I'm a 4th grade teacher. Half my class can't sustain attention for more than 8 minutes. I'm not blaming the kids. I'm blaming the 4+ hours of daily screen time most of them have had since infancy. We have no real classroom policy, no parental support framework, no guidance from the district. Something needs to change but I don't know where to start.

2 replies

1. Some schools are piloting phone-free classrooms with actual results. There is research from Jonathan Haidt's group specifically on attention and phones in classrooms. Could be worth bringing to your principal.

   Anonymous Wombat, Jul 8, 2026

2. Our school got a grant to run a digital literacy curriculum and it helped more than a ban would have. The kids need to learn to manage attention, not just have it managed for them.

   Anonymous Armadillo, Jul 8, 2026