Indiana schools are turning back to more traditional learning methods, less screen time
Nov 13, 2024
INDIANAPOLIS There has been a lot of conversation about new cell phone and tablet policies for Indiana schools. What does this mean and how is it driving change across the state?WRTVs Amber Grigley wanted to bring you into the conversation. Showing our viewers why school districts across the state are rolling out new policies to re-establish traditional learning models over extended screen times and technology."I have been in mental health for about seven years," Jenna Phillips, a licensed counselor with Connected in Community, said. "I tell people my style of therapy is like a grandma's hug. It's just something you didn't know you needed, but once you get it, it feels so good." However, her degree in early childhood education allowed her and Amber to have a deeper conversation about children and what they're dealing with due to having too much screen time."Statistically, 95% of children ages 13 to 18 have been over the amount of access to screen time. They are engaging in screen time an average of 43 minutes per hour while in school. That alone shows that the learning is no longer there," Phillips said.Phillips said screen time has replaced key developmental skills not allowing children to be present in the classrooms. "I feel like technology has become overused. It's just like any good thing that too much of a good thing is a bad thing, said Phillips. "The access to bullying, no longer having social skills, being influenced by things that may not be positive is increasingly alarming to not only the students but to the parents, and now the teachers are having this backlash of the students that are not there."Earlier this year, WRTV told you about Senate Bill 185. It's a law that took effect on July 1, establishing criteria for cell phone and tablet usage inside Indiana classrooms."We have a problem with kids paying attention. School testing scores continue to go down, State Rep. Julie McGuire said. In June, McGuire told WRTV that Bill 185 came down to making a classroom more conducive to learning and fewer distractions."We kind of wish this is something that could have just happened on its own across the state of Indiana, for whatever reason, it hasn't, so we just decided to highlight it, McGuire said."I like that they're limiting the screen times in the classroom. It is giving the teachers a little bit more control back in the classroom so that they can provide the proper education," Phillips said. School districts and charter schools have rolled out new policies trying to find balance across the board. WRTV's Adam Schumes learned that the Oaks Academy is using the month of November to go tech-free through its 1 Million Minutes challenge, trading screen time for more learning."The goal will not only be achieved by reaching a million minutes of tech-free play. I think the goal is reached when a family sits down together and considers wisely their own use of technology, Jessica Surface, K2 Director at the Oaks Academy, said.WATCH | Students inside this school are putting down screens and picking up pens Students inside this school are putting down screens and picking up pens"Meeting these children where they are would help and also engaging them more in social and emotional activities with their peers, understanding how they have to navigate in hard situations, as opposed to looking it up online," Phillips said.So, if you're wondering, how much screen time is good?Phillips tells Amber depending on the age, an average child should get an hour of screen time a day. Around 5 years old is when you can increase, by a little.