Technology

It’s not screens that are the problem, per se, but how they are used, and how schools and teachers were rely upon them to do every single little thing rather than using an appropriate methodology which integrates traditional teaching techniques which use technology to assist.

No. Shit.

Giving every student a distraction to take with them everywhere typically is a bad idea.

This has been a major problem for my kid. They don’t even lock down the iPads they issue so they just do whatever. So when my kid is failing classes because he’s not doing assignments in class and it turns out he’s just on YouTube all day, it’s like why the fuck are they even able to get on that in the first place? Doesn’t matter how tightly I restrict technology at home when his school just says fuck it.

The issue here is that the technology itself, instruction, and implementation was incredibly poor this century. Schools weren't doing basic things like typing classes for primary school, there was no instruction on how to program or use the operating systems, and kids weren't given PCs; they were given tablets and chrome books which favored internet access based learning platforms over products stored locally on machines.

I grew up during the 1980s, and my primary schools had 1 apple pc in the classroom. We took turns learning typing. We learned how to operate the machines by inserting floppies and typing commands. Things we were given access to were all instructional. I have vivid memories of learning math via computer with a program called number muncher.

Access to the tech was limited and supervised. This is what created an environment that taught me how to use computers as I transitioned to secondary education. This century, all of the implemented controls were related to limiting access to pornography rather than teaching students anything about the actual tech. Now we have a generation of people entering the workforce that don't know how to use PCs just like the boomer demographic.

I'm in tech and a connoisseur of modern stuff, but even I wouldn't want my non existing kids to be screen only. Have an IT class to get them to know how to use those devices, then back to books and paper. A friend struggles like hell keeping her son from spending his whole day on digital devices, if the school pulled that off, he'd be toast.

“TEchMoLoGy iS tHe fUTuRe anD wE mUSt PrEpArE tHE stUdEnTs!”

Yeah, no. You can stick to teaching them core curriculum. Speaking on behalf of GenX, we never needed school to tell us how to use technology.

I preferred pen and paper for note taking, didn't take notes on laptop for CS uni even. But having instruction material in digital form wins imo. Bulky exercise books are not worth it imo. I suspect publishers prefer those for beefy books for other reasons....but I would not be surprised if for lower elementary school exercise books with lots of images and fun exercises have positive impact.

Let's also remember that before the screens, we had shitty textbooks, and underpaid teachers and a serious shortage of supplies.

Schools in the United States need more than a review of tech, but a complete overhaul and a budget that doesn't look like Republicans are literally trying to kill the education system.

We can blame Google, Microsoft, and Apple for this mess.

But after these funds dried up, schools have struggled to replace broken or outdated devices, which last on average less than a decade despite Google’s efforts to extend device life spans.

HA

Toss the chromebooks and let kids mess with the inner workings of the computer. Teach them to make their own backups and have restore drives available.

Wow! Who could've thought of that?! /s

How is it that it took until 2026, nearly 100 years after the advent of the nuclear bomb, for school administrators to realize that not all technology is inherently good in every application?

It's not the tech, it's capitalism, and the fact the people making decisions are usually oblivious to the dangers of capitalistic tech.

But the tech companies told me that everyone should learn to code in grade school!

Wonder when they'll admit that AI existing at all makes students much, much worse off?

Only way I have ever learned, in school, is by writing notes by hand into my own notebooks. Rewriting text book chapters, taking notes from teacher, writing answers down. It takes time, longer than taking notes on a laptop. But writing on laptop just doesn't "stick" the information into my head. Back in high school, I was the last student to still hand-in my essays etc in paper and my teachers were very happy to grade them, one told me it brought her good memories from the times there were less screens and teaching was easier. No wonder..

When I had laptop in glass, it was very easy to play games, watch Netflix or scroll Reddit. I had no self-control, I was not able to force myself to focus in learning. They started using laptops and tablets in glasses when we were 13 and most of us found ways to play games etc on them, bypassed the restrictions. And we shared the knowledge on that. Oh, also I dropped out eventually.

TL;DR: it’s not the screens or tech’s fault. It’s the overall pressure to lower standards and people that for whatever reason can't work with tech.

After seeing my kids go through school I’d say the chief issues with performance are external. Tech and screens are like any tool, they’re only as good as the user.

Parents and society place less importance on education and critical thinking, in fact they often insult it. Parents teach their kids that they’re not responsible for their failings, it’s the teacher’s or the school’s fault. Parent’s don’t have the knowledge to help with the tech, nor will they police the kid’s use of the tech, either because they dgaf or can’t understand it. Teaching standards keep moving the goalposts to help the least common denominator. Teachers also aren’t allowed to teach in a way, there’s always some “do-gooder” latest study that’s supposed to teach kids better, but it’s bullshit management worried more about studies and metrics than just teaching. Teachers spend more time jumping through hoops than teaching.

Using laptops to replace books and writing is not a tech first approach in the first place. It's just that you replace a book with a computer, that's not tech education. The letters and words are still the same, except now you have a distracting screen in front of a kid on a machine that can do other things to satisfy the impulses of a bored kid. There is nothing wrong with laptops in class just use it to teach the kids to use the tech for things those machines were build for. And not as a book and a teaching assistant substitute. Teach kids how to operate a real OS, teach them basic cyber security and cyber hygiene, let them install a printer and wifi. Anything that is useful for when they will use a PC as adults.