(Quebec) The tablet in schools is a “mistake”, according to lawyer and specialist in educational theory Catherine L’Ecuyer, who believes that “we have turned a blind eye” in the name of supposed “modernity” and “progress”.
“We took a lot of things for granted,” lamented Mr.me L’Ecuyer during his participation, Monday, in the special transpartisan commission on the impacts of screens on young people.
However, there has never been any evidence that tablets have any positive effects on learning. Technology companies have also reportedly remained silent about the negative effects.
“It’s 2024, tablets were introduced into classrooms in 2015, and we’re still asking for the proof. We don’t have it,” Mr.me The Squire.
“We closed our eyes and said, ‘Okay, we’re going to introduce this into the classroom because it looks modern and progressive,’ and then we realize that it doesn’t work.”
“Teachers are complaining, parents are confused. […] It was a mistake. […] “The tablet is not an educational tool,” she insisted, more generally denouncing a “large-scale experiment.”
The researcher concludes that technology companies, which offer “gifts” to school principals, fund research and sponsor educational conferences, cannot be trusted.
“Letting tech companies decide what goes into a classroom is like letting Pizza Hut decide what goes into school lunches,” she said.
“It’s time to get this straight,” she added.
Catherine L’Ecuyer suggests a possible solution: demand more transparency from these companies to better understand who they are giving money to.
She also wonders why young people should be given access to social networks, when the age for alcohol, tobacco and pornography is 18.
She is in favour of imposing a numerical majority at 16, as the young CAQ members wanted, even though she predicts that within five years, several countries in the world will raise the age to 18.
Yes, this rule will probably be circumvented, but at least we will have “sent the message” that social networks are harmful, even “destructive”, according to her.
Bring on the digital majority!
American author and psychiatrist Victoria Dunckley totally agrees: minors should be banned from social media. She also wants to see cell phones banned from schools altogether.
Currently, in Quebec, it is forbidden to use your cell phone in class, with some exceptions. However, students can use them during breaks and lunch time.
According to Mme Dunckley says that once the cell phone is banned, young people will feel “relieved” and their anxiety levels will decrease.
She explained to the commission that screens deregulate the nervous system, desensitize dopamine receptors, suppress melatonin, and “turn off” the frontal lobe.
The result is that young people behave in a more “primitive” way. They are more irritable, find everything boring, have difficulty concentrating. “You can’t learn in conditions like that,” she says.
She recommends periods of computer fasting (screen fasting) of at least four weeks to help the brain “resynchronize.” During the fast, the person would quickly become “more relaxed, more engaged.”
Mme Dunckley also urges schools not to impose tablets, to allow good old paper and pencil, and to encourage sports, music and the arts, all excellent activities for brain development.
Screens and overall development
On Monday, a third expert, associate professor at the Faculty of Education at the University of Sherbrooke Caroline Fitzpatrick, came to speak with the elected members of the commission.
Mme Fitzpatrick said he conducted a longitudinal study during the pandemic that showed that more screen time in early childhood led to poorer overall development.
Risk of being overweight, poor management of emotions, less self-control, poorer executive functions, the effects of screens on children’s development are numerous, she said.
Moreover, parents who were the biggest screen users had children with the poorest overall development, according to the results of his work.
For its part, the Fédération des centres de services scolaires du Québec defended the use of technology in the classroom, saying it did not want to create “digital illiterates.”
“Schools are educational institutions. The goal is for children, who will become the adults of tomorrow, to be able to make good progress,” declared its deputy chairman and CEO, Dominique Robert.
Consultations will continue until September 26. The special commission must also tour schools, before submitting its report by May 30, 2025.