To the Editor,
Jonathan Haidt’s recent support of the Vermont bill H.54/S.21, which would mandate a phone-free public school environment, is a concise summary of his compelling and widely praised book “The Anxious Generation.” Our elected representatives should heed his advice as they work this legislative session.
I read the book as a parent of young kids, a smartphone user who has struggled with its grip on my own time and attention, and as a practicing physician. Rarely have I connected so much with a piece of science writing. The data Haidt reviews in the book reflects the unnerving and deeply personal impact of living through a period of profound technological and social change. With this in mind, I am convinced that H.54/S.21 would be an important safeguard for the well-being of our state’s children and educators.
My spouse and I are supporters of public education, and while we are fond of our local school and its hard working teachers, we currently homeschool for a number of reasons. In our family we emphasize the foundational role of public schools in a healthy democratic society, and we anticipate eventually re-enrolling our kids. However, if smartphone use continues to pervade the school day of middle and high schoolers in Vermont, it will represent perhaps the most significant reservation we have about our kids attending.
In this time of contentious educational reform with few easy answers, H.54/S.21 is a bipartisan opportunity to effect immediate benefits in the classroom, ease the burdens on our school administrators and teachers and buttress the long-term health of our youth and community.
Please see this website for student and teacher testimonials, a petition (which already has over 1,000 signatures), FAQs and more: https://www.phonefreeschoolsvt.com/.
Kenyon Bolton
East Montpelier
Read the story on VTDigger here: Kenyon Bolton: The phone-free school bill would be an important safeguard for the well-being of our state’s children and educators.