The classroom tech backlash

Worried about too many screens in the classroom, a small but growing number of parents are getting so fed up they’re switching to low-tech private schools — or even pulling their kids out and opting to homeschool them, analog style. “The school didn’t want to provide paper,” said Erica Frans, a mother in Kansas who says she decided to homeschool her fifth-grade daughter back in 2020, after watching her randomly guess the answer to math questions on a computer program. Frans is also among a growing number of people who are joining relatively new advocacy efforts to get schools to rethink their tech-forward approach to education, which include groups like the Balance Project, Mothers Against Media Addiction, and Smartphone Free Childhood. Their frustration marks a twist in the debate over technology in schools. Much of the discussion around school tech policies is driven by worry about kids who lack access to technology and broadband. Another, newer, thread focuses on limiting mobile phone access in schools. But with more education moving to apps and online portals, some parents and teachers are now worried that schools themselves have over-digitized. Their concern is raising big questions about the end goal of education, and the best way to achieve it.