Too many screens in schools? No textbooks?

[Anonymous]

After touring my child's new FCPS elementary school earlier this summer, I was shocked to learn just how much screens are used (and actual textbooks are not) for learning. The admin who gave me the tour said it's much more engaging that way (meaning students are engaging more with each other and in the lesson rather than "buried in their own textbooks") but this doesn't ring true to me. There is research that shows kids don't absorb content as well when learning from screens as opposed to books, too. I am not 100% anti-screens, I get the world we live in, but any parents or teachers have thoughts/feedback about this?

[Anonymous]

Most parents in my circle feel exactly the same way as you. My kids are in middle school but if I could go back in time I would have chosen another route. It's a big regret of mine.

[Anonymous]

There is such a twilight zone about this. The public school families I know IRL are just as concerned about screen use as OP and PP, and most would go private if they could find an affordable non-religious option. Yet posters on here are like “I have a $3m HHI and prefer public schools”

[Anonymous]

LCPS elementary teacher (and parent) and I absolutely agree. If they gave us actual textbooks, it would help greatly. For example, in science we have a digital “textbook” called Discovery Education. It has some next whiz-bang aspects, like animations and videos to explain topics, but give me an old-school textbook any day.

[Anonymous]

*neat* whiz-bang aspects

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most parents in my circle feel exactly the same way as you. My kids are in middle school but if I could go back in time I would have chosen another route. It's a big regret of mine.

I’m the teacher above and if I could go back in time I would have homeschooled my own kids.

[Anonymous]

I work in a public elementary and middle school. Screens are heavily used starting in 1st grade and there are no textbooks. By middle school the kids are all on their phones anyway and hardly paying attention to teachers.

I put my kids in private and probably wouldn’t have it a didn’t have a front row seat to public education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most parents in my circle feel exactly the same way as you. My kids are in middle school but if I could go back in time I would have chosen another route. It's a big regret of mine.

Agree. No parent actually likes all the screens in schools. We all know they learn better off screens.

[Anonymous]

It is now clear that screens are a net negative in schools. It starts in elementary school, with educational games like Prodigy and Lexia - which are very distracting for kids. They go home and struggle to focus on a paper book. By Middle School, they are using their school-issued laptop to watch movies in class.

If you really care, please lobby your school board member very hard to do away with screens and bring back textbooks. We are now fighting for-profit software companies that hire highly paid salespeople to push screens so we as parents need to be as loud as possible.

We can make the change but what is currently a whisper needs to be a tsunami of noise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most parents in my circle feel exactly the same way as you. My kids are in middle school but if I could go back in time I would have chosen another route. It's a big regret of mine.

Agree. No parent actually likes all the screens in schools. We all know they learn better off screens.

I’m a high school teacher who posted last year on a similar thread. I avoid technology as much as I can, so my students use textbooks and write essays by hand. (It’s good prep for AP exams anyway.)

I was slammed by multiple posters on DCUM. I was told I’m crippling students who won’t know how to effectively use technology. I was also told I’m old fashioned and I should get out of education.

So don’t assume parents are in agreement about technology use!

[Anonymous]

Yep, physical books are dead. And kids can’t read anymore nor are they asked to read anything longer than a few sentences. I find it so depressing but I think we are in a new, post-book human era.

You can see the results in the national tests. Reading scores have plummeted. Most kids and adults aren’t reading at all during their leisure time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most parents in my circle feel exactly the same way as you. My kids are in middle school but if I could go back in time I would have chosen another route. It's a big regret of mine.

Agree. No parent actually likes all the screens in schools. We all know they learn better off screens.

I’m a high school teacher who posted last year on a similar thread. I avoid technology as much as I can, so my students use textbooks and write essays by hand. (It’s good prep for AP exams anyway.)

I was slammed by multiple posters on DCUM. I was told I’m crippling students who won’t know how to effectively use technology. I was also told I’m old fashioned and I should get out of education.

So don’t assume parents are in agreement about technology use!

That was the line used by companies to push software in school. "Kids need to learn how to effectively use technology." That is why parents repeat it.

However, first, technology is everywhere so kids don't need to learn in schools.

Second, there was a study that gave poor kids in Peru laptops - the result was not smarter, more educated kids. It was kids who read less and played more computer games. https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/poor-kids-with-laptops-read-less-do-more-chores-in-peru-study-idUSL1N0BPDD9/

Most importantly, kids who received laptops were "...significantly less likely to exert effort at school compared with their counterparts in the control group." https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w18818/w18818.pdf

Third, even gorillas get addicted to screens when exposed too much: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/zoos-gorillas-screen-time-phones-videos-e88531a7

[Anonymous]

As a working adult, my entire day is in front of a computer. I don’t mind the screens for kids. It’s preparing them for their futures. My kids have ADHD, and they struggle with books. The screens better hold their attention.

[Anonymous]

I hate that textbooks are dead. I'm a high school teacher too - and I do a lot of guided notes from class lectures with videos as back up for more difficult topics. Would love to have text books. Better for the kids and it would make my job much easier. I teach science/math and give all my assignments on paper - kids think better and I can grade better that way to provide better feedback. They all tell me they prefer it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is such a twilight zone about this. The public school families I know IRL are just as concerned about screen use as OP and PP, and most would go private if they could find an affordable non-religious option. Yet posters on here are like “I have a $3m HHI and prefer public schools”

I know people who have switched but say that post-covid, the privates also rely on tech too much and don't do textbooks.

The only ones I know who have low screens are Montessori or Catholic, but I would love to hear about other options!