teacher
All about teachers and the world of teaching; teachers sharing their best and worst interactions with students, best teaching practices, the path to becoming a teacher, and more.
How Ancient Humans Used Stars to Navigate the Oceans
The Birth of Celestial Navigation Celestial navigation is the practice of determining position and direction using stars, the Sun, the Moon, and planets. For ancient mariners, the night sky was more than beautiful — it was a reliable map.
By shahkar jalal4 days ago in Education
The U.S. Spent $30 Billion to Ditch Textbooks for Laptops and Tablets — The Result Is the First Generation Less Cognitively Capable Than Their Parents. AI-Generated.
The United States has invested more than $30 billion in recent years to replace traditional textbooks with laptops and tablets in public schools — a dramatic shift in educational technology that was supposed to modernize teaching and boost learning. But critics, including leading neuroscientists and educational experts, now say that the outcome has been far from the transformation its backers envisioned. Instead, they argue, the heavy reliance on screens has coincided with declining cognitive performance among students compared with previous generations. A Digital Education Revolution Goes Mainstream The trend toward digital classrooms began in earnest in the early 2000s. Programs like the Maine Learning Technology Initiative distributed laptops to students statewide as an early model for tech-enhanced learning. Over the following two decades, school districts across the U.S. adopted similar initiatives, gradually phasing out physical textbooks in favor of internet-connected devices for lessons, reading, assignments, and tests. By 2024, the combined national spending on educational technology — primarily laptops and tablets for schoolchildren — topped $30 billion. Proponents argued that digital devices would modernize education, make classrooms more interactive, and prepare students for a technology-driven workforce. Early adopters believed that granting students unfettered access to knowledge and multimedia resources would boost engagement and academic success. Alarming Outcomes in Cognitive Performance Yet, recent testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and emerging research paint a starkly different picture. Neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath testified that Generation Z — the first cohort raised with screens as a central part of everyday schooling — is the first in modern history to perform worse on standardized tests than the generation before it, despite spending more years in formal education. Exam scores in literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills have declined in various national assessments. Data cited by Horvath shows a clear correlation between high daily screen exposure — often four hours or more during school days — and lower performance on tests that serve as rough proxies for cognitive ability. Yahoo News Malaysia Critics note that while test scores aren’t a perfect measure of intelligence, they do reflect core capabilities like reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, and working memory — skills vital to academic and professional success. Screens vs. Traditional Learning Experts are careful to underline that technology itself isn’t inherently harmful. Instead, the way devices have been implemented may fundamentally change how students learn. Unrestricted access to laptops and tablets can encourage multitasking, distraction, and shallow engagement with material rather than deep focus and sustained attention — both of which are critical for memory formation and conceptual understanding. AInvest Research from educational technology analysts suggests that the massive infusion of digital tools has delivered a “negative return on cognitive capital,” where increased spending and device usage have not translated into better learning outcomes. Instead, the emphasis on screens may be undermining the very cognitive development schools aim to promote. AInvest Educator and Policy Backlash The findings have sparked backlash from educators, parents, and some policymakers. There is growing concern that schools adopted technology without sufficient evidence for its effectiveness, persuaded by the promise of modernization rather than pedagogical research. Some educators report that students lose focus easily, switch between tasks frequently, and spend significant class time off-task — sometimes even playing games or browsing unrelated content. Reddit Anecdotal reports from teachers indicate that removing technology from certain lessons can lead to better classroom engagement, and some districts have begun reconsidering screen policies. Internationally, countries like Sweden have even begun to limit screens in classrooms, returning to textbooks and printed materials to improve learning outcomes. Futura The Way Forward Neuroscientists and learning experts argue that improving students’ cognitive development will require a reassessment of how technology is used in schools. Instead of blanket adoption, they propose rigorous evaluation of digital tools, stronger limits on screen time during instruction, and a renewed focus on evidence-based teaching methods that promote deep, attentive learning. AInvest Some recommendations from Horvath and others include setting efficacy standards for ed-tech funding, restricting tracking and data collection in schools, and reintroducing physical textbooks and written assignments where they demonstrably support better learning. Yahoo News Malaysia Conclusion The U.S.’s multi-billion-dollar investment in laptops and tablets represents one of the most ambitious education technology experiments in history. Yet early evidence suggests that replacing traditional textbooks with screens may have weakened cognitive development instead of strengthening it. As policymakers and educators reflect on the next steps, the debate over technology’s role in learning remains one of the most consequential issues facing American education today.
