This autumn, students in the Finnish town of Riihimaki headed back to school with backpacks full of books. This marks a change from recent years.
For the past 10 years, the Finnish government pushed laptops and other electronic devices in the classroom.
Finland'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.
But Finnish parents and teachers have become increasingly concerned over the effect of screens on children.
Riihimaki 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.
"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.
The distractions that come with the use of digital devices make many children restless and unable to give their full attention to learning, Kaunonen said.
She added, "Most students just did the exercises as quick as they could” so they could then move on to using social media.
"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'."
Across 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.
Improved concentration
One 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.
Eighth-graders Miko Mantila and Inka Warro, both 14, said their concentration has improved since books returned to the classrooms.
"Reading, for one, is much easier and I can read much faster from books," Mantila said.
"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.
Minna 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.
Peltopuro 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.
I’m Jill Robbins.
Elviira Luoma and Anne Kauranen reported this story for Reuters. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.
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Words in This Story
laptop – n. a small portable computer
digital – adj. using or characterized by computer technology
stare – v. to look at something for a long period of time
tab – n. a clickable area within a web browser window that represents a separate web page or resource
distraction – n. something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention
concentration – n. the ability to give your attention or thought to a single object or activity; the ability to concentrate
psychologist – n. a scientist who specializes in the study and treatment of the mind and behavior; a specialist in psychology
anxiety – n. fear or nervousness about what might happen
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