Gadgets & Workspaces · Story 6

Washburn High School teacher took tech out of the classroom. Students call it a success.: At the beginning of the school year, 46% of students reported confidence in their reading abilities. By February, it was at 96%.

A Washburn High School teacher removed technology from her English classroom to combat student distractions. Students’ reading confidence rose from 46% to 96% over the school year, and sustained silent reading sessions grew from 10 to 30 minutes.

This case challenges the assumption that more classroom technology leads to better outcomes, sparking debate about balancing digital tools with traditional teaching methods.

Key details

• Teacher Maureen Mulvaney left tech at the door at the beginning of the 2026 school year.
• Students began with 10 minutes of sustained silent reading and could do 30 minutes by February.
• Early in the year, some students could barely write half a page.
• The initial 46% reading confidence rate rose to 96% by February.

Discussion angles

• Commenters largely support the approach as common sense for English instruction.
• Several suggest the method should apply to other subjects like math.
• Some contrast the focused classroom with the difficulty of finding documents in online school portals.