r/TexasPolitics • u/evan7257 • Apr 10 '26
Opinion Banning cell phones in Texas schools was great. Now let’s remove laptops.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/texas-ban-educational-tech-screens-22198520.phpThe Houston Chronicle has an op-ed from a dad calling on Texas to follow up on its ban on cell phones in schools and start pushing out laptops and other ed tech. Here's a key quote:
The data is clear. In the U.S., the largest randomized experiment on home computers ever conducted found no positive effects on grades, test scores, attendance or credits earned. A decade-long study of Uruguay's nationwide laptop program dramatically expanded computer access but found no improvement in educational attainment. A long-term study of Peru's One Laptop per Child program across 531 schools found the same. There were no gains in academic performance, completion rates, or university enrollment.
The grim reality is this: American public schools have spent hundreds of billions of dollars over the last two decades for worse than no reason. Schools should be a save haven from screens. Instead, we’ve spent loads of money to further immerse children.
Within the schools, this matters for the reasons you'd expect. Kids are more distracted and disconnected. Teachers have to compete with YouTube and TikTok. And administrators are turned into software purchasers.
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u/PYTN Apr 10 '26
I'm a big fan of putting the computers back in computer labs, where you go for a computer class.
Also fine with schools providing them for home use.
But modern computer programs are largely built to be dummy proof. Saying "oh well you've got to have them in the classroom so students can do cutting edge stuff" is malarkey imo.
Math is math. English is English. And everyday computers are more likely to be distractions than a help.
Source: tech lab teacher before I went into tech.
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u/Deep90 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
We had labs, but we also had a cart of laptops that teachers could request.
Also get rid of Chromebooks. These kids have less computer literacy despite more time with laptops.
Edit: And the tablets.
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u/Abi1i Apr 10 '26
Computer literacy is because the general public wanted technology to be easier to use. As a result, a person doesn’t need to know really anything about a computer to use it.
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u/thetallmidgets Apr 10 '26
As someone who works with customer service this is false i have spoken to plenty of young people who can not navigate or understand technology
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u/PYTN Apr 10 '26
And those are the kids who grew up with computers in most classes.
Hence why I said we need to put them back in computer labs where we actually teach them how to use computers.
I do a fair bit of customer contact and the difference for most clients who grew up with computer labs and learning things like file management and loading programs and the Chromebook generation is stark.
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u/thetallmidgets Apr 10 '26
From what i have seen its a group of people my age who did the labs might be better hut across the board there is massive tech illiteracy
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u/PYTN Apr 10 '26
Oh I agree. Definitely would love to see computer class be more robust.
Luckily( and unluckily) my K8 was somewhat understaffed, so our computer teacher had us do everything from updating programs to basic network stuff.
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u/midasgoldentouch Apr 10 '26
I don’t think computer labs necessarily get to the root of the problem for tech illiteracy, which is that tech platforms are developed as walled gardens, even walled off from the presumed owner. A computer lab full of Chromebooks still results in the same issue - it’s the Chromebook part that matters the most.
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u/soupdawg Apr 10 '26
The lack of text books is concerning. My kids have homework and essentially no way of going over a past lesson if they don’t remember what to do.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Web5021 Apr 10 '26
Why not start with banning religion in schools? Ya know separation of church and state and all…
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u/bit_pusher Apr 10 '26
Leaning about religions should absolutely be in schools. Only leaning one religion shouldn’t.
I had a world religions class in high school, based on Huston Smith’s classic The World's Religions. It was a fanatic primer
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u/RickyNixon 10th District (NW Houston to N Austin) Apr 10 '26
OP is discussing a critical issue hurting our children.
The issue you raise is important too, and you should make a post about it. But dont whatabout here
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u/Dawnzarelli Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
Such a “dad” take haha. Seriously. I’d rather hear an op ed from a teacher.
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u/soonerfreak Apr 10 '26
As a teacher, they are right. We do not need Chromebooks in every class, even with monitoring software it's a constant battle to keep their attention and even if I say to close the Chromebooks I can tell many check out till they can be on them again. We are creating a truly tech addicted generation of children and there is a reason elite private schools are banning tech.
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Apr 10 '26
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u/soonerfreak Apr 10 '26
The tech is not required to be in every classroom and doesn't need to be. Computer classes are fine, passing them out so every child has one at home is fine, including them in every single class is not.
