In America: Tech free school In developing countries: just school

Schools who don't have funding for high tech education should rebrand as these types of schools; they'd be a hit!

It wasn't too long ago that we all were hearing how schools that didn't have enough tech were disadvantaged.

I grew up like this and now it cost $35,000.00

Lol steve jobs goes by the slogan “the dealer never consumes”

rich people spending too much money to experience being poor..... Ah classic

“In the end it is the poor who will be chained to the computer; the rich will get teachers." ~Forbes magazine 1984

I enjoyed watching this in my paper notebook.

In Zimbabwe we don’t call this a tech free school...... just school.

I basically got a Waldorf education in Jamaica, for free! 😁

Too bad most public schools don't have access to their low tech teaching options like, a working farm, gardens or lower teacher to student ratios.

*college debt is at an all time high, students are realizing that college doesn’t mean guaranteed jobs anymore, higher degrees are often needed, companies are constantly trying to pay as little as possible and good entry level jobs are waning, the environment is being destroyed by companies but the blame is being placed on private citizens, companies use technology to spend as little as possible and put people out of work instead of enriching lives, etc* Older adults: it’s technology that’s making these kids anxious.

$35,000 tuition for going back to the schools in pre 1980's... Sounds right don't you think?

So tech parents sent their kids here to teach them about life skills that they can't because they are too busy at work and can't spend their time with them.

I was born in 1986 so obviously growing up we really didnt have much 'tech' besides learning how to type. I don't feel my education turned out stunted in any regard. That being said, I do think it's hilarious people have to pay nearly 40k to go back to high school in the late 90s 😂

Confession: I used a tech device to watch this

Kids with phones is a bad idea. Tech-free is kinda extreme. Just find a reasonable balance rather than non stop screen or no screen. Everything in moderation.

Technology is not the problem, it's what you use it for...

"This isn't tech free school. It's just *school* " -third world country.

I’ll save you time: There is no proof that tech-free is better for students. Good teachers and involved parents are what make healthier, happier students

I love that they teach gardening, sewing etc. So good for teaching self suffeciency

90’s baby here. My public school was low budget, so we barely got any tech time. My university was wealthy, but again, we got limited screen time in the classroom. I didn’t know I was so privileged?

Bill gates & Steve Jobs “A dealer never uses his own product” lol

This is literally just a normal school expect the handwork class, chickens and gladiator fights

I attend a Steiner (Waldorf) school as a senior student, it’s honestly so beautiful and having come from the Australian public school system, it’s something I can really appreciate for the difference. There is such a huge focus placed on being with nature, and understanding the world around us. With obscure, physical-based classes (e.g. gardening, metal work, sewing, wood work, lapidary, and more) that promote caring, a sense of community and a deeper understanding of our world and the people around us a whole. I’m blessed to attend such a beautiful hippie school. We use limited technology, but maintain, in my eyes, a balance. I use technology a lot at home, having never fully adhered to the Steiner philosophy and grown up in a family where this was normal, but school is a welcome reprieve from the online world. We use a self-based learning experience, where each student has the ability and opportunity to learn at a pace that suits their needs but still give them the required knowledge of that subject. We do, in fact, do coding as a class, but I attend a more “progressive” Waldorf school that compared to many typical Steiner schools has incorporated a greater amount of technology into their curriculum. (By that I mean I have like 3 classes that don’t require me to use a mechanical pencil and printer paper to write up assignments.)

Biggie said it best " never get high on your own supply"

These students are so well spoken! As a school social worker in public schools who literally teaches children how to have a conversation, my message to all parents: interact face to face with your children!

As someone who has been in Waldorf education through high school and middle school, I will say this portrayal is not entirely accurate. While in the very orthodox belief of Waldorf there should be no tech, that is far from the truth in these schools. In middle school and high schools, students are no different than at any other schools. All still glued to their phones and fully absorbed in media culture. I think these ideas of no tech rest mostly in the early years in the child's education. Teachers just put more emphasis on the value of human interaction. Nobodies riding around on horse and buggy lmao. Nobody I know has any sort of tech restrictions. Oh, and for people wondering about the tuition, 90% of the people I know are on financial aid. only a handful of people can actually afford the tuition.

I mean...there's this wonderful thing called a "healthy balance" but okay 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

What are they gonna do in college when they use laptops for everything 💀

I agree that tech should be limited in the lives of very young kids. I think play and creativity should be encouraged.

Back in my day I was taught how to use a keyboard using a printout of a keyboard stuck to a piece of cardboard.

