"Just when you think you're in control"

Here it Goes Again by OK Go

Hi Reader,

We're doing a deep dive today. I'd love to hear your thoughts after reading this!

We gotta talk about tech in schools:

On January 15, 2026, congress held a hearing on the impact of screen time on kids. During the hearing Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, PhD, MEd shared the results of his assessments on school data over the past 50 years.

For hundreds of years, we've counted on each generation outperforming the last in education. But for the first time, Gen Z (born 1997-2012) underperformed the generations before it. Based on current test scores, this trend is on track to continue with Gen Alpha.

This issue has puzzled educators in the United States for years. They've poured money into the best tech to ensure students have the cutting edge...despite this, test scores continue to drop in the US and around the world.

Dr. Horvath pointed to wide adaptation of technology in schools as the reason, saying:

"Once countries adopt digital technology widely in schools, performance goes down significantly"

He displayed data from 80 different countries. Showing that once they adopted frequent use of technology, student test scores suffered.

The reason? He says there's a "mismatch between how human cognition develops and how digital platforms are engineered to capture attention, fragment focus, and accelerate task switching."

"Digital platforms are optimized for rapid switching, novelty, and continuous engagement capture.

Even when used for academic tasks, they cue the same behavioral patterns students practice during recreational screen use: frequent checking, rapid scrolling, and multitasking."

These platforms are in conflict with good teaching. Good teaching is slow, steady, and patient. It's not always entertaining, and in many cases shouldn't be. Students should be deep in thought analyzing information.

The result?

A decline in cognitive capability. Now it's important to note, students aren't necessarily less intelligent- but their ability to critically think, focus for long periods of time, and analyze information is severely impacted.

Consider what life is like for a modern student. Horvath says: "Over half of our children now use a computer at school for one to four hours each day, and a full quarter spend more than four hours on screens during a typical seven-hour school day.

Unfortunately, studies suggest that less than half of this time is spent actually learning, with students off-task for up to 38 minutes of every hour when on classroom devices."

Call to Action:

Dr Horvath summarized his findings by saying: "This is not a debate about rejecting technology. It is a question of aligning educational tools with how human learning actually works...indiscriminate digital expansion has weakened learning environments rather than strengthened them.

He is calling for a "restore to balance" by demanding we meet children's developmental needs in school "ensuring that innovation serves learning rather than attention capture. Our responsibility is not to maximize screen exposure, but to maximize the cognitive capacity and long-term flourishing of the next generation."

My thoughts:

I started my teaching career at the beginning of huge changes in education. In 2012 I taught my fifth graders math with an overhead projector. We were encouraged to get the kids to the computer lab a few times a month so they'd have exposure to technology.

By the time I left the classroom in 2022, educators were talking about having a Promethean Board and iPads in your classroom like it was a human right. Most school districts in America were mandating children spending a certain amount of time each week on specific apps.

But through the change, educators have been whispering: you can't replace good teaching.

Technology has brought amazing developments and innovation to education. But it has also been used as a crutch. Pencils and paper are disappearing from classrooms...their replacement may be shiny and expensive, but that doesn't mean it's better.

Don't get me wrong- I think we should have tech in schools, but it needs to be properly supported with good teaching and human connection. When they are in class, computer time should be a side dish- not the main course.

For example, I speak great Spanish on Duolingo...but when I need to speak it in real life I clam up. No matter how many hours I spend on the app, it won't replace face to face practice.

A change needs to happen- but I think it will be parent led. EdTech is a huge industry, and it's going to take consumers changing their habits and calling for change to make a difference.

Now I want to hear from you- what do we do to course correct? Have you seen this with your students or children?

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What do you think about tech in classrooms?