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Coping with Phone Addiction in Kids

Not just a distraction at school, phones also impact mental health

Managing screens at school can be a challenge.

The Trouble with Screens in Schools

A new California law seeks to prohibit “addictive content” from being served to children during school hours via cell phone apps.

Of course, there are all sorts of problems with implementation and enforcement.

But, the passage of this law points to an uncomfortable reality: cell phone addiction is a “new normal.”

We expect kids to be addicted to their phones, and are now entering the phase of attempting to “manage” that addiction.

Last year, Gallup found that over half of U.S. teens ages 13-19 spend an average of 4.8 hours a day on social media. Female teens spend an average of 5.3 each day on social media compared to the 4.4 hours average of teen males. A Common Sense Media Study found that 97% of kids 11 through 17 years old use their phones at school. The most popular usage among teenagers is TikTok at 32%, YouTube at 26%, and gaming at 17%.

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The Trouble with Screens in Schools

The dangers of digital saturation

Screens are everywhere. Devices – laptops, tablets, phones. Non-stop screen access for students – at home, school, in their rooms, at after-school activities and jobs.

While these devices offer convenience, educators (and some parents) are noting that 24/7 screen access is creating some problems.

Amy Tyson digs in to explain more:

I started Everyschool because I have come to believe that educational technology is not the panacea we’ve been told it is, and while some technology is transformative for some students, screens in schools have become yet another source of technology oversaturation in our children’s lives, often resulting in students being less smart, less happy, and less healthy. 

She notes:

The reality is that we need to strike a balance. We should invest in technology that provides students with unique, high-level skills, while limiting tech that produces questionable outcomes, impairs human connection, and exposes students to unnecessary screen time. At Everyschool, we focus on identifying and eliminating problematic EdTech, but we also support incorporating transformative technology when developmentally appropriate into education. 

MORE from Tyson>

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Laura Black Earns Endorsement in State Senate Race

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TN On Pace to Lose $500 Million in Revenue

Corporate tax cut takes toll on state revenue

State lawmakers chose to reinstate a year-long sales tax on groceries while offering corporations a significant tax cut.

That decision now means foregone revenue – as much as $500 million this year, if current trends continue.

With the first two months of Tennessee’s 2024-25 fiscal year complete, state officials are reporting an $81 million decline in corporate tax revenue.

The decline comes even as lawmakers and Gov. Bill Lee continue to push for an expensive universal school voucher program.

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Voting on Vouchers

Voters in three states to weigh in on school vouchers

Election Day means a chance to make choices.

In three states this year, Election Day will provide an opportunity for voters to make their voices heard on school vouchers.

Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska all have voucher votes on the ballot.

Peter Greene reminds us:

These are three different approaches to the question of taxpayer-funded school vouchers, but they share the unusual feature of putting voucher programs to a public vote. All school voucher programs in the U. S. were passed into law by legislatures, sometimes over strong objections of the taxpayers. No taxpayer-funded school voucher program has ever survived a public vote.

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Are Religious Charter Schools Constitutional?

The Supreme Court will soon weigh-in

Thanks to Bill Lee’s unabashed embrace of Christian Nationalism, charter schools affiliated with extremist Hillsdale College are a reality in Tennessee.

Exceptionally Bad

A key question – in TN and elsewhere – is can state funds be used to support explicitly religious charter schools?

In Kentucky, the Supreme Court ruled that charter schools are NOT public schools. Period. So, no state funds may be used to support them.

Now, the U.S. Supreme Court is taking up a case on state funding of religious charter schools. An analysis of the key issues includes:

The third issue that the U.S. Supreme Court must address is that it needs to determine whether those who run charter schools are state or private actors. This is because the vast majority of people who run charter schools are private groups. However, these charters are defined by law as public schools and are supported by tax-payer dollars. If the Court rules that those who operate the charter schools are state actors, then because they must be non-sectarian, religious charter schools will be ruled unconstitutional. However, if the Court rules that charter schools are private actors, then religious charter schools will be ruled constitutional.

In Kentucky, the Commonwealth’s highest court found that because charter schools are operated by private actors, they are essentially private schools. In other states, that has not been the case. It will be interesting to see how the U.S. Supreme Court sorts this out.

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Teachers vs. Trump

In Omaha, teachers speak out against Trump agenda

Teachers are reacting to proposals by former President Donald Trump to slash federal education funding and/or eliminate the Department of Education.

In Omaha, Nebraska, teachers held a rally to call for supporting public schools:

Education has been a hot topic in Nebraska for months because of school choice legislation, now there is a microscope on it nationally, with the Trump/Vance campaign calling for the closure of the Department of Education. Teachers and education leaders in Omaha spoke out against proposed federal education cuts and elimination of the Department of Education.

