We Need To Be Sure Not Sorry
A hot topic at the recent Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) meeting in Harrogate reviewed the supposed dangers of wireless technology used in and around schools. told the PAT annual conference delegates: “Until there is a full inquiry based on both existing evidence and on newly-commissioned research work, the nation’s children are being treated as guinea pigs in a large-scale experiment.”
The Health Protection Agency’s advice - that no evidence has so far shown that Wi-Fi causes health problems - and the panned Panorama documentary into the subject, calling children ‘guinea pigs’ is just going to cause parents and teachers unnecessary worry and confusion. On this score we need the next generation to be aware of the implications of science through greater knowledge of the subject.
Technology can occasionally bite back. Whilst modern technology and materials can prove to hold enormous social and economic benefits we do need to assess their long term impact and avoid the occasional Trojan horse.
We don’t yet know of the lasting consequences of WiFi if any, just as we didn’t know about asbestos - a breakthrough in building materials at the time, white finger from power tools, lung infections from coal dust, skin cancer from sun bathing and sun beds, liver damage from binge drinking, and the big one - global warming.
I am by no means a Luddite but feel we need to be sure as best we can before we go gung ho. Otherwise we could leave a nightmare for the next generation to resolve, in addition to the ones we have already given them!
Alistair Owens
