I never thought I’d see this in grade school

I’ve grown accustomed to seeing computers in school now. Even in elementary schools. Kids these days just “get” computers. They don’t even see them as a challenge. It’s just second nature to them.

But here’s one I didn’t see coming. My first-grade son came home from school yesterday and started telling me about Benny Goodman. When I asked him where he learned about Benny Goodman he told me he saw him on YouTube.

Did you just say YouTube?

I actually had to ask my son if he really just said YouTube. He did. In fact, my son asked me if he could go on the computer to show me the YouTube video he watched in school.

This one was a little tricky for me. I have no problem letting my kids use the computer and even go on a few web sites on their own. But the web sites I let them visit are sites like Webkinz and Playhouse Disney. Not YouTube. Although YouTube has rules in place about what content they do and do not allow, one mistyped search can get you into some troubled waters pretty quick.

Only if Dad is driving

But since I encourage my children to embrace technology (they really don’t have much of a choice living with me), I told my son that he could show me the YouTube video but only if he let me do all of the navigating on the computer. Luckily, he was perfect ok with this.

So on to YouTube we went where I did a quick search for Benny Goodman. My son immediately recognized the video in the search results and gave me a resounding, “click that one!”

If you’re feeling nastalgic and have a couple minutes to burn, here’s the Benny Goodman video, dating back to 1937: