Last year Lower School Spanish teacher Carla Horta was awarded the John Watson Moore grant. Please read about her Camino de Santiago pilgrimage below and view the attached movie.

The Camino de Santiago is an old pilgrimage route to the city of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, the supposed burial place of the apostle St. James. The bit of the pilgrimage that I did is perhaps part of the most traditional stretch which is known as the camino francés. My journey started in Astorga, located at a distance of around 258 km (160 miles) east of Santiago de Compostela.

Through the camino, I met many people; among them were children who happened to be natives of Spain. I had the opportunity to talk and interview some of the children who were doing the camino with their family as part of  their summer experience. 

The majority of the camino was very challenging due to the inclines of the hills and condition of the dirt roads.  It sure felt great to have finally arrived, but in the end, the journey and the people I met were the reward.  And thanks to Duke School and the John Watson Moore grant I was able to experience an unforgettable journey. 

Our Changing Online Lives by David O'Connell

Each year, we get several questions from parents regarding their children’s internet use. Many parents, if not most, find themselves a bit overwhelmed by the pace of new technology, especially when they see their children so technologically adept. Most questions fall into two general categories: 

1. How can I understand the latest technology my child is using?
2. How can I best help my child navigate the online world?

In 2010, the Kaiser Family Foundation published its latest results of a ten-year longitudinal study (Generation M2) on the media consumption habits of kids aged 8-18. Kaisers’ definition of media ranges from TV, music, computers, to magazines and books.  When the study was initially done in 1999 there were no iPods, iPads or iPhones (and Apple stock averaged around the $50 mark). A majority of teens’ media exposure came mainly from a television, often situated in a family space. Today, while TV content is still king, teens’ viewing habits have changed.  Adolescents are more likely to receive TV or other types of media on a personal device, often with no one monitoring or helping them interpret the content.

The study concluded that those between the ages of 8 and 18 spent 7.5 hours per day with electronic devices, not including the time spent texting or talking on a cell phone.  On average, because teens often use more than one device at a time, they consume over 10 hours of content in that 7.5 hours. The study also linked low academic achievement with heavy electronic device use.  What was not clear is whether the use of the devices causes the problems, or those with difficulties turn to the devices.

While I understand that the typical Duke School student may not fold neatly into the Kaiser survey, (many DS parents find books under their child’s pillow, not media devices) the report should at least lead us to raise an eyebrow. While I doubt most DS students are consuming 10 hours of electronic media content a day, I do not doubt that our rate of increase parallels the outside world.

Lastly the study emphasized the importance of parents creating guidelines for their sons’ and daughters’ use of devices such as iPods, smart phones and laptops. It is difficult to create effective rules without understanding the technology.  With that in mind, I invite parents to come work with us for an evening in February (date and details to follow) to learn about the technology your son or daughter uses and discuss recommendations for creating effective guidelines.

The complete Kaiser study is available at http://www.kff.org/entmedia/8010.cfm