For those who are unaware all public schools in India are tech free 😁

The fact they do most of their assignments handwritten is something I shouldn’t have to miss. In my hs we did nearly ALL of our work on computers, it was horrible for my eyes and I’d always ask to do it handwritten instead, some of the teachers would get frustrated at me like, we aren’t supposed to live on computers

Jeez, am I the only person that growing up played a lot outside and was able to use the internet unregulated in a healthy balance? Or is that more common then we are lead to believe?

This has nothing to do with Tech and everything to do with having teachers who care about their jobs.

"when you have a phone you're forced to be social with people" Nope. Not really. Because I've still got my books lmao

"Jobs hidn't let his kids use iPads." What, in the 80's?

In the Caribbean we use our grey matter, we do not pay fortune for socializing with others.

"If we need help we'll just ask the teacher" bruh after teaching my teacher just disappears.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter what you use to teach, or how you teach as long as kids are interested in what they are learning and are being taught skills they can use.

Just send your kids to a lower income area public school.

3rd world country: wants a full tech equipped school. 1st world country: just a school. Is the world upside down?

Only in silicon valley could such an amazing scam flourish

They play Fortnite IRL instead. Parachuting into school and pushing shopping carts with your friends inside really hones dexterity.

I spend 10 hours a day on my IPad usually. It’s fine. I don’t waste my time on texting. I spend my time working and reading, while also watching educational videos like this one.

Yeah you better make sure that students learn how to type. That's hugely important in the real world.

In my place, parents can give their child phone at any age, but here the thing, we don't bring them to school. High school kid sometimes bring them, but they only use it when they out of the school. You don't use it in class, you don't use it at lunch. We have computer class, but it's only on Sunday and for an hour. That's it. I don't understand what's up with these "tech free school" it's just a school.

Those Depression and Anxiety rates have been going up for decades long before Social Media.

I didn't get a phone until I was 18, it was just fine. 10 years later I can go without my phone for an extended period of time.

they are using technology such as: pens, paper, desk, chair. However they are not using digital/electronic technology. Technology is things that we have made to make tasks or doing things easier, like sitting at a desk to write or writing on paper instead of a stone tablet.

they act like screens are bad so they restrict screen time. thats just so low-class. teaching kids how to use these screens effectively should be the main goal of the school.

"In the digital world we can't raise our kids the way we were raised". - Don't fight technology

Well-off children do well! Next at 11!

This is basically sending a kid to private school, minus the tech but with the same cost.

Extremes are always wrong. Just like too much is wrong. Too little or none is also probably wrong.

This is in every school in the india. We cannot bring any gadgets in school till 12th grades.

Is it only me but when I saw there is a gardening teacher it made me think of Hagrid, maybe this is the Hogwarts of Earth, even the name is Waldorf is not ordinary

