderfully creative, life-giving, positive activities online sometimes.” Draw three columns of a sheet of paper and, in each one, list the facts or ideas you’ve learned, people you’ve met, and activities you’ve been a part of because of the internet. How have these ideas/people/activities contributed to your point of view? Do you think your understanding, identity, or passions would be different if you were living in a pre-internet time?