Ask any teacher what challenges they face in the classroom, and I guarantee you one of the top 10 answers will be screens. Probably one of the top five. How do we march bravely forth with Lord of the Flies and expect to compete with the instant gratification offered by YouTube or Fortnite? How do we convince a generation accustomed to in-your-face, immersive entertainment that intellectual struggle is rewarding and can even be a source of joy?
And of course, there are the physical effects. As screens have become more prevalent, so has childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. Many kids have a smartphone or tablet in their room at night; how do you keep a kid awake if theyâve been texting and gaming until 4:00 am? Â
Teachers agree that parents need to limit their kidsâ screen time. But are we part of the problem?
My second grader came home yesterday, and I asked him what he did in school. As he went through his day, I totaled up how much of it was spent on screens. Homeward Bound in class this morning: two hours. iPads in technology class: one hour. Free play on the Chromebook after lunch: 30 minutes. Boss Baby in aftercare, despite the fact that the weather was beautiful: 1.5 hours. My seven-year-old spent five hours on screensâWAY more than we would allow him at home.
And I get it. Iâm a teacher, too. Papers have to get graded. Itâs the end of the year, and everyone is squirrelly, their brains done with learning. Sometimes, logging into Netflix is the only way to get a few minutes of peace and quiet.
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I experience this as a mom, too. Iâm fanatical about limiting screen time ⊠to a point. And then, at some point, dinner has to get cooked, and thereâs only so much entertainment I can provide while wielding knives and fire. If my two-year-old and seven-year-old spend the occasional meal talking in British accents, thanks to Peppa Pig and Minecraft videos, fine. Weâll do better tomorrow.
But as teachers, weâve got access to a resource parents donât have: a room full of kids who are around the same age. There are tons of ways we can use kids to entertain each otherâand leave us alone for five freakinâ minutesâwithout resorting to screens.
1. Group Projects
Kids love anything thatâs self-reflective and allows them to work together. Let them make a board game that shows their adventures in your class during the year. Then youâve got a solid three hours of group-work time (although you may have to resolve the occasional marker dispute), plus another hour or two if you let them play each otherâs games. Or, with older kids, have them write a song that represents their year or put together a PSA for the students youâll teach next year. Or hang up butcher paper and let kids make a graffiti wall of quotes or lyrics that have inspired them.
2. Individual Creative Projects
Need a little more peace and quiet? Divide your class into two groups and give each kid in each group a story starter. They continue the story they have and then, every five minutes, pass it to the next kid to continue. At the end, youâve got twenty stories written by your class! Let older kids create a playlist that represents their school year and write about what each song represents to them.
3. Guest Speakers
You know a comic-book illustrator? Great! Youâre friends with a financial consultant? Sure! Anybody with any kind of personality and the desireâor at least willingnessâto spend an hour talking to kids about what they do is good enough. Time to outsource the job!
4. Recess!
Itâs the end of the year and, if weâre being honest, not everyone has the energy for learning or teaching at this point. Weâve been at this for 170 days, and weâre just tired. Good news! Find a shady spot, post your grades, and let your kids get some much-needed physical activity. If your students are younger, pair up with a buddy so you can take turns actively supervising.
Honestly, itâs the last week of school here, and I could not care less if my kid learns anything or not. I just want him to run around and play with his friends instead of watching another episode of Boss Baby.
Weâd love to hearâwhatâs your stance on end-of-year screen time? Come and share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.
Plus, more end-of-year assignments worth trying.