I have a few family members that are teachers or work in education at some capacity and would absolutely agree the curriculum requirements and standardized testing have become a barrier. Though I am not an expert in education I was a student and can attest to the fact that these things stand in the way of educators being able to reach all students. These education programs are not designed to reach students that learn differently from the vast majority of students. When it comes to reducing exposure to technology in schools it would be foolhardy to double down on either direction. Technology and literacy should coincide and neither should replace the other. A little bit of moderation and balance goes a long way. Today’s society and politics focus on a nose to the grindstone, devil may care rate of progress which though fast and traditionally the American way is unfortunately full of holes and mistakes that are only noticed in hindsight.

It’s everything to do with curriculum requirements and the lack of explorative reading thanks to standardized testing.

The Pineapple And The Hare: Can You Answer Two Bizarre State Exam Questions?

1. Why did the animals eat the pineapple?
a. they were annoyed
b. they were amused
c. they were hungry
d. they wanted to

2. Who was the wisest?
a. the hare
b. moose
c. crow
d. owl

or maybe kids should learn to do that on their own free time as it interests them and focus on more basic skillsets.

you can't code if you can't read or do math. you can't do graphic design if you don't know how to draw and the basics of color theory and all that.

one of the greatest mistakes in modern usa education is forgetting the idea that skills build on one another and you can't do more advanced things without mastering the basics first. but today we shove kids forward no matter their level of competency because we are not allowed to punish or poorly grade those who fail to learn new skills. we punish the teachers for holding the students accountable to standards, and we reward the teachers/schools who shove kids through the system and 'innovate' new ways for them to inflate test scores.

the problem with American education is cultural. other countries have stronger cultures around education.

and certain groups in America have very strong cultures around education, mostly Asians and wealthier people, but those are minorities in the broader culture which basically sees education as annoying and stupid crap they have to do to get a job, that they want to do in the cheapest way possible.

if being a teacher started at a salary of 80-100K, things would be a lot different. But it takes a decade or more of teaching to get that level of pay. The only people paid well in education are administrators, who are the ones who give themselves raises and stagnant teacher pay to their own benefit.

and it's the same at all levels of education, because American culture says 'be a greedy shitty person on top who enriches yourself at the expense of everyone else'. and we see the classroom as place to wage a culture war first and foremost, and education is much lower on the priority list.