Weekend To-Do List

3/16 - 3/17

and

Mar 16, 2024

1. Take Away the Phones

READ/LISTEN: Jonathan Haidt penned a powerful piece for The Atlantic that argues smartphones have created a world that is “profoundly hostile” to human development. He urges communities to adopt four norms to help resist the phone-based childhood: no smartphones before high school, no social media before 16, phone-free schools, and more independence and responsibility in the real world. Haidt spoke with essayist Freya India for the piece, who compares social media sites to dangerous conveyor belts:

“It seems like your child is simply watching some makeup tutorials, following some mental health influencers, or experimenting with their identity. But let me tell you: they are on a conveyor belt to someplace bad. Whatever insecurity or vulnerability they are struggling with, they will be pushed further and further into it.”

Read more here. We’ve also discussed this topic at length on Lost Debate. Listen to my conversation with education expert (and Sweat the Technique co-host) Doug Lemov here and with New York Times columnist Pamela Paul here.

2. Hate Crimes Spread in States With Anti-LGBTQ Laws

READ: Laura Meckler, Hannah Natanson, and John D. Harden examined the disturbing rise in school-based hate crimes targeting LGBTQ+ people over the past several years in a new report for The Washington Post:

In states that have enacted restrictive laws, there were more than four times the number of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes on average, per year, in 2021-22 compared with the years 2015-2019 across elementary, middle and high schools.
“Policy sets the tone for real-world experiences [and] discriminatory policy just creates a hostile environment,” said Amy McGehee, a doctoral student at Oklahoma State University who researches LGBTQ health and well-being.

3. Want Better Academic Outcomes? Michigan Educators Say You Should Hire a Mental Health Worker

READ: Michigan has the third-highest ratio of counselors to students in the U.S., but it still falls short of the American School Counselor Association’s recommended proportion. That’s why school administrators spoke at the state’s House Education Committee hearing this week to request increased investment in programs targeting hard-to-fill mental health positions, including counselors, psychologists, social workers, and new apprenticeship programs:

“Before the pandemic, there was already a mental health crisis,” said [Michigan Association of School Psychologists President Lauren] Mangus. “During the pandemic, youth depression and anxiety doubled.”

Read more from Hannah Dellinger in Chalkbeat here.

4. But What Is a Mental Health Worker?

READ: In response to the mental health worker shortage, 15 states have proposed and/or passed new bills allowing school districts to hire religiously affiliated chaplains. Opponents like Holly Holman, general counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee, say adding chaplains would send the wrong message, especially to students who are nonreligious or identify with a religion different from their school’s chaplain:

“The basic premise is that the government and particularly the public schools are not charged with religious formation. That’s as clear as I can put it,” she said. “If the point is to provide services for students, we need to find those services appropriately.”

Read more from Evie Blad in Education Week here.

5. Student Debt Weighs on Teachers

READ: A new report from Study.com found 71% of teachers have considered a career change as the reality of resumed student loan payments loom closer. While most teachers do qualify for reduced payment programs and loan forgiveness, student loan expert Michael Lux cautions that doesn’t solve the full problem:

"However, the burden of student debt goes beyond monthly bills," Lux told Newsweek. "Having student loans makes it far more difficult to qualify for a mortgage. Even if SAVE and PSLF do provide a path to debt freedom, many borrowers struggle to access these resources."

Read more from Suzanne Blake in Newsweek here.

6. Block out the Critics? SCOTUS Says Not So Fast

Read: SCOTUS says school board members and other public officials can block constituents on social media…sometimes. The court says officials are only state actors, meaning they could not block constituents, if they have the “actual authority to speak” on the government’s behalf and must be using that authority when posting on social media. In the Court’s unanimous opinion, Justice Amy Coney Barrett cautioned that officials should be careful to keep to these guidelines:

“A public official who fails to keep personal posts in a clearly designated personal account, therefore, exposes himself to greater potential liability,” she wrote.

Read more from Linda Jacobson in The 74 here.

7. FAFSA Problems Continue

READ: Emma Camp at Reason wrote about the Education Department’s continued failure to roll out a functional FAFSA form for all. Initially launched in December, the “new FAFSA” is still inaccessible for students whose parent doesn’t have a social security number:

"It's just draining and exhausting," Aaron Dominguez, a high school senior whose immigrant mother doesn't have a Social Security Number told The Chronicle of Higher Education. "I know I have the right to ask for federal aid. But they've just made things so much harder for people like me. It's unfair. The government clearly just sees us like an afterthought."