Chromebook controversy: Parents ask to opt children out of using devices 24/7
Hundreds of parents in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, are voicing their concerns about the district's electronic device policy.
During a community meeting held in late March, parents had a chance to speak with school officials about the district's one-to-one laptop program.
According to the district's website, the program began at the high school level in 2007 and was expanded to the middle school level after the pandemic.
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https://6abc.com/post/chromebook-controversy-lower-merion-pa-parents-ask-opt-children-using-devices-247/18930127/
We're in a time when technology is flooding our daily lives.
There's a growing number of parents pushing back against electronic devices
in one Montgomery County school district. Students in Lower Marion are being
issued Chromebooks, but some parents are asking to opt out
and to stick with pen and paper. Action News reporter Caroline Goggin
attended tonight's school board meeting. She's live for us in Ardmore
at the school district headquarters with that story tonight. Caroline.
Well sorry this is not a new issue here in the Lower Marion school district and
it's not an issue that is unique to Lower Marion. This is a conversation
that's being had in school districts across the country. There was a
conversation in late March between parents here in Lower Marion
and school district officials about the issue, but as you mentioned
in recent weeks parents have decided they want to opt out of this technology
altogether. They say they understand there's a place
for it, but they don't want it to control the classroom.
And there is no control. It's a free for all environment. It's just gotten
completely out of hand. The parents of elementary, middle, and
high school students in Lower Marion are voicing their concerns. 430 have
signed a petition asking to opt their children out of
receiving school-issued Chromebooks or MacBooks.
They call it pencils over pixels. Worried about the impact the constant
use of technology is having on their children. There really
aren't any filters. They can just access absolutely anything
off the internet. The vast majority of the kids will find a way
to bypass all the protection and go to YouTube and watch the videos and play
the computer games. During a school board meeting tonight
several students spoke about the issue. The iPad in my class is just game.
I wonder sometimes why do we use it every day? My peers' ability
to think is being replaced by AI. You have given us something comparable to
an addictive drug and expect us not to use it.
A CDC study published last year stated teenagers with four or more hours of
daily screen time were more likely to experience sleep
issues, depression, and anxiety. Right now parents in Lower Marion are
waiting to hear from the district. When we ask school officials for comment
we were referred to remarks made by the superintendent at a policy meeting
last Monday. We're concerned about screen time so we'll work with our teachers
more and more to lessen that. District policy currently states parents
can opt their children out of receiving a district-issued device.
However last week the superintendent said that is not possible.
Our curriculum is delivered the way it's delivered and part of that curriculum is
done with electronic devices. We can't have a
room for 20-30 kids that want to opt out
and the rest of the school is operating differently.
Last week the superintendent also said that the district will work with parents
to filter and restrict those devices when they are
being used at home but those parents tell me
they are resolute. They want to opt out of this technology.
We're live tonight in Ardmore. I'm Caroline Goggin, Channel 6
Action News. Sorry, yeah, an important discussion for sure. Okay Caroline, thank you.