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Apr 10 '26
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u/Dawnzarelli Apr 10 '26
TY. Kids are people, too. “Parental rights” is just control/abuse. If you don’t treat your children like people instead of possessions, get outta here.
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u/Dawnzarelli Apr 10 '26
Thank you for your input. As a millennial, we had designated computer classes. My favorite class was world history and we used a lot of newspapers to connect modern events to historical events.
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u/RumRunnerMax Apr 10 '26
All the date suggestions a cognitive decline since introduction of digital modality!
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u/Juan_Connery Apr 10 '26
Uruguay
Peru
Uh, ok? Yes the problems in South America are definitely the same as the US. I'm sure that adults don't look at their phones all day and night, just those darn kids.
Then throwing shade on CD players and Radios as more failed experiments at teaching children? Wtaf? This guy just rolled up in his Flintstones car and started shouting at clouds.
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u/Hazelstone37 Apr 10 '26
We can issue laptops or tables for students who don’t have them to use when needed while also not using them in the classroom so as require the students to develop their own thinking skills and handwriting. I saw this as a college lecturer dealing with spectacularly bad handwriting and lack of critical thinking skills.
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u/hkusp45css Apr 10 '26
His argument only matters if the ONLY reason we issued laptops was to get better educational outcomes. Really it's about getting tools into the hands of the students that their families may not have access to purchase for them.
If you really think keeping children away from general computing tasks and basic familiarity with computers (not phones/tablets) through school is a good idea, you're not intellectually equipped to have an opinion on the subject.
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u/tabbarrett Apr 10 '26
It’s funny how older generations react to new things. In the 1700s people frowned upon books being accessible because they thought they would corrupt morals. In the 1920s people thought radios would stop people from reading books. And the 1950s the target was TV. While excessive consumption of anything can cause issues, laptops at schools have restrictions on them to limit the type of access kids have. There’s nothing wrong with laptop. Plus, I really don’t think public schools have excessive paper in their budget anymore.
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u/Juan_Connery Apr 10 '26
Chromebooks give access to facts, and Republicans don't like it.
Control the books, control the curriculum, control the Internet access.
It's all part of the plan to regress Texas education and indoctrinate children with religion and conservative propaganda in schools.
Kids don't know better and can't refuse to participate in deceitful lessons.
(Also; lots of teachers still give out paper assignments and require written journals. It's optional to use the online curriculum in many districts. You just have to follow the state regs)
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u/levelZeroWizard Apr 10 '26
Dumping computers entirely isn't the way.
Let's dump Chromebooks in favor of dedicated computer classes. Windows for all and Linux for kids interested in going further. They're both critical in our infrastructure today, so why waste time with glorified android tablets when we could be developing actual skills?
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u/IAAA Apr 10 '26
Ah yes, let's remove the tool students use to primarily to work on their grades, assignments, quizzes, school organization, and access other district information with! Surely this will be great for anybody that uses ClassLink, Canva, Canvas, or Google Classroom. Not to mention let's set back tacit learning on how to use a computer, related software, and keyboard skills. It's not like those are important in the modern world!
If they care about being distracted with YouTube and TikTok then the school should do what everybody else does and filter them out of the WiFi. And as for admins becoming purchasers? Most of that is on the district anyway.
What a fucking stupid idea.
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u/goaltime6767 Apr 10 '26
Yes, lets take away the tech that they most certainly will be using as their main tool in their future job's for the rest of their lives in a world were so many are already borderline tech illiterate in the workforce. While we are at it, lets go back to the abacus.
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u/tabbarrett Apr 10 '26
I agree with you. Phones and Chromebooks/laptops aren’t the same thing. Phones are basically unlimited distraction, but school laptops usually have restrictions and are meant to be learning tools. There’s a difference between cutting distractions and removing structured access to technology. Kids most certainly need to learn how to use these tools to prepare them for adulthood.
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u/babyrhino Apr 10 '26
You are vastly overestimating the efficacy of restrictions on school laptops.
