Finnish Students Go Back to School with Books, Not Screens
2024-09-18
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1This autumn, students in the Finnish town of Riihimaki headed back to school with backpacks full of books. This marks a change from recent years.
2For the past 10 years, the Finnish government pushed laptops and other electronic devices in the classroom.
3Finland's public education system is known for its good results and its readiness to try new teaching methods.
4Until recently, many schools gave laptops for free to all students from as early as age 11.
5But Finnish parents and teachers have become increasingly concerned over the effect of screens on children.
6Riihimaki is a town of about 30,000 people.
7It sits 70 kilometers north of the capital, Helsinki.
8In 2018, the town's middle schools stopped using most books.
9But this school year, schools in Riihimaki are going back to pen and paper.
10"Young people are using phones and digital devices so much these days that we don't want school to be one of the places where children are only staring at screens," said Maija Kaunonen, an English teacher at Pohjolanrinne middle school.
11The distractions that come with the use of digital devices make many children restless and unable to give their full attention to learning, Kaunonen said.
12She added, "Most students just did the exercises as quick as they could" so they could then move on to using social media.
13"And it took them no time at all to change tabs in the browser.
14So when the teacher came round to them, they could say: 'Yes, I was doing this exercise'."
15Across Finland, children's learning results have been slowly getting worse in recent years.
16In answer, the government plans new laws to ban the use of personal devices, such as phones, during school hours to cut back on screen time.
17One of Kaunonen's students is 14-year-old Elle Sokka.
18She said she did not always pay attention to the school subjects when learning digitally.
19Instead, she moved to another web page.
20Eighth-graders Miko Mantila and Inka Warro, both 14, said their concentration has improved since books returned to the classrooms.
21"Reading, for one, is much easier and I can read much faster from books," Mantila said.
22"And if you have to do homework late at night, it's easier to go to sleep when you haven't just been looking at a device," Warro added.
23Minna Peltopuro is a psychologist working with the town on the change.
24She said the total screen time should be cut because Finnish teenagers currently stare at a screen for up to six hours each day on average.
25She added that too much use of electronic devices comes with both physical and mental risks, such as eye problems and growing anxiety.
26Peltopuro added that the brain is at risk when trying to do more than one thing at a time.
27"Especially at a young age, one cannot manage it well," she said.
28I'm Jill Robbins.
1This autumn, students in the Finnish town of Riihimaki headed back to school with backpacks full of books. This marks a change from recent years. 2For the past 10 years, the Finnish government pushed laptops and other electronic devices in the classroom. 3Finland's public education system is known for its good results and its readiness to try new teaching methods. Until recently, many schools gave laptops for free to all students from as early as age 11. 4But Finnish parents and teachers have become increasingly concerned over the effect of screens on children. 5Riihimaki is a town of about 30,000 people. It sits 70 kilometers north of the capital, Helsinki. In 2018, the town's middle schools stopped using most books. But this school year, schools in Riihimaki are going back to pen and paper. 6"Young people are using phones and digital devices so much these days that we don't want school to be one of the places where children are only staring at screens," said Maija Kaunonen, an English teacher at Pohjolanrinne middle school. 7The distractions that come with the use of digital devices make many children restless and unable to give their full attention to learning, Kaunonen said. 8She added, "Most students just did the exercises as quick as they could" so they could then move on to using social media. 9"And it took them no time at all to change tabs in the browser. So when the teacher came round to them, they could say: 'Yes, I was doing this exercise'." 10Across Finland, children's learning results have been slowly getting worse in recent years. In answer, the government plans new laws to ban the use of personal devices, such as phones, during school hours to cut back on screen time. 11Improved concentration 12One of Kaunonen's students is 14-year-old Elle Sokka. She said she did not always pay attention to the school subjects when learning digitally. Instead, she moved to another web page. 13Eighth-graders Miko Mantila and Inka Warro, both 14, said their concentration has improved since books returned to the classrooms. 14"Reading, for one, is much easier and I can read much faster from books," Mantila said. 15"And if you have to do homework late at night, it's easier to go to sleep when you haven't just been looking at a device," Warro added. 16Minna Peltopuro is a psychologist working with the town on the change. She said the total screen time should be cut because Finnish teenagers currently stare at a screen for up to six hours each day on average. She added that too much use of electronic devices comes with both physical and mental risks, such as eye problems and growing anxiety. 17Peltopuro added that the brain is at risk when trying to do more than one thing at a time. "Especially at a young age, one cannot manage it well," she said. 18I'm Jill Robbins. 19Elviira Luoma and Anne Kauranen reported this story for Reuters. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 20______________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22laptop - n. a small portable computer 23digital - adj. using or characterized by computer technology 24stare - v. to look at something for a long period of time 25tab - n. a clickable area within a web browser window that represents a separate web page or resource 26distraction - n. something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention 27concentration - n. the ability to give your attention or thought to a single object or activity; the ability to concentrate 28psychologist - n. a scientist who specializes in the study and treatment of the mind and behavior; a specialist in psychology 29anxiety - n. fear or nervousness about what might happen 30What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.