20 votes

Swedish schools minister Lotta Edholm moves students off digital devices and on to books and handwriting, with teachers and experts debating the pros and cons

Posted by mycketforvirrad
Tags: education, sweden, politics, policy.social, schools, students, children, technology, reading, books.text, writing.hand, teachers, progress in international reading literacy study, knowledge, politicians, lotta edholm, source.the guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/11/sweden-says-back-to-basics-schooling-works-on-paper

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Title
Switching off: Sweden says back-to-basics schooling works on paper
Published
Sep 11 2023
Word count
934 words

7 comments

  1. [3]
    devilized
    Link
    My niece just started high school. She was showing me her schedule on her phone using some app that the school uses to communicate with students. I joked with her in an old man voice (I'm 35)...

    My niece just started high school. She was showing me her schedule on her phone using some app that the school uses to communicate with students. I joked with her in an old man voice (I'm 35) "back in my day, we didn't have smart phones in high school". And she looked puzzled for a minute and then said "well, how did you get your schedule?"

    There's definitely something to be said for reducing the reliance on personal devices for students. Certainly, it becomes a convenience later on, but learning the fundamentals behind the magic is important.

    15 votes
    1. [2]
      PetitPrince
      Link Parent
      That's a very good point. And to expand on that: everybody should from time to time do stuff "manually", just to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the convenience we have. Walk to...

      Certainly, it becomes a convenience later on, but learning the fundamentals behind the magic is important.

      That's a very good point. And to expand on that: everybody should from time to time do stuff "manually", just to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the convenience we have.

      Walk to the grocery store. Make puff pastry or bouillon from scratch. Use a paper map. Bypass any programming framework or library. Build a DYI semi crappy headphone or microphone. Grow some vegetables or herbs.

      I've always wondered if I was too spoiled because my home country wasn't at war in my prime like my parents did.

      10 votes
      1. EgoEimi
        Link Parent
        I agree. It's easy to 'hedonistically adapt' to the many conveniences and comforts of modern life. I'm a millennial, so the smartphone revolution has gripped half of my life; but I remember life...

        I agree. It's easy to 'hedonistically adapt' to the many conveniences and comforts of modern life. I'm a millennial, so the smartphone revolution has gripped half of my life; but I remember life before it too. I remember helping my parents navigate in the car as I read a paper map.

        I've always wondered if I was too spoiled because my home country wasn't at war in my prime like my parents did.

        I also remember my grandparents' stories of suffering and poverty during the Chinese Civil War and their postwar life in Taiwan, and how they lived off rice porridge sprinkled with animal fat: I'm easily the tallest generation in my family because I got to enjoy a western childhood, well-nourished with more calcium and protein than I ever needed. Whenever I feel that things are tough, I try to remember that it's really not so bad.

        2 votes
  2. [3]
    Dr_Amazing
    Link
    This really looks to me like everyone just has their own opinions on what feels right, without anything to really back it up.

    This really looks to me like everyone just has their own opinions on what feels right, without anything to really back it up.

    12 votes
    1. domukin
      Link Parent
      Yeah I’d say that preschoolers and kids under 6 should be mostly offline. Kids are mainly drawing, painting, writing, doing crafts at this age. Lots of hand work where technology doesn’t help and...

      reverse the decision by the national agency for education to make digital devices mandatory in preschools. It plans to go further and to completely end digital learning for children under age six, the ministry has told the Associated Press.

      Yeah I’d say that preschoolers and kids under 6 should be mostly offline. Kids are mainly drawing, painting, writing, doing crafts at this age. Lots of hand work where technology doesn’t help and might hinder.

      8 votes
    2. gzrrt
      Link Parent
      I've read a few articles suggesting the same, but would be nice for them to cite specific studies- kind of hard to make any informed policy decisions without that.

      “There’s clear scientific evidence that digital tools impair rather than enhance student learning,” Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, a highly respected medical school focused on research, said in a statement in August on the country’s national digitalisation strategy in education.

      I've read a few articles suggesting the same, but would be nice for them to cite specific studies- kind of hard to make any informed policy decisions without that.

      5 votes
  3. Caliwyrm
    Link
    Personally I think school should expose you to both--if it makes sense I fail to see why already underfunded school systems fork over so much money for every student to have an iPad. Paper books...

    Personally I think school should expose you to both--if it makes sense

    I fail to see why already underfunded school systems fork over so much money for every student to have an iPad. Paper books are more reliable, don't have DRM1 to disable after a set time and are less distracting. Giving children iPads can also put an undue hardship on poorer parents who can't afford to replace or repair them.

    There are real privacy concerns over the spyware school districts put on their electronics or even the student's electronics.

    1I also think that textbooks should be available under Creative Commons licenses. There shouldn't be yearly revisions to Pre-Algebra, English I, etc--epecially revisions where they slightly reword a page here and there to justify selling a new book to the school district. Realistically, how much has entry level algebra changed in the last couple of decades?

    5 votes