S/O opting out of school tech

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the thread on phones in classes. Everyone seems to agree that tech in classrooms is a problem. Has anyone succeeded in opting out of screens in the classroom? I know you can opt not to give your kid a phone, but what options exist for opting out of laptops/iPad in class? Has anyone been successful in fighting the tide?

I am in Montgomery County but curious about other places too!

In case no one has mentioned this yet, there’s a perfect solution for you- homeschooling. You can have zero screens and spend all your time coming up with lesson plans and teaching your own child without any technology. You can plan your own field trips, figure out how to provide art and music opportunities, not to mention solve for social interaction. But if that doesn’t work for you, free public education where you have to agree to their curriculum is an ok alternative, I guess.

This is often suggested whenever anyone questions the status quo. Unfortunately the system does not improve if everyone just leaves. Diverse viewpoints are something to seek out, not eradicate. It should not be extreme enough to warrant homeschooling if you don’t want your kids playing iPad games at school. That should be an easy and understandable accommodation.

No one is saying kids should be playing iPad games all day. The future is digital, screens and computers. Sorry to break it to you, but that is the way it is. If OP had lived in the past, they would have resisted giving kids calculators over slide rules. And protested learning matlab, foxpro etc. I am old enough to remember parents protesting against calculators vs analog slide rules, which seems crazy now.

Public education is utilitarian by necessity and design. Parents who are concerned about the quality of the engagement of technology - yes, they should ask questions and receive answers about how students use technology. But requesting no computers just because they are ”screens” is not the same thing. Should the child also be allowed to opt out of watching any videos, learning how to type, or learning how to program?Accommodations are made for many situations, but being a Luddite is not one of them.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I teach at a public school. Yes, you can opt out of school tech by either having your own device or submitting work on paper. Teachers will need to print a bunch of stuff, and it's likely you'd still need to look at a larger screen during class, but I doubt a school would force a child to use a device all the time, if the family didn't want it. These kind of accommodations are made often anyway for students who have concussions or migraines, and some students' IEPs require paper options. None of this is going to be super actively advertised to families as an option, but it's worth asking for if you want your kid on the screen less, which is totally understandable.

Thanks, this is what I was going for. I’d be willing to do the legwork for the teacher such as printing things out myself (not sure if that’s feasible though).

Don’t get your hopes up. Most schools/teachers are not going to do this for you. You are essentially asking them to lesson plan twice. Without an IEP, I think they will tell you to pound sand.

Public school teacher -- this is not lesson planning twice! We make these accommodations all the time and for a host of reasons. The tech fails for everyone often enough when the internet is down, so we have to be able to switch gears to more traditional methods immediately. Each day I have students who opt out of devices, who forget to bring devices, who need not to use devices because they are too distracting. Teaching hybrid with on-screen and in-person folks simultaneously was really hard; these kinds of accommodations are not so hard.

You feel you speak for all teachers? Of every grade level and subject?

Of course not! But all public school teachers are legally mandated to follow IEPs, 504s, and other plans, and the non-screen accommodation is a typical enough one.

The majority of kids don’t have even a 504 much less an IEP. And even a 504 requires a medical diagnosis. What is OP’s medical reason for a non-screen accommodation? It can’t just be her personal desire or preference.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the thread on phones in classes. Everyone seems to agree that tech in classrooms is a problem. Has anyone succeeded in opting out of screens in the classroom? I know you can opt not to give your kid a phone, but what options exist for opting out of laptops/iPad in class? Has anyone been successful in fighting the tide?

I am in Montgomery County but curious about other places too!

In case no one has mentioned this yet, there’s a perfect solution for you- homeschooling. You can have zero screens and spend all your time coming up with lesson plans and teaching your own child without any technology. You can plan your own field trips, figure out how to provide art and music opportunities, not to mention solve for social interaction. But if that doesn’t work for you, free public education where you have to agree to their curriculum is an ok alternative, I guess.

We haven't had an MCPS field trip in years even in ES, and arts and music are a joke as well as sports in MS. We have to do all that outside MCPS. Bad argument.

Then why aren’t you homeschooling your kids?

We basically do.

Then stop whining.

