Mr. Maier began with a quote: "What is it that we shall be engaged in to honor our humanity?" The image that followed was of the life of a medieval serf. (Everyone's go-to image when thinking of technology right?) In that period, he told us, there was little change for hundreds of years. Children grew up watching parents and grandparents doing the same work as their parents and grandparents. This everyday work was done with a deep wisdom passed down through generations and was imbued with intrinsic values. The practice of living in nature and working with nature gave life a rhythm and wove a web of purpose, of wholeness and sensibility that guided and shaped their society.

He continued by saying that when we are engaged in doing things of which only human beings are capable, we call upon our faculties in a specific way. Our senses develop capabilities beyond that of biological limitations. The ear of a musician differentiates not only the note, but the tone and timbre of an oboe versus a clarinet. The eye of a painter perceives the smallest detail of a flower.

What ever we practice perceiving we become more sensitive to perceiving. The perceptions become deeper, more subtle, and we see "more." In this way, what we engage in makes us who we are, therefore, what we engage in has the ability to honor what makes us uniquely human.

What children experience when they're young is very formative in developing these senses. When they engage directly with the richness of life, it allows them to deepen and sharpen their perceptions of the world and to re-create the world within them. The skills that they develop when engaged in the deep wisdom of activities that have intrinsic value are the basis for being human as well as the basis for evolving our human potential.

The evening was informative, inspiring and entertaining. I learned some facts, like I'm not supposed to use my cell phone in front of the kids, (tell me I'm not the only one in the whole school who didn't know that,) but the real gift was a deeper understanding for the values of our school. The question that will now govern my media choices for not just the kids but the whole family is not "why is it bad" but what could we be engaged in instead?  The next morning was proof that at least some of it had sunk in. At 6:15 a.m., Joren questioned me on why he couldn't play with my cell phone. I answered in true early morning fashion with a sincere but poorly worded answer: because, I said, media takes up space in our brains that we need to save for beautiful things. I hope Mr. Maier would approve.