TBMS Weekly Newsletter - Issue 24-25.22

Happy 100th day of the school year! While this day is not celebrated at the middle school level the way it is in elementary school, it is a milestone nonetheless. We now have a healthy portion of the school year behind us upon which to reflect, while we look forward to the end of this school year and dive fully into plans for next. 

As I reflect on my first 100 school days at TBMS, I do want to share a concern that has emerged for me: appropriate use of student devices. I began the year with a very clear directive that there are no cell phones in the middle school: “bell to bell, no cell,” I am fond of saying. And I am happy to report that, for the most part, our middle school students adhere to this expectation quite well. There are occasionally concerns about headphones - perhaps in a single ear, perhaps hiding beneath a hood. And very occasionally I will see a phone out during lunch and need to remind a student that it must be off and away. But mostly, personal device use is kept in check at TBMS. 

Of greater concern is misuse of the school-provided iPads and laptops. From the very beginning of the school year, I have had questions about student use of Gimkit. While this application does have educational uses, many students play the gamified elements of Gimkit in ways that have nothing to do with learning Indeed, students will create their own quizzes on Gimkiet and repeatedly answer the questions correctly, thereby earning them essentially unlimited time to play. Thus the vast majority of the time spent in this app for many children is decidedly not educational. 

In another vein, a number of students struggle to stop playing games when it is time to learn. Students commonly have games like Minecraft or Roblox - or different iterations of those same games that subvert the school’s firewalls against certain sites - on windows that are open all the time on their devices. Students will toggle between school windows/apps and their games countless times throughout the day, making for significant distractions from and interruptions to learning. 

More recently, we have seen the practice emerge of students taking pictures of themselves and each other - and even teachers. Sometimes pictures are taken - and even distributed - without consent. 

I do not blame anyone for this issue. This problem is complex. Some will suggest that the devices need to go, but that suggestion elides how much value this technology has brought to student learning and underestimates how much of our curriculum relies on online resources. Some will argue for stricter limits and for educators to tightly police student use of devices, or that parents need to take the lead in monitoring and controlling student behavior. (Again, the blame game is not productive here.) Most will agree that students need guidance and support in using their technology appropriately; these devices are important learning tools, but misuse can lead to distraction, disruption, violations of privacy, and addiction to games and devices. 

I share these reflections not because I have the answers, but because I think it is crucial that our community engages in the conversation. Our faculty and staff are working on ways to support students’ technology usage in productive, age-appropriate ways. I encourage families to have candid conversations about their middle schoolers’ use of school devices, to empower students to reflect on their behavior and set goals and limits for themselves. I look forward to opportunities for educators and families to take up this topic together, so that we can collaborate in supporting our children’s growth, development, and learning. 

Please be on the lookout for opportunities coming down the pike for these conversations. I know that plans are already in the works. The more of us who together, the more likely we are to succeed.