#dumbingusdown — Public Fediverse posts

Student #ReadingAbility Spikes After Removing Tech From Class

"Remove all the #distractions and we can get our kids back."

By Frank Landymore
Published Jun 15, 2026

"Would you believe it: a teacher and her students say their reading ability soared after banning tech in the classroom.

"Maureen Mulvaney, an AP Literature and English teacher at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, started the low tech experiment last year after becoming frustrated with plagiarism, distracted students, and plunging literacy rates.

"And so, with the enthusiastic support of parents, she banned phones and laptops, requiring all coursework to be done with pencil and paper. The turnaround was quick and resounding, and despite some initial resistance from students, they quickly fell in love with the old, analog ways of doing things.

"In September, before the experiment started, just 46 percent of Mulvaney’s students said they felt confident about their reading ability. By February, that share shot up to 95 percent.

" 'We’re having a lot of trouble in education and I think what my kids told us was that there is a solution and the solution is to go #LowTech. Go back to the old ways of doing things,' Mulvaney told local TV news station KARE 11. 'Remove all the distractions and we can get our kids back.'

"Mulvaney let her students ease into a tech free environment. First, they started with just ten minutes of silent reading and writing by hand. Still, the first day was 'rough,' she wrote in an essay in The Minnesota Star Tribune. Most students quit after just half a page of longhand composition.

" 'I told the kids this is like lifting weights,' she told KARE 11. 'You don’t go in and you don’t start with 80 pounds.' "

Read more:
https://futurism.com/future-society/students-reading-improves-no-tech-class

#LudditeClub #NoTech #NoPhones #NoAI #Reading #Writing #Humans
#Smartphones are #DumbingUsDown #SolarPunkSunday #Handwriting #NeoLuddites #SmartphoneBan #Longhand

#ICYMI (I know I did)... Apparently, part of #Trump's #BigUglyBill involved withholding future student #FinancialAid if they withdraw from a class. Wow...!

"Beginning in Summer 2026, changes to #FederalStudentAid under the One #BigBeautifulBill Act will significantly affect how federal direct loans are adjusted when students withdraw from courses or reduce enrollment. Several of you have met with me via zoom to learn more about these changes, and I am grateful for the questions and conversation.

What’s changing in brief:

- Financial aid for loan borrowers may now be recalculated based on a student’s enrollment, even in cases where students continue to pay for all of their credits.

Students who withdraw from courses may:

- Lose eligibility for a portion of their aid in a future semester and/or,

- Owe a balance back to the university

Please contact the Office of Financial Aid with questions or refer students directly for individualized guidance.

Thank you for your continued support of our students during this transition."

#USPol #TrumpSucks #DumbingUsDown #GuttingHigherEd #StudentLoans