Thousands of students and educators in Upper Manhattan are in the midst of a digital detox this week as part of a collective effort to reduce the reliance on screens.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all have seen it, the omnipresence of devices and screens in everybody’s life,\u201d said P.S. 187 parent Olympia Kazi. \u201cAnd we can totally change it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kazi came up with the idea for the weeklong effort, dubbed \u201cScreen Break,\u201d which was embraced by the superintendent of Manhattan\u2019s School District 6 in Washington Heights and Inwood. Together, they encouraged the district\u2019s 38 elementary and middle schools to avoid computers in the classroom as much as possible, and expand recess when they can.<\/p>\n
Supporters also organized a series of screen-free after-school events, including a book fest, an artsy \u201csketch out\u201d and a community-wide playdate.<\/p>\n
Gothamist spoke with kids and teachers about the first day of the screen break, and reviews were generally positive.<\/p>\n
Nestor Ireland, 8, a third grader at PS 187, said he was enjoying more screen-free activities.<\/p>\n
Usually, there is \u201ca lot a lot a lot\u201d of screentime in schools, he said.<\/p>\n
The window of Fountain Bookshop promoting the Screen Break at neighborhood schools.<\/p>\n
Jessica Gould\/Gothamist<\/p>\n
He said technology is sometimes useful. \u201cThe other day, the computer gave us information on something we were researching, and it really helped us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But it can get out of control, he added. He said his class recently had a substitute teacher with a laissez-faire approach to screens, and a classmate started playing the video game “Fortnite.” \u201cSo that was really bad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Liam Yamana, 7, who attends P.S. 178, said he was also enjoying the break. \u201cOne of the days we’re going to play board games and have snacks outside, and I’m excited for that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
His twin sister Juniper, however, was less enthusiastic. \u201cI like screens,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The district-wide screen break is the latest example of pushback to technology in schools.<\/p>\n
Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s ban on smartphones<\/a> in schools has received widespread praise, giving the movement added momentum.<\/p>\n In New York City, thousands of parents have called for a moratorium on artificial intelligence in schools, and the city recently pulled plans<\/a> for an AI-focused high school.<\/p>\n The Community Education Council in Manhattan\u2019s District 4, which is an elected parent group, has called on officials to place strict limits on how much time kids can spend on screens in schools.<\/p>\n Iowa recently passed<\/a> 60-minute daily screen limits for schools, and Los Angeles<\/a> is also considering restrictions.<\/p>\n But reducing reliance on tech in classrooms is not an easy task. Tech is deeply embedded in schools now, where most students are assigned laptops or devices and kids are required to take tests on computers.<\/p>\n Kazi said much of her kids\u2019 English, math and science classwork takes place via computer, and all of their homework is through Google Classroom \u2013 often with several YouTube links as supplements.<\/p>\n An after school book fest event that coincided with Screen Break at schools in Washington Heights and Inwood.<\/p>\n Jessica Gould\/Gothamist<\/p>\n In keeping with the revolutionary spirit of the effort, an after-school \u201cbook fest\u201d was held on Tuesday at the Morris-Jumel Mansion, George Washington’s former headquarters. Kids spread across the garden of Manhattan\u2019s oldest residence, reading under trees, coloring, painting, and playing improv games like \u201cZip Zap Zop.\u201d<\/p>\n Kyle DeAngelis, a third-grade teacher at P.S.\/M.S. 368, said the screen break gave him \u201can opportunity to reflect\u201d on the role of technology in the classroom. So far, he said, the experiment has gone well.<\/p>\n He said he still had to do the required testing via computer, but after that, he took time to explain the screen break to students. He had the class read articles about screens\u2019 negative effects on cognition, physical health, and mental health, and invited children to share their views. DeAngelis said he was able to offer kids some extra play time since they had less computer work.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this could be a really powerful annual tradition,\u201d he said. \u201cThis screen break is just another front in the fight against ed tech\u2019s encroachment in schools.\u201d<\/p>\n City education officials endorsed the effort in District 6, while declining to say whether it would be expanded elsewhere. \u201cWe appreciate the collaboration taking place in District 6, where families, educators, and community leaders are working together to thoughtfully explore innovative ways to support student well-being and engagement,\u201d said education department spokesperson Chyann Tull.<\/p>\n Kazi said she knows parents and educators are trying to do the best they can when it comes to managing technology\u2019s benefits and drawbacks.<\/p>\n \u201cThere may be disagreements on the right balance,\u201d she said. \u201cBut this is a conversation that is overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of students and educators in Upper Manhattan are in the midst of a digital detox this week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246323,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-246322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}