Kids have too much screen time and it is affecting their health and well-being. While parents can (and often do) take appropriate measures to limit and monitor their child's screen time at home, they have no control over how screens are used in schools.

Looking back just 6 years, the environment at schools is unrecognizable from where it is today. We have gone from teachers leveraging methods and tools that have been in place for decades: reading from text books, writing on paper, hands-on classroom experiences, field trips, etc. to a place where technology is embedded in every subject. 

The tried and true methods that we had used almost exclusively had been measured and refined over time. Yet when COVID happened, the need for technology to play the most critical role in education appeared and the EdTech companies took this opportunity to fully insert their products into the day-to-day educational lives of our children. There was no research to back up this decision because it was not a choice. It was a necessity then - but it no longer is. Despite the fact that there is no unbiased research to show that EdTech is truly beneficial to our children, it continues to be front and center in their educational lives. In District 15, Chromebooks are sent home, starting in third grade, every curriculum has a screen-based component, and iPads have now been implemented at the kindergarten level!  Although there have been numerous studies regarding the negative impacts that screen use has on our children, EdTech has cemented its status as critical to their education.  These studies show that children retain information better when reading from paper, that they build small and large motor skills through writing and other hands-on activities, and that they develop much-needed social skills by interacting face-to-face with their peers and teachers.  

We have met with both district and school administrators to voice our concerns, to stress the urgency to act and act swiftly.  In the absence of district-wide action, we've asked for options for our kids - can we opt-out of one-to-one devices or at least go to an "ultra screen-lite" learning experience?  We've heard a mixed bag of responses: from our superintendent assuring us that it's a "priority" (hard to believe since we first brought this up with her over 2 years ago and she has been unable to reference any progress in follow-ups) to some administrators saying they understand and "want to work with us," but the general response is "These are all good points, but EdTech is so ingrained in our district that it's going to take a long time to make changes."

Our kids don't have a "long time." Our oldest will be in high school and our other sons will be in 5th and 7th grade this fall. Our daughter will be going to 3rd grade, where she will be forced to take her Chromebook home every day. She will go to school and see her friends playing on those toys at the bus stop and outside of school before the bell rings.  She'll read "books" from various EdTech programs. She'll get hooked on the same types of "reward scheme" games that app developers use to addict people to keep coming back for more.  And she'll probably hear that she can earn "free screentime" as a reward for completing some activity. All of these things will replace times when she should be: laughing and playing with her friends, reading physical books, and having the joy (and frustration) that comes with using her imagination to draw and create all kinds of things with her hands.

It's not fair to her.  It's not fair to any kids.  We understand that screens and technology play an integral role in society and there will certainly come a time for our kids, as their brains develop and as they grow older, to use technology more and more. But now is not the time - not with the research screaming in our faces that this is harmful and not helpful for children. Please join with me in speaking out against this. Please be the voice for our kids. Tell our district and our schools that we need to step back from EdTech.  It won't be easy, but one thing we did learn with COVID is that we can make big changes extremely quickly if they are important enough. 

This is important enough to us and we hope it is important enough to you too.