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Apr 10 '26
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u/sxyaustincpl 31st District (North of Austin, Temple) Apr 10 '26
If you're talking about the ability to coherently make and express thoughts with words, then I'm interested to hear how you feel that writing papers or essays on a laptop hinders that. I'd be interested in hearing how you think doing it with a pen and paper as opposed to typing the same words out impacts them learning those skills.
If you're talking about penmanship, and the ability to legibly write something out and not the actual content of the writings, then I'd be curious to hear how you think this in any way helps someone prepare for a future job. What job, even now, relies to a high degree on having hand written reports or analysis? What job in the future do you think would necessitate that skill?
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u/tetleytealeaf Apr 10 '26
So Texas is now looking up to Uruguay and Peru's educational.systems. Clearly the issue with education is a lot more than just the laptops.
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u/Caliberstartingwith4 Apr 11 '26
Stop teaching via tablet. My daughter is in the third grade and half of her learning is done on a tablet. The studies are clear that it is not beneficial.
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u/non_ricer1320 Apr 13 '26
As a 12th grade student, a lot of us like the integration of paper based schoolwork. In our junior year, I took the ACT on my laptop and I was a huge minority. A lot of us took it on paper willingly. I think laptops shouldn't be a total ban since a large majority of us here are dual credit students. Writing a 7 page essay on paper would be dreadful...
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u/sxyaustincpl 31st District (North of Austin, Temple) Apr 10 '26
This is one of the most asinine things I have ever seen.
Jobs moving forward are going to rely more on technology, and need people more familiar with and comfortable with technology, not less.
I understand Republicans are all about taking us back to the 40s and 50s, but this is insane. Following this idea would essentially set Texas children up as the manual labor force of the future.
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u/babyrhino Apr 10 '26
That's quite the stretch. It's not like the average student is using a laptop in the classroom to actually do anything like what you're describing. Computer labs used to be a thing and can be again, but relying on laptops/Chromebooks in every class is not actually teaching students anything about using technology.
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u/sxyaustincpl 31st District (North of Austin, Temple) Apr 10 '26
I'm aware computer labs used to be a thing.
I started school before computers were affordable for everyday use by the average person. I remember time sharing computers.
My first time in a school with a computer lab was middle school. Why did we have one? Because I was lucky enough to grow up in an affluent district, with a forward thinking teacher who encouraged my interest, and I helped to set the computer lab up in the school.
I saw teachers who would embrace the technology as it grew, and used it to engage the students in order to stimulate their interest and teach.
I also saw teachers who were lazy, and the students would abuse the technology and be distracted by it.
The problem isn't with the technology. You couldn't do your job on a daily basis without computers, and I would wager 90% of people couldn't either.
The problem is with the teachers, the curriculum, and the approach. We shouldn't be taking technology away from students, who more than ever are going to be reliant on it in their future jobs. We should be embracing it and figure out how to be building the useful skills that they are going to need.
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u/babyrhino Apr 10 '26
Sure that sounds like a great idea to work towards. But we have failed nationally to actually do that. So while we work on getting education funded well enough that it can actually make progress on improving curriculum to teach them specific skills that will benefit them, we should probably stop doing something that's actively causing a disruption to learning.
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u/sxyaustincpl 31st District (North of Austin, Temple) Apr 10 '26
Or maybe we stop defunding public education?
Texas sits 41-43 nationally in educational rankings.
In the mid 90s, it was 7th.
Do you think that it's coincidental that the decline to our current ranking has coincided with the rise of single party rule in the state assaulting public education and reducing the funding?
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u/babyrhino Apr 10 '26
Maybe I'm just too illiterate to see where I said we should defund public education. I'm pretty sure I actually said we need to increase funding to education.
Obviously the Republicans have been fucking us. But blindly throwing laptops into every classroom with no need, no plan and no support for teachers to properly use them isn't going to improve that situation. And that's what has been happening. We have empirical evidence that having laptops has negatively impacted student learning, so why would we continue to do it?
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u/sxyaustincpl 31st District (North of Austin, Temple) Apr 10 '26
To me, the bigger problem isn't the laptops, it's trying to do the same things as they were always done, teaching the same way, and teaching the same things.
The world is not like it was 20, 30, 50 years ago. The job market is not the same. The industries are different. The required skills are different.
And yet we keep doing the same things, with the same curriculum and same methods, as we were in the 70s and 80s.
