My Father Is A Luddite

I think I may have just outed my dad. You see, my father is a luddite. He is extremely proud of this identity. He uses technology in so much as only when it is an absolute necessity. He has had a cellphone for a couple years. He occasionally listens to CDs using the Discman that I left at home when I went to college. To the best of my knowledge, every email is still printed out. It's not because he can't read them on the computer screen. It seems to be more about maintaining his "ludditeness." My dad does not have an affinity for technology. Although, I recall that he did warm up fairly quickly to the microwave.

Ironically, both of his sons are quite nerdy and into technology. I'm still waiting on my brother to build me a lightsaber, but that's a story for another day. Surrounded by techies (my mom taught me everything I know), my dad has remained steadfastly anti-technology.

I think my dad's views on technology have been instrumental in my own views on tech. Technology is something that my dad interacts with when it is a functional requirement. He uses email for work because that's how his company communicates with him. My dad taught me to always ask "why" with technology. I think that sometimes I project my affinity for technology onto others. My dad always keeps that in check. He never lets me "tweak" his computer or show him something "new."

Recently, I've been pondering the idea of what a student affairs and technology graduate class would look like. Keeping my dad in mind, I've been thinking about how I would structure the class. Starting with "why," I've started a draft and hope to share it soon on the blog. My focus is not about what I would want to learn, but what I think are crucial elements that all student affairs practitioners should know about.

Note: I think that my dad has a fax machine because he knows that I don't know how to use it.

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