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We Need to Talk About Screens in School — Before We Lose Another Generation of Readers

  • electmichele
  • 12 hours ago
  • 4 min read

Walk into almost any classroom today and you’ll see it: kids with screens open, headphones on, clicking through assignments, games, and “learning platforms” that promise to personalize instruction. We were told this would make students more engaged, more “future ready,” and more successful.


But after years of device-driven education, we have to be honest about what we’re seeing: kids are not retaining what they learn on screens the same way they retain what they learn through print, handwriting, and direct instruction.If our goal is literacy—real literacy—then we need to have a hard conversation about whether individual digital devices belong at the center of K–8 education.


Technology can be helpful. But it’s still just a tool. And tools are only effective when they’re used at the right time, for the right purpose, in the right amount—especially for developing brains.


Screens feel productive. That doesn’t mean they produce learning.


In The Digital Delusion, neuroscientist and educator Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath synthesizes decades of cognitive science research and concludes that screen-based learning often creates the illusion of learning, not the reality of it.


Multiple peer-reviewed meta-analyses confirm this:

These effects are considered meaningful in education research—especially when applied across millions of students learning foundational skills.

Horvath explains why: print provides stable spatial cues that help the brain form mental “maps” for comprehension and memory, something screens don’t consistently provide.Example explanation from Horvath discussion:https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jared-cooney-horvath_the-real-reason-why-digital-reading-fails-activity-7398796710380097537-No6a


The basics still matter: pencils, paper, handwriting, books

Research consistently shows that:

Children don’t develop literacy through clicking. They develop it through:

  • sustained attention

  • handwriting

  • reading physical text

  • interacting with teachers

  • thinking deeply without constant digital prompts

If we want higher literacy, we should stop building classrooms around a medium repeatedly shown to underperform print for comprehension.


We can’t ignore the warning signs

National reading scores are already signaling trouble.

According to the Nation’s Report Card, 2022 reading scores declined for both 4th- and 8th-grade students compared to 2019, with 4th-grade scores falling below every testing year back to 2005:https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/reading/2022/


​​And as test scores have declined, we haven’t just lowered expectations—we’ve too often lowered standards, adjusting benchmarks instead of addressing the root causes of learning loss.


No single factor explains this decline. But it is hard to ignore that the downturn coincides with the era in which screen-based learning became widespread.


The EdTech lobby will fight this

The education technology industry is massive, and its business model depends on classroom adoption. Devices generate recurring revenue through software subscriptions, licensing, upgrades, and platform ecosystems.


But education policy should be based on learning outcomes, not vendor marketing.

Some teachers understandably like devices because they can make classroom management easier or keep students occupied. But quiet students clicking through apps is not the same as students learning.


The question we must ask is not: “Did the technology engage them?”

The question is: “Did it improve retention, comprehension, and literacy?”


Teaching technology without letting it replace learning

Students absolutely need digital skills. But they don’t need to sit in front of individual devices all day to get them.


A balanced approach works better:

  • Teach technology intentionally

  • Use computer labs or shared devices for skill instruction

  • Keep core learning grounded in proven methods

When appropriate, children can learn to use technology in targeted lessons without making screens the primary medium for math, reading, writing, and thinking.


This proposal is practical and fiscally responsible

The legislation addressing this issue is intentionally structured to avoid sudden costs or disruption. Schools with existing device contracts may continue them until they expire, but cannot renew long-term one-to-one device contracts for K-8 after that point.

This staggered approach allows districts to transition responsibly, replacing expiring device programs with textbooks and print materials instead of absorbing new costs all at once.

Teachers may still use technology for instruction when appropriate. The goal is not prohibition. The goal is balance.


Technology should support learning—not replace it

Before children can master digital tools, they must master foundational skills:

  • reading deeply

  • writing clearly

  • reasoning logically

  • focusing for sustained periods

  • retaining information


Technology is a powerful tool. But when it becomes the default method of instruction instead of a supplement, we risk weakening the very skills education is meant to build.


That is why I filed HB2392—because it’s time we ask whether our education system is serving children or serving screens. Technology should support learning—not replace it.This bill opens the door for a serious, data-driven conversation about learning, literacy, and what truly prepares students for the future. It will be heard in the Education Administration Subcommittee on Tuesday, February 18, 2026, at 3 p.m., and I encourage Tennesseans who care about education to make their voices heard.


Michele Reneau

TN State Representative 

District 27


 
 
 

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