tbh if we let kids read books on phones instead of forcing the physical ones they may be able to engage better/get thru more content. i’m reading a book on my phone rn & chaps are going so much faster bc im used to generally reading on my phone (& it’s always accessible). thread

i love readings and even for me physical books can be daunting. always being aware of how much i have left to read (bc i’m holding all the pages in my hands) can be exhausting no matter how invested i am esp bc i have anxiety. now imagine kids who aren’t “readers” and struggle

when i read on my phone it’s a lot easier for me to get lost in the book bc i’m just scrolling through, i’m not thinking of how many pages it’s been, i’m not noticing that it seems like i’ve barely put a dent in the book, i’m just there engaging. and it’s still the same book.

physical books are not a more valid form of reading. if it’s on my phone/tablet/audiobook, etc i’m still getting the content. we’ve been taught that you need to be able to sit down and ingest a physical book or there’s something wrong with you. but we don’t all learn like that.

distrusting kids on their phones in schools is valid but the push to delegimitize phones as a way of researching/receiving information bc teachers dk how to deal w them is not only an isolating practice that results in hostile school environments but disconnected from reality

phones are many ppl’s only internet devices and the thing they’re most accustomed to. til schools start meeting kids where they are, there’s not going to be anyway to get more of them to succeed. the rigidity of the system is the problem, not kids’ inability to conform to it.

boils down to control imo, many students get punished bc they didn’t do something in a way a teacher wants to, not bc they did something wrong. if it’s about them getting the content, why aren’t we pushing for that to happen no matter what? in the way that works best for them?

instead of making an integral aspect of kids daily lives, ed, and connections w others (phones) a contentious enemy of progress in school, acknowledge the reality of where we are now w their necessity & adjust, teach kids how to use them responsibly. it’s what they need to know.