Gadget Overload Is Hurting Our Schools

The problem with teaching to the tech

Adecade ago, I was writing a book that asked why education technology so rarely delivers on its promise, even as innovative educators were urging schools to ensure that every student had a phone and bragging about student writing assignments that incorporated tweets and texts. Of course, as the grim consequences of phones in school became clear, those devotees quietly began plugging virtual reality, TikTok, AI, and other new enthusiasms.

While technology has a useful role to play in schooling (we’ll get to this momentarily), experience...