Tyrades! by Danny Tyree

Is it time for the educational system to go “old school” again?

According to NBC News, concerned parents nationwide are rebelling against the heavy reliance on laptops and tablets by school districts.

These parents are championing a more balanced curriculum that still has room for pencils, paper and honest-to-goodness physical books. (“Let’s make the #2 Number One again!”)

So they are perceived as “walking the walk,” many of the more diehard reformers organize their retro campaigns without texting, phoning or emailing like-minded individuals. Instead, they get Stinky McGuire to pass a note asking, “Do you like my plan for deemphasizing digital education? Check yes or no.”

Some educators stick up for the pandemic-driven digital paradigm because it allegedly prepares students for the modern workforce. (“All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall. Hey, does anybody remember that video on the theory of picking up a brick to build a wall?”)

Sure, nothing helps you compete against robot workers better than a hunched back, bloodshot eyes and a flair for visiting porn sites while the teacher isn’t looking.

And the companies supplying the hardware and software for a virtual learning experience are quick to tell you how efficiently students can shovel in the information with high-tech tools. The only thing more educational is eavesdropping on their corporate retreats. You’ll learn to laugh maniacally all the way to the bank, in 176 languages.

Still, my sympathies lie with the crusaders trying to recalibrate and create a blending of digital and “analog” learning.

(For the sake of full disclosure, I must admit that I labored in the writing instruments industry from 1983-1998 and recently started receiving a small pension from that endeavor. If my bias in this matter provokes a strong response from you, I will fall back on a life lesson I learned in a less hectic low-tech academic setting: I’m rubber and you’re glue…)

Desperately scribbling lecture notes has fallen out of favor. Handwriting a “What I Did On Summer Vacation” essay on wide-ruled paper seems quaint. Screen addiction detracts from actual rough-and-tumble playtime. And these developments have devastated the fine motor skills of youngsters. They also stir up the evolution controversy. (“Scientists say life began in a primordial soup — which looked a lot like Mikey in the back row. Can someone pour him into his seat?”)

The ever-present glow from screens makes classic literature such as “Rip Van Winkle” incomprehensible to today’s wired-up audience. (“How could someone sleep for 20 years when it takes me 20 years just to FALL asleep?”)

Research shows that reading from physical books leads to longer attention spans and better comprehension than screen-based reading. Of course, some students will deny this. (“My Chromebook let me study the Preamble to the Constitution just fine. I still can’t decide which was my favorite part: the bit about ‘righty tighty, lefty loosey’ or the bit about ‘Love means never having to say you’re sorry.’”)

If a natural disaster or foreign invasion leaves America off the grid for a prolonged time, how will electronics-dependent citizens record their daily activities or communicate? Imagine the plight of school bullies! (“If I could just remember how to form an ‘L’ on my forehead, I’d tell you what I think of you, you loser!”)

Don’t dawdle about making your opinion known.

Get the lead out — and write with it!

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Copyright 2026 Danny Tyree, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at [email protected] and visits to his Facebook fan page “Tyree’s Tyrades.”