That's the part I can't shake. We have allowed technology companies and their products to dictate the terms of the conversation about what education should look like, and too many people, myself included, didn't realize it at first. Broadly speaking, companies didn't have to prove that their devices or software could help students learn before they invaded America's public schools. And now the onus is on parents to shape the conversation about the harms of technology in schools.
Holly Coleman, a parent of two who lives in Kansas and works as a substitute teacher in the school district, explains what her students are missing:
They can type quickly but have trouble writing legibly. They can find information about any topic on the Internet, but they cannot use recall, creativity, or critical thinking to discuss the topic. They can create a beautiful PowerPoint or Keynote in 20 minutes, but they can't write a three-page paper or craft a poster board. Their textbooks are all online, perfect for backpack seams, but the tangible pages under your fingers literally connect you to the material you're reading and learning. These kids don't know how to get through the day without a device in their hands. They are cut off from technology and don't even get a chance to reconnect with each other through eye contact or conversation.
Jonathan Haidt's new book, An Anxious Generation: The Great Rewiring of Childhood is Driving an Epidemic of Mental Illness, explores the use of telephones as a way to ameliorate some of the challenges facing America's children. We recommend schools that do not use it. I agree that there is no place for smartphones on K-12 campuses. But taking away the phones won't solve the problem if kids are still connected to the internet almost all the time on the devices they have in each class.
When the coronavirus hit and screens became the only way for millions of children to “attend” school, not having a personal device became an equity issue. However, we are reaching a point where the opposite may be true. Based on responses to my survey, private schools appear to have been much less screen-reliant than public schools during the remote school era, and many educators are intentionally using low-tech methods for their children. He says he chose the school environment. Some tech workers say they intentionally send their children to school without screens.
We need to reframe the entire conversation about technology in schools. Because it's not clear that we're getting the results we want as a society, and parents are hunkering down for fear of being seen as opposed to progress or preparing the next generation. This is because they are reluctant to do so. For the future. “I feel like it's baby boomers attacking like this,” Lewis said.
But the downsides to using constant screen time in schools go beyond data privacy, job security, and whether certain apps improve math performance by a standard deviation. As Lewis says, using technology in the classroom makes students “very passive, with little need for agency or initiative.” She added, “I'm very concerned about this kind of survival ability and the ability to think critically and the importance of critical thinking outside of employment.”
