NJ school district plans 2-hour screen time ban for student tech
As classrooms have become more high-tech, teachers at Lebanon Township schools say they’ve seen a change in their students.
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Back-to-school sales have already begun. In Lebanon Township, the first day is less than a month away. Students there may need more paper and pencils than last year, as the district looks to place a two-hour screen time limit.
As classrooms have become more high-tech, teachers at Lebanon Township schools say they’ve seen a change in their students.
“Their retention and their ability to focus," said third grade teacher Michelle Blaydes. "I could teach a lesson for four minutes - no matter how engaging it is - and I lose them.”
That’s why this K-8 district in Hunterdon County is taking a first-in-the-state approach - a two-hour limit on tech and stated focus on handwriting and using physical text.
“We want to use technology for creating and for research, but ultimately, when it comes for learning, we want the instruction to be led by the teacher," said Superintendent Dr. Hal Abraham.
“I started my career with computers and teaching what a mouse was and Microsoft Word, games just to get kids used to technology," said middle school technology teacher Aileen Naples. "And here we are, where it’s too much now.”
Test scores statewide have declined since the COVID-19 pandemic. School administrators ran parent surveys, spoke with experts and came up with a back-to-basics approach. That includes collaborative learning and hands-on projects: more movement, less video-watching.
“There’s going to be a major dip in how we use it, when we use it," said Blaydes.
“At the elementary level, we’re going to be sending the devices home a lot less," said Abraham. "At the middle school, we’re going to be sending them home, but in a balanced way.”
There will be other changes in the classroom this year brought on by state law. This is the first year of the bell-to-bell cellphone ban, and to bring back cursive writing instruction for grades 3-5.
“I’ve been with several teenagers this summer, and I told them about our new policy, and they basically said, ‘Thank God,’ because it’s too much," Naples said.
The chief school administrator says 20 districts have reached out, interested in this new policy. It’s expected to pass officially at next week’s school board meeting.
