An EdTech Tragedy
Posted By: Judy W., 3/24/2025 7:53:20 AM
In The Anxious Generation, we focused on the emergence of the adolescent mental health crisis that began in the early 2010s. However, since the book’s publication one year ago, we have learned even more about worrisome trends in education that closely mirror those in mental health: after decades of stability or gradual improvement, test scores in the U.S. and around the world began declining notably in the 2010s. (Snip) One plausible explanation is the arrival of the phone-based childhood. However, there is a related hypothesis that is more proximal to the educational decline: the sudden appearance of a laptop or tablet on every student’s desk.
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Judy W."
One of the things that frightens parents—and leads them to avoid vaccines that have protected against potentially deadly or life-changing diseases such as measles or polio—is the alleged connection between autism and some of the vaccinations. Parents know that autism diagnoses have skyrocketed over the past few years, and, given how today’s little children are vaccine pincushions, they’re rightly worried. However, I’d like to suggest some alternative reasons for the increased number of diagnoses. My ideas are not based on studies or a medical degree (I don’t have one) but on a little bit of common sense.
Elite University Targets Student For Trying
To Uncover Where Millions In Federal Funds
Are Going 17 replies
To Uncover Where Millions In Federal Funds
Are Going 17 replies
Brown University has opened an investigation into a student for sending emails to administrators asking them what they do in a day.
The 20-year-old sophomore at the university, Alex Shieh, sent emails to all 3,805 administrators at Brown asking them to “Describe what tasks you performed in the past week.” Now the school is investigating him for inflicting “Emotional/Psychological Harm” on the staff, according to documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
School officials accuse Shieh of obtaining confidential information and are requiring him to send proof he has deleted the content, essentially requiring the student to incriminate himself, something that Brown’s policies are supposed to protect him from.
Anyone with common sense can tell when there’s a setup for a big problem, and the Supreme Court keeps setting things up. (Snip)
And then there was my perplexity in 2005 when I found myself wondering why G.W. Bush had appointed Roberts, the “new guy,” directly into being Chief Justice of our Supreme Court rather than elevating a more experienced judge to that position. At the time, he seemed like a lightweight compared to Scalia, Thomas, and Alito. I thought he should be learning from them rather than being the chief.
We have a Chief Justice who belongs to the same secretive “club” as patently evil Judge Boasberg, chief judge
Afghanistan cost Democrats dearly
11 replies
The Democrat Party is down and I am all for kicking it as hard and as often as we can. DC is all a-flutter over this as they watch helpless as Trump takes down the evil empire Democrats made of the federal government. The swamp was drained 200 years ago when they built the city. He is simply cleaning house. (Snip)
Democrats are gazing at their navels trying to figure out what to do next. The Resistance of 2017 won’t work this time because they cannot bogeyman Trump because Americans have already experience on Trump presidency. They know he’s not Hitler.
Purpose vs Passivity
3 replies
Setting aside any "national security" concerns arising from letting The Atlantic's Russia-hoaxer Jeffrey Goldberg in on the Administration's Houthi-bombing call, I doubt that any creature more sentient than an amoeba can have been surprised to learn that US cabinet members "loathe" European "freeloading". (Snip) Are you shocked by Hegseth dismissing the Continent as "pathetic"? Well, you should have been around in the Obama era, when Victoria Nuland, She-Wolf of the Donbass, was rather pithier: F*** the EU!
Chief Justice Roberts, the designated non-binary voter on the Supreme Court, has demanded, re the ongoing judicial coup, that Trump allow the lethargic appellate process to play itself out.
An EdTech Tragedy
4 replies
In The Anxious Generation, we focused on the emergence of the adolescent mental health crisis that began in the early 2010s. However, since the book’s publication one year ago, we have learned even more about worrisome trends in education that closely mirror those in mental health: after decades of stability or gradual improvement, test scores in the U.S. and around the world began declining notably in the 2010s. (Snip) One plausible explanation is the arrival of the phone-based childhood. However, there is a related hypothesis that is more proximal to the educational decline: the sudden appearance of a laptop or tablet on every student’s desk.
Micromanaging Microschools
3 replies
In 2020, the concept of home-based “pandemic pods” went viral. (Snip) A microschool is the reimagining of the one-room schoolhouse, where class sizes are usually fewer than 15 students of varying ages, and the schedule and curriculum are tailored to fit the needs of each class. Most microschools are independently parent-led, but some are affiliated with a formal network that offers paid, in-person instructors. Lessons are taught in various environments, such as homes, libraries, and other community centers.
