Why Children Thrive Without Technology

Ah, technology - every educator and administrator’s favorite topic. Perhaps it’s a topic that your family has thought a good deal about as well. How much access should students have to computers? How much screen time is too much screen time? Why use pencil and paper anymore? Should schools really have an allocated “technology” budget? 

You get where I’m going with this. In districts across the country, the mere mention of an iPad in elementary classrooms will turn teachers against each other faster than the debate over mechanical vs. Number 2 pencils. Well, at least that’s a pretty hot debate at my school.

I get it. We’re in an age where business is conducted and relationships are formed and sustained through technology. It might seem nonsensical to even question its place in our lives since it is tied to almost everything we do. 

But I’m here today to take a step back and give you the classical take.

Drawing a line in the sand

The classical stance on technology in classrooms can be a little confusing for parents. On tours, I hear reports of parents visiting some classical schools where the kids are on devices for almost 50% of their day, and others where classical schools ruthlessly shun technology.

I believe that a school’s attitude toward technology defines whether or not they are truly classical. Why? Because technology is fundamentally incompatible with a classical philosophy of education. 

Classical education relies on conversation. Students learn from their teachers and each other through discussion. We call this the Socratic Method, and you can read more about it in my post “What is Classical Education?” The Socratic Method is an integral piece of our philosophy. This makes distinguishing what is “truly classical” pretty simple: any school that uses technology to replace conversation cannot rightly consider itself strictly classical. Conversation is king.

Now, that does not mean that a classical school has to be anti-technology, and I think Golden View (where I work) is a great example of this. When I talk to parents about technology I frame our school as low-tech not anti-tech. Low tech simply means that we are not using technology as the primary means of delivering content to students. You won’t find Kindergarten students with iPads and, generally speaking, we shy away from devices where we can. 

“All schools - classical or not - must ask questions about their priorities. How much do they value face-to-face interaction? At what cost?…

…Are convenience and instant gratification worth the price that young people pay?”

Where technology is necessary, we will implement it. For example, there are a variety of physics and chemistry labs where a laptop, calculator, or some other device is required. So, we supply them. Students are expected to hand in their essays typed, so we have laptops available for check-out during study halls. Our students give presentations using visual aids like powerpoints and need the means to do that at school.

All schools - classical or not - must ask questions about their priorities. How much do they value face-to-face interaction (both in the classrooms and in the hallways)? At what cost? What do they want driving their students’ conversations: the latest and greatest app or the stories they read about literature? Are convenience and instant gratification worth the price that young people pay?

As a parent, you too can answer these questions - they will help you identify if your child’s current school is measuring up to your family’s standards.

Thriving Without Technology

Now we arrive at the main point, and, indeed, the title of this blog post: why children thrive without technology - or, with very little technology.

• School culture is positively impacted

Imagine a school where the students walk around with their heads up, greeting each other and their teachers, discussing what they just talked about in class. 

Picture a school where lunch and leisure are spent inquiring into the wellbeing of each other; a school where the seniors know the freshmen’s names. Doesn’t that sound far more interesting than a school where eyes are always on phones or screens - almost deliberately uninterested in anything other than the latest post on Instagram? 

• Students learn better 

  Anyone who works an office job knows that all non-work-related sites seem to whisper in our ears - tempting us to open new tabs and quickly “check-in” on our social media pages or retail sales. Children, and especially teenagers, have less moderation than adults though, and are even more prone to distraction. 

  Distraction is a hindrance to learning. So it stands to reason that when you remove things that are distracting from the classroom, you create an environment that is more focused and productive. An environment with limited distractions promotes and develops healthy brain function, increases student memory, and encourages enthusiasm in learning. 

• Pencil and paper methods are proven to increase memory function, promote neat note-taking, and correlate to an increase in reading comprehension skills.
  
  

• Students cover more content

  I often hear from families that students seem to learn so much more at a classical school. Well, when students are less distracted you can cover more content. Technology may speed up certain processes (collecting work, typing instead of writing, etc), but in terms of actual content - classical students move through more material.

• Low-tech classrooms create equal learning opportunities for all students

  In a low-tech school, students do not have to worry about having internet access, personal devices, or the latest and greatest iPhone model. They have the same access to the material that every other student does.

• Children are more interested in the world around them

When the conversation in the classroom revolves around content rather than tech skills, children have more interesting conversations. 

What would you rather hear about around the dinner table? A summary of the Gettysburg address or so-and-so’s unflattering Instagram post? Questions about what it was like for your ancestors during the Great Depression or a summary of achieving a high score on the newest app. I think it’s pretty easy to tell which conversations are more interesting, which conversations show interest in the world (both past and present), and which conversations are rooted in current trends that may be obsolete in 10 years

Schools have limited time during the day, and they have to make difficult choices about how to spend that time. Classical schools choose to spend time developing skills that have no expiration date. They choose to spend time on content that has been claimed by history as excellent. They choose to spend their time face-to-face in conversation with their peers and teachers. I challenge you to go feel the difference for yourself. 

If you have a classical student already, how is your child thriving in a low-tech environment? Comment below!