Can you opt out of tech K-2?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any public school parents here have the ability to opt out of ipads/chromebooks in grades K-2?

Its an option on the PGCPS enrollment paperwork but when push came to shove the admin and teacher said no its not an option. Weve been lucky thus far to have K and 1st be low usage on 1:1 devices but still lots of use with the smart board.

When push comes to shove you have to continue to say no. None of my kids used a computer before middle school, and even then we limited it to big assignments and testing only. You literally just have to say no, nobody can force your kid to do an assignment on the computer. They just can’t.

What is your kindergartener doing after they tell the teacher know when the rest of the class is using computers?

Read a book, practiced handwriting, math worksheets, etc. In K I made sure they always had a busy work folder. The teacher just gave most assignments on paper though. It really wasn’t a big deal.

So you replaced academics with what you acknowledge is busy work? You also taught your child to refuse to do what the teacher asked?

It's commendable really.

Not really sure how practicing handwriting, reading, or math in kindergarten is busywork. They need a lot of repetition to perfect those foundational skills...

Right?! In what world is "tech" in kindergarten considered academics and in any way superior to reading, practicing handwriting, and doing math worksheets?

[Anonymous]

It was made clear to us that refusing to sign the permission for the boatload of apps would cause problems at school.

What we did instead was refuse to have at least the kids do most of regular computer assignments that they'd been given at home. (Which, alas, meant they were still doing useless powerpoints. But at least that stupid penguin thing was skipped.)

Eventually we gave up and sent them to a low-tech private.

[Anonymous]

What are some low-tech privates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are some low-tech privates?

Classical Christian privates, e.g., Dominion Christian is no tech till 7th then minimal

[Anonymous]

Also Waldorf, some other non sectarians, Montessori’s

[Anonymous]

No you can’t do this. You can try..but the classroom and teacher aren’t set up to provide education this way. Plus your kid is going to want to be doing what the rest of the classroom is doing. You need to find a low tech private (and there aren’t many of these either) or homeschool

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure how that would work for things like certain assessments-the ones I have used in my classroom don't come with a paper version.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do until middle school, we just don’t accept any work on the computer. Important assignments get provided on paper.

You realize they use the computer at school, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also Waldorf, some other non sectarians, Montessori’s

Waldorf is also full of antivaxxers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also Waldorf, some other non sectarians, Montessori’s

Waldorf is also full of antivaxxers.

Its students don’t get into good colleges either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also Waldorf, some other non sectarians, Montessori’s

Waldorf is also full of antivaxxers.

Not my experience. The ones I know are scientists with science (e.g., Physics) degrees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are some low-tech privates?

Most Montessori schools are low tech, with rare exceptions.

Most Catholic elementary schools are low tech, but there can be some variation.

In all cases, make a short list of candidate schools and then schedule a visit to each school.

[Anonymous]

This is one of the reasons people homeschool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are some low-tech privates?

Most Montessori schools are low tech, with rare exceptions.

Most Catholic elementary schools are low tech, but there can be some variation.

In all cases, make a short list of candidate schools and then schedule a visit to each school.

Low tech doesn’t mean academically rigorous. The catholic elementaries in my area aren’t low tech, maybe slightly lower tech than public, but they still utilize tons of Ed tech, don’t teach cursive, etc.

Montessori and Waldorf are low tech- but school depending, they can be lacking academically, in favor of the “progressive” education: social justice projects, outdoor education (basically a recess free for all), knitting, etc. Which is lovely- but you will then have to supplement heavily for math and reading and core subjects at home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any public school parents here have the ability to opt out of ipads/chromebooks in grades K-2?

Its an option on the PGCPS enrollment paperwork but when push came to shove the admin and teacher said no its not an option. Weve been lucky thus far to have K and 1st be low usage on 1:1 devices but still lots of use with the smart board.

When push comes to shove you have to continue to say no. None of my kids used a computer before middle school, and even then we limited it to big assignments and testing only. You literally just have to say no, nobody can force your kid to do an assignment on the computer. They just can’t.

I did push back and received the same response. We completely.limit screens at home to compensate. Our K teacher was also 30+ years and only used the computers when required. I e. For testing lexia levels.
But again the teachers use the smart board almost all day even if the kids aren't on computers 1:1.
So instead I realized that we would have to make changes at home. My kid is the only kid I know that doesn't have a gaming system, kindle/ipad, access to cell phone, etc.
I monitor how it's used in class through my kid and asking the teacher. If we have a teacher who relies on it going forward then our acceptance of it may change but a lot of teachers acknowledge that it has limited utility but their hands are tied since all testing is computer and the kids need to know how to navigate it.