The government, however, is very intrusive in this area. (Snip) According to the National Microschooling Center, even with the stringent government mandates, there are now about 1,000,000 microschooled students in 44 states.
Few federal agencies warrant dissolution as much as the Department of Education. A bill in Congress to achieve just that has been introduced, the “States’ Education Reclamation Act.”
Jeffrey A. Tucker explains that the Act won’t just save taxpayers $70 billion.
More importantly, it will return education to the states completely, which is an essential first step to fixing the whole system. The target is to return education to families and communities in both financing and control. That is the American system. Nothing else will substitute.
However, returning education to the states is not the same thing as returning it to families and communities.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum outlined the Trump administration’s aggressive strategy to restore American energy leadership through what he called the “four babies” approach: drill, baby, drill; map, baby, map; mine, baby, mine; and build baby build.
In a wide-ranging interview Wednesday with Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matt Boyle, Burgum said he’s committed to drilling for oil and gas, mapping America’s natural resources, mining them responsibly, and building more power generation. (Snip)
In addition to drilling, Burgum emphasized the importance of mapping America’s resources through the U.S. Geological Survey. He celebrated “The Map That Changed the World,” describing how geological mapping of Britain led to a century of industrial dominance.
Do We Have 677 Unelected Presidents?
21 replies
There are almost 700 federal district court judges. I say “almost,” because while officially there are 677 of them, some retired judges have taken senior status and may sit from time to time on cases, so the figure is inexact on any given day. Since President Trump was sworn in for a second term, there have been an avalanche of cases seeking relief from executive actions. Last month alone district court judges issued 15 temporary restraining orders. “That’s more nationwide injunctions than there were issued for the first three YEARS of the Biden Administration. District court judges are out of control.“
I don’t know whether you caught Howard Lutnik, Trump’s Commerce Secretary on CBS Thursday, but it thrilled Absurdistan to bits. Trump’s plan, he says, is to eliminate income tax on those making less than $150,000. To me, that and regulatory reform accompanied by cutting the admin state by 30%, will change not just the States but the entire world. I see towns and counties across America lit with sun and life.The energy and creativity that will unleash, the happy family formation, the independence of people, will soar. With that, engaged citizens will reform their own politics, slipped of the iron ring of servitude to the state most of us experience.
JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania -- Alex Bambino, 21, is the son of two educators. He's busy working, welding a piece of material that will be used on a heavily armored military vehicle when finished. Despite two college-educated parents, who teach at the local Cambrian County schools, he wanted nothing to do with college following high school.
"I like working with my hands, being part of making something that is important, and I had no interest in starting my adult life in debt," he said.
So he went to Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center. (Snip) And he became part of something bigger than himself in the machines he helped make.
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The artist behind a portrait of Donald Trump in the Colorado State Capitol says her career could be in tatters now that the president has besmirched it on social media.
Sarah Boardman’s painting of the president had hung in the Denver building for six years before Trump called it “purposefully distorted” and “truly the worst” on his Truth Social platform in January, prompting state lawmakers to yank it off the wall.
Now the artist’s 41-year career “is in danger of not recovering” from the backlash, Boardman said in a statement on her website on Saturday.
Former President Obama made an appearance at Hamilton College this week and tried to take some cheap shots at the Trump administration.
He was clearly trying to echo the talking points currently being pushed by his party and the media.
For some reason, Obama thinks no one remembers anything about his presidency.
From NBC News: Former President Barack Obama said he is “deeply concerned” with some of the actions that President Donald Trump and his administration have taken and seemed to call out the Republican Party
Elie Mystal, a far-left columnist for The Nation, is so petrified of the Trump administration snatching him off the street because of his articles that he has allegedly hired security to keep him safe.
This, according to Mystal himself.
The author of the new book "Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America" appeared with Charlamagne the God on "The Breakfast Club" late last week and promptly demonstrated little to no grasp of current law.
Mystal is not an illegal immigrant (he was born in Queens, and his father was a prominent political figure in Suffolk County, New York—a legal Haitian migrant), nor does he have a student visa.
As we told you earlier Saturday, an abortion fan was arguing with a pro-life advocate who was reporting for advocacy group Live Action when the woman suddenly launched a barrage of surprise punches—right to the face—stunning the 23-year-old journalist and leaving her bloodied. The victim, Savannah Craven Antao, said she’s been getting flashbacks from the attack, which she deemed emblematic of the entire pro-choice movement.