By Fiaz Ahmed 4 days ago in Education
The Brilliant Journey of Otis Boykin
Otis Frank Boykin was born in 1920 in Dallas, Texas, into a world that expected little from people who looked like him. But from the moment he entered the world, he seemed determined to challenge every limitation placed in front of him. His mother, a homemaker, tragically passed away when he was just a year old, and his father—a carpenter—raised him with a strong work ethic and a belief that intelligence could be a tool of transformation. Boykin carried that belief throughout his life, turning it into an engine of groundbreaking inventions that would eventually power some of the most advanced technologies on earth.
By TREYTON SCOTT5 days ago in Education
The Remarkable Legacy of Bessie Blount Griffin
In 1914, in the quiet community of Hickory, Chesapeake, a young girl named Bessie Blount began a journey that would eventually reshape the future of medical independence and forensic science. Born into a world where opportunities for Black women were exceedingly limited, she refused to let society dictate her path. Instead, she forged her own—brick by brick, challenge by challenge, invention by invention.
By TREYTON SCOTT5 days ago in Education
Will Astronomy Guide Future Philosophy?
A Historical Bond Between Stars and Thought Astronomy has always guided philosophy. In ancient Greece, philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato grounded their metaphysical systems in cosmological models. The structure of the heavens influenced theories about perfection, motion, and causation.
By shahkar jalal5 days ago in Education
Is the Universe Enough? Science, Meaning, and the Search for Completeness
The Universe as Total Reality Scientifically speaking, the universe includes all space, time, matter, and energy. From the Big Bang to the formation of galaxies, from quantum particles to black holes, everything observable belongs to this cosmic system.
By shahkar jalal5 days ago in Education
Does the Universe Invite Exploration? Humanity’s Endless Call to the Cosmos
The First Invitation: Looking Up Long before space agencies and advanced observatories, ancient civilizations observed the stars. The night sky was not just decoration; it was a calendar, a compass, and a source of wonder.
By shahkar jalal5 days ago in Education
Can Cosmic Mystery Be Permanent? Exploring the Limits of Knowledge in an Expanding Universe
The Expanding Horizon of Discovery Throughout history, scientific progress has replaced uncertainty with explanation. Ancient civilizations looked at the sky and saw gods and omens. Later, scientific pioneers transformed those myths into measurable patterns. When Galileo Galilei used a telescope to observe Jupiter’s moons, he shattered centuries of assumption about Earth’s central place in the cosmos.
By shahkar jalal5 days ago in Education
The Protection-of-Innocence Reciprocity Doctrine. AI-Generated.
Core Moral Premise The highest duty of any legitimate social order is the protection of innocent life. Innocent life has absolute moral primacy. Any system that systematically insulates predators, tolerates predatory asymmetry, rewards hypocrisy, or allows aggressors to retain insulation has inverted its purpose and forfeited legitimacy. Truth, justice, reciprocity, humility, mercy, forgiveness, and vertical accountability are structural necessities rather than optional virtues. Vertical accountability means recognition of and submission to a moral law higher than oneself. Authority must flow toward those who most consistently demonstrate sustained competence in moral and epistemic discipline. This competence is shown through observable conduct and trajectory over time, not through doctrinal label, tribal identity, credential alone, or self-profession.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast5 days ago in Education