In Tennessee, some lawmakers, including Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, have proposed rejecting billions of dollars in federal education funding.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton has floated the idea of Tennessee rejecting federal education spending because he’s not a fan of the strings attached to the nearly $2 billion the state receives each year to help fund public schools.

When asked to clarify, Sexton revealed that he wasn’t suggesting “doing without,” but rather that the state would simply pick up the tab.

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JD Vance and Christian Nationalism

Vance advances school privatization agenda in PA event

Peter Greene reports in detail on JD Vance’s comments accusing public school teachers of being Marxist indoctrinators who don’t teach math or reading but are big on teaching America hating.

As Greene notes:

Vance just spoke at a Christian nationalist rally in Monroeville (a Pittsburgh suburb), and some of it was about education.

Greene notes the following remarks from Vance’s appearance:

Some of the stuff that they’re teaching in American schools in 2024, that that’s not just liberalism that is crazy and we’ve got to get it out of our schools or it’s going to poison the minds of our young people.

And, well, it’s just bizarre.

But not if you take it in the context of JD Vance and Donald Trump advancing a Christian Nationalist agenda.

Not because either of them actually care about advancing a Christian takeover of American institutions – but because acting like they are all-in helps them win the votes of the evangelicals that do.

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The End for Ed Secretary?

Cardona will likely move on in 2025

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona seems likely to move on after the election. After all, there will be a new President. And, even though Cardona is a member of the Biden-Harris team, his track record does not seem to suggest reason to keep him on should Harris win in November.

To be fair, he came in as Team Biden was leading an effort to return to normalcy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent piece in Politico takes a look at the challenges Cardona has faced – and notes a lack of action on what was once a bold vision for public education:

But he’s run out of time to build a post-pandemic vision that draws absent students back to classrooms, boosts lagging test scores, and reshapes American education. Despite a recent flurry of travel and fiery speeches championing Democratic issues, Cardona’s uneven tenure has clouded his prospects to influence the education industry or a potential Harris administration.

Cardona’s track record is more complicated. After pushing to reopen schools with $122 billion in expiring federal aid, the department is scrambling to recover from a botched debut of college financial aid forms that threatens to upend enrollment. Courts have scrapped affirmative action, stymied Biden’s efforts to cancel student loan debt, and blocked rules that extend campus discrimination protections to transgender students. Congressional Republicans have even called for Cardona’s resignation after he declined to condemn pro-Palestinian protest chants on college campuses.

Harris, who has close ties to teacher’s unions, seems likely to select a more vocal advocate for the concerns of educators. And, well, Trump isn’t exactly interested in education.

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Investing in Teachers: It’s Not a Dream in Washington State

But Tennessee teachers face a low-pay nightmare

Tennessee teachers are some of the lowest-paid in the nation – and among the lowest-paid in the Southeast.

In fact, only 25% of Tennessee teachers earn more than $60,000/year.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

In fact, in Washington State, it’s not.

I took a look at teacher pay in Olympia – starting teachers there can expect to earn $60,000 with a bachelor’s degree. Pay goes up to $120,000 depending on years of experience and education level.

In other words, it doesn’t have to be this way.

As I’ve written before, Tennessee continues to make policy choices indicating that the priorities of Gov. Bill Lee and his legislative allies are NOT investing in public education or public school educators.

The state spent $500 million to help build a new stadium for the Tennessee Titans.

The state in this past legislative session passed a $1.6 billion corporate tax break.

Past legislators have eliminated the Inheritance Tax and the Hall Tax on investment income.

For just a little more of what state taxpayers (at the behest of Lee and lawmakers) gifted the Titans, we could give all teachers a 20% raise.

Making that an ongoing commitment would be simple: Just repeal the ridiculous corporate tax giveaway the legislature just passed.

Tennessee policymakers could make investing in schools a priority – but they persist in choosing not to.

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Let’s Talk About Money

Teacher pay matters – TN policymakers don’t get it

Yes, it’s about money.

Despite Gov. Bill Lee and his GOP allies claiming to invest in teachers, average teacher pay in the state is still among the lowest in the nation.

From National Education Association analysis of teacher pay

And a new report suggests the teacher pay penalty – the gap between teacher pay and the pay of other comparably-educated professionals – is at an all-time high.

The latest data says the “teacher pay penalty” – the gap between teacher compensation and the pay of other professionals – is now at an all-time high – 27%.

Of further concern:

Young people’s interest in education continues to slide as they recognize “many downsides” to teaching, including its unattractive pay. 

Why Don’t They Want to Teach?

Since 2009, Tennessee has identified shortages in the overall numbers of K-12 teachers needed for public schools as well as teachers for specific subjects. There is a critical need in the state for STEM teachers, as well as shortages in high school English, social studies, world languages, Pre-K through high school special education, and English as a second language.

In short, policymakers have been aware of this problem for a long, long time.

Now, the crisis is acute – and nothing is being done.

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