Anonymous
Post 05/02/2023 01:30     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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.
Anonymous
Post 05/02/2023 01:15     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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?
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2023 21:53     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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.


My child has had three field trips this year and loves art and music. Funny how she's getting such a great educational experience at a school many dcum parents would sneer at.
Anonymous
Post 05/01/2023 21:51     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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?
Anonymous
Post 04/30/2023 22:49     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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.
Anonymous
Post 04/30/2023 16:22     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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.
Anonymous
Post 04/30/2023 16:08     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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.


It's ridiculous to ignore the issues. We know this can't be good for children this age.
Anonymous
Post 04/30/2023 14:50     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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.
Anonymous
Post 04/30/2023 12:15     Subject: Re:S/O opting out of school tech
Anonymous wrote:All the more reason to keep ES classrooms screen-free. We don't feed them cheetos and coke for school lunch because thats what they snack on at home.


Nah. That's on the parents.
Anonymous
Post 04/30/2023 10:19     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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).
Anonymous
Post 04/30/2023 10:12     Subject: Re:S/O opting out of school tech
All the more reason to keep ES classrooms screen-free. We don't feed them cheetos and coke for school lunch because thats what they snack on at home.
Anonymous
Post 04/30/2023 08:25     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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.”
Anonymous
Post 04/29/2023 21:02     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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.
Anonymous
Post 04/29/2023 20:46     Subject: S/O opting out of school tech
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!!
Anonymous
Post 04/29/2023 15:17     Subject: Re:S/O opting out of school tech
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
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.