Digital Intake of AES Student

Digital Intake of Elementary Students at AES
December 5, 2024
Arlington Community Schools
Arlington TN, 38002
Dear ACS Schools,
Generation Alpha spends too much time looking at screens. It is, in part, the
responsibilities of the school to monitor and ration the amount of time electronically
spent while at school. Children today are spending more time online than they should,
causing them to miss out of crucial childhood experiences. The digital exposure that
has been pushed onto these children at school, with friends, and at home is creating a
di erent type of adult—one that may be able to contribute more to society from a
technological standpoint, but may be lacking in emotional and social contexts.
Elementary schools today lean heavily on technology in the classroom. At your
elementary school, Arlington Elementary School, students as young as kindergarteners
are being given iPads. According to your o cial website, “All teachers and students in
Grades K-12 are equipped with an iPad to help critically engage them in classroom
lessons.” This means that a substantial part of a student’s school day would be spent
looking at a screen. Most of the school work required is online, such as: classwork,
group work, studying, quizzes, tests, and homework.
Elementary years are crucial; they are when children learn how to treat others
and begin to understand how society functions. It is also the time when their bodies
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and brains do the most growing, meaning these young years are crucial in determining
the future of these kids. According to OSF Healthcare, Dr. Yousuf says, “‘Studies are
showing links between excessive screen time and various physical and mental health
issues in children, such as obesity, depression, behavioral issues, and anxiety.’” Digital
learning forces kids to spend more time than they already should on devices, directly
contributing to possible negative outcomes that come with children having too much
screen time.
While it is true that at Arlington Elementary School the students do have a
relatively diversi ed day, with the students engaging in ne arts or PE for part of the
day, the multiple hours they spend on their devices while at school are the minimum
amount of time they will be required to be on their devices. Because they also have
their homework online, they spend more than just the seven hour school day looking at
a screen, not including the time they likely spend looking at screens in their free time,
although that isn’t the schools fault.
A solution to this would be to cut back on the amount of hours associated with
technology-based learning. Your schools could dedicate certain hours of the school
day to be technology free, with learning either by paper, hands-on experience, and/or
physical/interactive diagrams. This would allow the students time to engage with each
other and re ne their ne motor skills through writing, or by physically touching the
subject of their hands-on session. Doing this could also encourage group work,
therefore teaching students how to socialize and respect both peers and opinions that
might di er from their own.

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Some may argue that the structure of Arlington Elementary’s teaching and
classes helps students build digital literacy, which can make the learning process
easier for children and help them succeed in their future careers. On page 3 of Moving
Beyond Screen Time it is said that, “…new possibilities for technology use that is
interactive and mobile…can help support learning in new and engaging ways.”
While this is true as technology does engage children more than traditional learning,
the e ects of such online exposure can be lasting.
Technology can prepare students for the digital parts of our society, but it fails to
teach them how to behave and interact, completely counteracting any technological
bene t. Elementary school students do not go to school to prepare them for jobs, they
go to school to build their initial knowledge, which will bene t them further in their
education. In said further education, students build the skills they need for their
careers, meaning elementary years shouldn’t worry about this
It can be argued that Arlington Elementary School’s methods of teaching
through a digital lens can help prepare students for their future. However, it can also be
argued that while digital based learning can help educate children on a modernized
world, it can also dilute their abilities to interact socially and reasonably in society. This
is why it would be a great bene t for Arlington Community School Systems as a whole
to control the digital intake the young students at Arlington Elementary School receive.
Sincerely,
Reese Rogers
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Daugherty, Lindsay, et al. “Moving Beyond Screen Time: Redefining Developmentally
Appropriate Technology Use in Early Childhood Education.” Moving Beyond Screen Time: Re-
defining Developmentally Appropriate Technology Use in Early Childhood Education, RAND
Corporation, 2014, pp. 1–8. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt14bs43q.1. Accessed
6 Dec. 2024.
“Technology” Arlington Community Schools, acsk-12.org/current-students-parents/tech-
nology. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
Legner, Luke. “Kid’s screen time: How much is too much?” OSFHealthcare, 7 June
2024, www.osfhealthcare.org/blog/kids-screen-time-how-much-is-too-much/ Accessed 4 Dec.
2024.

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Digital Intake of Elementary Students at AES

Arlington Community Schools

Arlington TN, 38002

Dear ACS Schools,

technological standpoint, but may be lacking in emotional and social contexts.

Elementary schools today lean heavily on technology in the classroom. At your

elementary school, Arlington Elementary School, students as young as kindergarteners

group work, studying, quizzes, tests, and homework.

While it is true that at Arlington Elementary School the students do have a

although that isn’t the schools fault.

might di er from their own.

the e ects of such online exposure can be lasting.

careers, meaning elementary years shouldn’t worry about this

It can be argued that Arlington Elementary School’s methods of teaching

defining Developmentally Appropriate Technology Use in Early Childhood Education, RAND

Corporation, 2014, pp. 1–8. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt14bs43q.1. Accessed

“Technology” Arlington Community Schools, acsk-12.org/current-students-parents/tech-

nology. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

2024, www.osfhealthcare.org/blog/kids-screen-time-how-much-is-too-much/ Accessed 4 Dec.

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