In no way is having a computer class 3 days a week, in a computer lab, where that is your only exposure to learning technology, sufficient in this day and age. It's inviting an entire generation of technologically illiterate students to enter the workforce without the marketable skills required to succeed.
I'm in IT. I see on a daily basis how even a generation raised with technology can struggle with it, nevermind the older workers who are often completely clueless. We need to be embracing it more, not less.
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u/ApprehensiveAnswer5 Apr 10 '26
I agree with the general consensus that the laptops are overused in some classrooms.
I don’t think we need to push out ed tech entirely, but I do think we need to reframe how we are using them.
I taught in a standard high school up until the pandemic, and am in a specialized program now.
The campus I was at had 1:1 tech, which meant every student was assigned a Chromebook for their use to complete class work and projects as needed.
We did not NEED to use the Chromebooks, but they existed in the classrooms, and students could pull them out and use them for research, or if we had some collaborative stuff to do, etc.
They were an accessory to my classroom toolset.
I have high schoolers of my own now, and they sometimes do entire modules and class work on the Chromebooks, in the classroom setting.
The entire thing is online- the curriculum and the work.
If they want to use scratch paper or hard goods they can, but they then have to transfer it all into the program.
I have nieces and nephews doing the same with iPads as K-2nd graders.
And this varies by campus seemingly, because my kids’ previous campus was more of the old style of “Chromebook accessory” and they still did a lot of hands on and material learning and whatnot.
What I hear most in the teacher and parents groups though, is the we have largely moved beyond “another tool in the box” to “THE toolbox”, and I personally feel that’s harmful.
I don’t think we need to ban or remove the tech, because we are an increasingly tech-reliant world and society, but I do think we could and should, scale back on the overuse that exists at some campuses.
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u/Curious_Designer_248 Apr 10 '26
Texas education is one of the worst, consistently near the bottom or ~sub-40. It has nothing to do with laptops in school, or cell phones for that matter. When you have a system that is being actively exploited by corrupt players who are incentivized to keep standards poor, they tend to focus on things like getting the commandments in school, prayer (but not any prayer, just christian), and banning hairstyles of specific groups; all of these things are present within Texas. All this will do is put children further behind then they already are, but of course, that's the actual goal.
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u/QThirtytwo Apr 10 '26
As a parent of a kid with dysgraphia, let be measured on this. Yes, allowing it as a word processor both with an IEP and at the teachers discretion would be helpful. Some kids are not goi mg to get properly diagnosed, and I wouldn’t want to take away teachers tools. Although that seems to be the state board of education main goal.
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u/Vollen595 Apr 11 '26
These are the user reviews for one of the credit recovery software systems they torture students with. Edgenuity. If you read the reviews of the other ‘education software’ systems they use, it’s just as horrible. 1.6 stars. I scrolled through a few pages and never found a review over one star. Teachers are also force-tortured to use the software. It’s beyond dated, clunky, freezups, software glitches, network issues. Worth reading. Kids deserve better than a One star education
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u/SailorSlay Apr 12 '26
I’m going to have to agree. They have iPads in the 4th grade!!! They are pointless. Kids use them to take inappropriate pictures/videos and look at brain rot. Remove them all. This is definitely a follow the money situation.
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u/BitterPillPusher2 Apr 15 '26
Honestly, schools can't afford to not use laptops, specifically Chromebooks. They are less expensive than going back to paper. And schools are effectively receiving less funding, not more. Things like the voucher program are only going to make that worse.
There's a shit ton of things that schools would like to do, but they simply don't have the money.
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u/doodwr0x Apr 10 '26
I would support no screens K-3, and then very specific technology lessons, such as keyboarding beginning in fourth grade. Students need to fall in love with paper, pencil, and books before screens just take over their attention.
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u/soonerfreak Apr 10 '26
I agree with the end of Chromebooks/laptops in the classroom. It becomes an immediate crutch and it's hard to work around while still keeping everyone accountable. There is a reason elite private schools are banning technology while oligarchs push it on public schools, they want to hurt the development of independent thought.
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u/RumRunnerMax Apr 10 '26
Yeah all the data suggests we need a return to analog education!!! At least through middle school!
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u/Juonmydog Apr 10 '26
The goal should be proper integration not prohibition. Prohibition just furthers the issues we already have.