I was a teacher in the Knox County school system for 10 years. I am now a mother of a child in the Knox County system. I taught during COVID and the year after, when we implemented 1:1 technology, and at the time it was the right thing to do to keep kids learning. But we are no longer in unprecedented times.

While devices like tablets and Chromebooks can be useful tools, research consistently shows that they are associated with weaker attention, lower academic performance, and increased behavioral concerns. Young learners are still developing executive functioning skills like focus, self-regulation, and sustained attention; placing a screen in front of them often shifts their role from active participant to passive consumer. Tapping, swiping, and clicking do not engage the brain in the same way as physically manipulating materials, talking through ideas, or solving problems collaboratively.

Equally important is the social cost of 1:1 technology. Elementary-aged children are in a critical developmental window for building language, communication, and interpersonal skills. When applying the standards taught is dominated by individual screen use, opportunities for peer interaction are significantly reduced. Students are just isolated in similar digital experiences.

When students work together to complete a task, they must share ideas, listen to others, and problem-solve in real time. This kind of peer interaction strengthens both academic understanding and social-emotional skills. Skills that are essential not only for school success but for life beyond the classroom. (Which I know is part of the Strategic Plan) These interactions cannot be replicated through isolated screen-based tasks, no matter how well-designed the program may be.

The pushback may be that students must have digital skills to compete in the workforce. While this is true to a limited extent, the purpose of school has never been to teach kids how to use tools. It has always been to teach them how to think. Most adults in this room learned to use computers without being explicitly taught to do so in school. That’s because once you know how to think, you can pick up most tools. Put simply, when we teach kids to use a tool, they can use that tool. When we teach kids how to think, they can use any tool.

And that matters because technology is changing faster than ever. Many of the tools students use in school will be irrelevant by the time they enter the workforce.

Additionally, the skills that will likely matter most for the future AI generation are deeply human. Creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and collaboration cannot be built through screens. Rather, they are built through conversation, disagreement, and human connection.

I would like to see Knox County follow the research and end 1:1 technology. What will we do as all of these Chromebooks reach their end, since we’ve had them for almost 6 years now? Will we really reinvest money we don’t have to buy a new Chromebook for every child in Knox County? These are important questions for parents, teachers, and decision-makers to consider.

Erin Pate is a periodic free-lance contributor to KnoxTNToday.

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