[Anonymous]

Until parents push back nothing will happen. Teachers realize how bad it is, we’re just waiting on parents to catch up at address it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah it is a bit annoying when i struggled for the first five years of life to keep my kids’ screens limited and once they enter in the school system it’s all for shit because teachers don’t teach- schools are so diluted by these tests and the gamification of education.

Yeah, it is surprising more people are not pushing back!!

And, yet, here you are on your screens.

I work in an ES school. Most kids, when you ask what they like to do in their free time at home will answer some version of “go on my iPad.”

Yup, because screens are addicting. I am pretty sure this is what my son would say if asked, even though he gets less
than an hour of iPad time per WEEK at home (that or “play video games”, which he has literally done twice in his entire life).

It’s not even because they are addicted, but because they are treats that stand out in their minds! My DD might say “TV” but like your child she is limited to one hour every weekend. She doesn’t even ask for TV on weekdays, has many other interests. Similarly when asked what she likes to eat she may reply “ice cream” but again, that’s an occasional treat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Until parents push back nothing will happen. Teachers realize how bad it is, we’re just waiting on parents to catch up at address it.

I am confused… why can’t teachers also advocate? No culture of debate or whistleblower protection in schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah it is a bit annoying when i struggled for the first five years of life to keep my kids’ screens limited and once they enter in the school system it’s all for shit because teachers don’t teach- schools are so diluted by these tests and the gamification of education.

It's weird how parents catastrophize everything like do actually think your child is just sitting on a Chromebook for 8 hours a day?

+1000. So many first world problems in this thread. iPads! Cheetohs! The world is coming to an end! Zero perspective.

[Anonymous]

If you won’t low tech learning/teaching, don’t use public schools. Even if you request no screens for your child, the teacher’s lessons aren’t made to be delivered how you are asking. Your child is just going to end up with random worksheets.

You need to find a school that is designed to teach in low tech way. If it is elementary you are talking about, seek out a Montessori school or another type of private school. For middle and high school, you need to embrace technology. It is part of life.

[Anonymous]

AI is approaching faster than you think (see what i did there?) and screen time will be the least of your worries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how that would work. If all of the other students are working on their electronic device, what would your kid be doing?
What grade is your kid in?

What are you expecting the teacher to do with your child while the others are engaged with their devices?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah it is a bit annoying when i struggled for the first five years of life to keep my kids’ screens limited and once they enter in the school system it’s all for shit because teachers don’t teach- schools are so diluted by these tests and the gamification of education.

It's weird how parents catastrophize everything like do actually think your child is just sitting on a Chromebook for 8 hours a day?

+1000. So many first world problems in this thread. iPads! Cheetohs! The world is coming to an end! Zero perspective.

Last year, my FCPS 5th grade browsed hundreds of web pages EVERY DAY. Yes, he was on the laptop all the damn day.

[Anonymous]

You need to find a private school. I am a public school teacher and sought out a private school for my kids that doesn't use tech in the classrooms at all. K - 6. Tech in public schools is a disaster.

[Anonymous]

I am an MCPS teacher too and my kids go to private school. Other teachers I know do home-schooling groups as well as private. About half do public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to find a private school. I am a public school teacher and sought out a private school for my kids that doesn't use tech in the classrooms at all. K - 6. Tech in public schools is a disaster.

What school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the thread on phones in classes. Everyone seems to agree that tech in classrooms is a problem. Has anyone succeeded in opting out of screens in the classroom? I know you can opt not to give your kid a phone, but what options exist for opting out of laptops/iPad in class? Has anyone been successful in fighting the tide?

I am in Montgomery County but curious about other places too!

Wait, why? My child will grow up in a world where he will have to use a laptop constantly. It's more useful for him to learn to format a document than it is for him to learn cursive; basic coding and information literacy are valuable skills and I would him to learn them in school, early.

Im pretty sure its not. There are steps to learning and you need the basic blocks. There is also mind-body integration that occurs when using paper and pen that does not occur with a keyboard and monitor. Thats the problem with integrating tech in elementary school. Middle school can start to integrate tech but again, in very specific ways.
Also the idea that you cant learn to code unless you start from K is insane.