As Susan Engel and Marlene Sandstrom were quoted in the article, "when a school and community adopt values that are rooted in treating others with dignity and respect, children's behavior can change." (p. 12) I fell as though this was one of the most pertinent points made in the article in relation to my future career.  In early education (birth-3yrs) I will not have to deal with a lot of the problems mentioned in the article. However, I can instill in the children I will be teaching values that will help to build a strong foundation of morals that will prevent issues of bullying and unwise decisions down the road.  I will also work with the parents to help them to become technology literate and to educate them on the potential issues that come with technology. Through parent education, I will be able to affect the conduct of the child down the road.  This goes along with one of the four steps of change as recommended by the article, I will "support parents and the school-to-home connection with parent guides." (p. 15) My work may allow me to go beyond a 'parent guide' to being able to have a discussion face to face during a home visit or other meeting.  I believe that the most important way to stop many of the troubles that arise because of the internet/technology is to educate the parents and to show them how to be support their children.

Transliteracy worries me a little bit simply because I feel like the gap in education between socioeconomic status will broaden. How can a student become technology literate when they family cannot afford to turn on the heat let alone to buy a computer?  Students who grow up in a house with iPhones, iPads, computers, tvs, gaming stations, and cameras are set up to have a foundational knowledge about technology.  I guess I am wondering how learning for a child can be equal when one has more 'advantages' at home. I guess I am going off on this tangent, because teaching internet focus skills does not pertain as much to early intervention, but giving students a foundation of learning in technology does. 

When reading the slogans, the one that caught my attention was "we need to read, not speed."  While I understand the premise behind this idea, I feel like I disagree with it in part.  I know that I assess the quality of a webpage by quickly looking at the way the information is presented.  I feel like this is a valid skill to have though.  If I search 'early intervention' on google, 76,600,000 results come up.  To slowly read all of these pages would take more than my lifetime, therefore I need to have some way to sort the information. In order to sort through this information I must quickly assess if the website (and therefore information) is worth my time.  This is where the 'speed' comes in handy.  It gets me to the information that I am looking for faster. 

Reading this article really hit home for me.  My mom has always made fun of me for taking my time in purchasing a product as I spend a good deal of time looking at ALL of my options.  Sometimes I become frustrated and annoyed with the 'task' of finding the perfect dress or the cutest sheets, or in the case of this last summer--the best car.  I spent months looking for the right car, it was a big purchase and I was going to find the perfect automobile and was willing to wait until it came about.  I looked and waited, waited and looked and nothing came about. I got so overwhelmed with all of the information, that I gave up.  Then my family went on a camping trip (technology-less) and a family friend heard that I was interested in finding a car.  He said he knew someone that had a reliable car for a great price. (Being a car dealer, I trusted him entirely.) Once we got back, I had his dealership look over the car, and then when I got the 'all clear' I bought it.  No internet involved.  This process made me feel less anxiety and was easier than using the internet alternative.  I think it is extremely easy to become overwhelmed with the options on the internet and taking a step away from it, for big decisions, can be in the person's best interest. 

I think the idea that some of our best decisions are made through a form of unconscious decision making is really interesting.  As a person, I like to feel informed and in control, so to hear that being so may not be in my best interest, surprised me. The thought that an info-glut can just lead to poor decisions down the road seems contrary.  I would think that the more information one knows about something, the more informed of a decision they will be able to make about it.  To hear the opposite, really makes me step back and look at the way in which I make choices.