Warning: Violent imagery. (X Video) Now the attacker has identified herself on social media as Bronx resident Brianna Rivers, and she gave an “apology” that made it sound like she wasn’t sorry in the slightest.
Remember during President Trump's speech to the Joint Session of Congress in early March, when Rep. Al Green (D-TX) behaved so badly that House Speaker Mike Johnson had to instruct the Sergeant at ArmsThen, he held court outside the chamber with a gaggle of reporters, who allowed him to spout nonsense about Trump and the Republicans planning to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
When one of the journalists asked Rep. Green if that was the only reason he decided to disrupt Pres. Trump's address, the Texas Democrat used it as an excuse to share an astounding non sequitur. to kick Green out of the chamber?
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed new controls into law last week, including one that allows credit cards to track ammunition purchases.
She described the ammunition control as one that “[refines] how credit card companies track purchases at gun dealerships.”
Hochul noted, “This gives law enforcement the opportunity to find out exactly who may be stockpiling ammunition. And this is an indicator that something untoward could be happening, so it’s an important data point for us to have.” North Country Now pointed out the credit card tracking will occur via the use of a new merchant code,
In a bold move that champions both economic growth and practical forest management, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Friday that it will greenlight logging in America’s national forests. This decision, spearheaded by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, follows President Donald Trump’s executive order last month aimed at revitalizing the nation’s timber industry. For Americans, this is a long-overdue step toward restoring common-sense stewardship of our natural resources while bolstering rural economies battered by years of overregulation and neglect.
President Donald Trump is more popular now than before he sent the global markets into a frenzy by enacting sweeping new tariffs.
An exclusive DailyMail.com/J.L. Partners survey of over 1,000 registered voters conducted from March 31 to April 3 found that the Republican remains largely popular in the U.S.
The poll found that Trump's approval rating rose to 53 percent, a 4-point increase over last week when it was 49 percent.
Trump's rising approval rating is surprising given the flak the White House has received over the tariff order signed Wednesday.
It is up by 13 points since March 7 among those aged 18 to 29.
Chinese woman detained for expired visa
dies by suicide at Border Patrol station
in Arizona 16 replies
dies by suicide at Border Patrol station
in Arizona 16 replies
A Chinese woman detained by border patrol officers for overstaying her visa died by suicide at the US Border Patrol station in Arizona after officers reportedly failed to perform required welfare checks on her, US Representative Pramila Jayapal alleged.
The woman, a 52-year-old Chinese national, was picked up in California after authorities determined she overstayed her B1/B2 visitor visa, Jayapal said in a statement last week. She was sent to the Yuma station in Arizona and was detained there until her sudden death on March 29.
A fundraiser for the Texas teen accused of fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf and leaving him to die in his twin brother’s arms has raked in over $60,000 as of Sunday — as the teen maintains he acted in self-defense.
The GiveSendGo campaign was purportedly set up by the family of Karmelo Anthony, 17, who cops say confessed to the horrific stabbing at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, last Wednesday.[snip] The company, which also hosted a fundraiser that brought in hundreds of thousands for Daniel Penny’s legal defense after he was charged in the NYC subway chokehold death,
Barack Obama has lost his mojo and ruined his brand.
It used to be said that President Joe Biden was serving former President Obama’s third term, that his former boss was controlling him from the home he had bought in DC’s ritzy Kalorama neighborhood, two miles from the White House.
The feeling was that Obama was the real leader of the Democratic Party and his wife, Michelle, was the secret weapon they would whip out in 2024 to replace Biden and trounce Donald Trump.
The last thing the Palestinians need are more calls from Qatar-based extremist for terrorism and jihad. If these Muslim "scholars" really want to help their Palestinian brothers, they should be calling on Hamas to release all the Israeli hostages they kidnapped, then to disarm, and then to stop pursuing the disastrous path of terrorism and jihad.
The "scholars" leading the IUMS live safely in Qatar, not in the Gaza Strip, and they are therefore not directly affected by the war that Hamas launched.
That such a call by an influential Islamic group comes from an organization based in Doha illustrates why Qatar c
Comments:
This is a brilliant piece that all educators and parents should read. I learned of the destructive consequences of phones and computers on kids in 2018, when a community college teacher friend and my granddaughter (who hadn't been allowed to own a cell phone) told me that students had turned into zombies. In particular, my teacher friend said the kids showed no interest in anything and never made eye contact. My granddaughter said that she was the only student in her classes who answered the teachers' questions and sometimes disagreed with the teacher. Some of her classmates were awed by her bravery.