My main reason for commenting (other than the fact that the Olympics just isn’t that interesting) has to do with my 16-year-old. He’s dyslexic, and he spent three years in a special school for very bright dyslexic kids who have trouble with word analysis and therefore with reading. While at that school, he claimed that he could do a better job with his homework and actually concentrate better if he had music on. This just didn’t seem possible to me, so after some father-son battles, I decided to consult his teachers, assuming that they would support my position. They didn’t. Based on their training and experience, they thought it was quite possible that he could indeed concentrate better and stay on task longer if he had other things going on at the same time (even the TV, which was most surprising to me). They felt that for some kids, doing only one thing made them anxious and less able to concentrate. Based on the ruling of the experts, I gave in, Ben seemed to do as well or better in what would have been a much too distracting environment for me, and there were fewer father-son battles. Despite his learning dificulties, Ben has been doing great.

My point?…Even though I agree that for most people, including my son’s generation, multitasking hinders their ability to think deeply, clearly, and critically…people are different, generations are different, and what works for the many might not work for the few. As an educator, I think it’s important that I be reminded of that.