Thanks for this. As a retired (escaped) teacher this is reassuring. I taught for ten years in the Los Angele public schools. I wound up as a Pool Teacher, which meant that I went to lots of different schools, taught every possible subject. It gave me an amazing overview of what goes on in schools. Students staring at phones? In the majority of schools it was impossible to get students to put their phones away. The basic attitude of the adults was 'this is impossible,' but the next school over, same everything, except: no phones out in classes. Difference? Schoolwide practice of no phones in class. I noticed a couple of things. First, it takes only about 1/3rd of teachers insisting on a good practice, like no phones, use of daily planners to achieve very high compliance rates. In my first school we used to have teams, where the same teachers would teach the same population of students, as this practiced faded away the teacher 'teams' still met, but only shared about 1/3rd of our students. My colleague suggested we insist on students using their planners. It worked. So rule of thumb, 1/3rd of teachers reaching 1/3rd of students can result in significant changes. (Serious endemic problem in education. Something like this is successful, and... yet it doesn't spread. It might get mentioned, but there's no follow through. Skinner had far more success with pigeons than actual results has on education. Support. Secondary schools are full of students in various cliques, by far the most effective are the mean girls. The adults do this too. What I noticed (as an annoying person) is that when you are on the 'outs' with the teacher clique (never a majority of the staff, but always dangerous to get on the wrong side of) school behavior and academic expectations in your class are not supported. Result? Classes are chaotic, students won't do what's asked. See we said he was a bad teacher, but the broader effect is to undermine the school's culture. (One day a student blurted out, 'M..X hates you.' Really? Had I said this about another teacher I'd be fired. After that I'd casually ask students what teachers at their school thought of each other. In every case some teacher(s) wanted other teachers burned at the stake. It was like 7th grade mean girls, just as intense and just as useless and unfair.) I remember one teacher who was driven out of a school, months later a colleague was bad mouthing her. He was more 'in' I was more 'out'. I asked him, 'So who's next?' He had a name. There will always be a 'next' and one day it'll be you. My best advice? Who is the worst most unliked teacher in your school? Who is the worst student? Support them, help them. When they succeed everyone else will be easier. A new kid who misbehaves? They should begin hearing other students say, "Keep this up and you are going to have 20 new adult friends who just can't spend enough time with you." School administration policies are invariably about everybody all at once and they almost always change nothing. The student who does no work in period one, will do no work in period two... so why is he allowed to go to period two? (A principal who didn't like me at all stopped by my room during I think, 3rd period. This student was still sitting there since period one. I thought, uh-oh, I'm going to get it.... but she was intelligent (which made her not liking me sting a lot more). She was okay with it. He finished his assignment and was happy. A few weeks of this and he'd be passing his classes. So the Waldorf school. Terrific, and in this video are a lot of their 'secrets.' How much does it cost to have less tech? teach students to sew? chickens? This video could be incredibly useful to teachers, parents and students. And who are the Waldorf school kids? They come from wealthy, successful families that have high expectations for them. Except for Spring Break trips to Macchu Pichu, all you need is a library, no TV, and positive support. Except for the trip to Macchu Pichu, the key parts of raising a brilliant child are not expensive, but they do require positive parental involvement. If I've had any intellectual success I can trace it back to growing up the kid of a carpenter and learning solid practical mechanical skills (not building some cute kit, but learning how to frame houses), reading (my friend read a lot so I read a lot. There is only one thing more powerful than reading 100 books, that's reading 500 books.) Finally, mistrusting experts. This last one is a bit dubious, but really helps if you are in organizations (or a family) that have institutionalized failure. UN stats kept since the 1950s indicate that there has been zero improvement in the actual education levels over the past 50 years. All those school 'reforms,' the 'new initiative', 'the 20 or 70 million dollar reading program'? All completely and utterly useless. The practical mechanical skills I developed gave me a clear sense of what works, what doesn't and how to think more clearly. I think this will work and then it doesn't; what do I need to do differently? (Managers have a much more difficult task, they make an assumption, order an action...and it didn't work, but why? It's not just the manager and a bicycle, it's a manager with several other people there are lots more 'moving parts'; it's a lot more difficult figuring out what exactly didn't work and how to fix it.) Over use of screen time. Is it symptom or cause? Everything in this video is actually about positive feedback loops. What are the results of each practice we see in the video? Not going to the Waldorf school won't ruin your future and too much screen time won't make a kid suicidal or homicidal; but ultimately what a child, or any of us spends more time doing will reinforce that behavior and amplify the results. This amplification is the real long term consequence. Learning is not simply the cumulation of education, it's the acceleration of being able to learn more and more efficiently, which in turn.... Learning is not arithmetical, it's exponential. So you're young, can't afford the Waldorf, parents and teachers don't 'get it?' Read a lot of books. But you're failing and you read at a low level. The sooner you get started. Life is really long, so what if you're five years behind, get started. Reading leads to a greater ability to think in complex ways. (And if you can't understand what you're reading, read it again. If a book is particularly useful, read it again. I've been in too many teacher 'trainings' where the person instructing completely misunderstands the concept they're instructing us about. Am I smarter than that person? Probably not, but I'd read that book twice to make sure I understood.) What does more time staring at Instagram, smoking weed, staring at a blank wall... lead to? Know what the teachers in the public schools are doing? We're sitting in meetings about how the 'new reading program' is going to improver 'our' reading scores. Who's reading scores? The students. What's more effective for a student's reading score: what someone else does in a meeting, or that student reading a book? Just imagine what actual happens in a three hour meeting the goal of which is to get someone not there to read more. Now string together dozens of these meetings. I've begged to be let out of these meetings so I can sit in a roomful of students collecting cell phones and handing out books. Nope. The meeting is 'too important.' Remember what Good Will Hunting says " you dropped a hundred and fifty grand on a *** education you coulda got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library." Okay, cranky ex-teacher rant over. And anyone who's read this far, thank you and accept my sincere apologies for taking up your time. And do not thank me; go read a book. I don't want to be liked, I want you to learn.

On one hand I kind of agree that media is a bad influence, but on the other hand I feel like these kids will be disconnected from culture, since almost nobody else is doing this.

I think the addicting part of screens is the software and digital products that companies purposely design to have you stuck there...

its like preparing them for the Apocalyptic Earth ........

What about assisted technology for students with special needs?

Waldorf has a questionable reputation in education circles. Read up on them.

I went to a Waldorf School. They were super deep into homeopathy and other pseudo science. They wasted hours per day on useless activities and I was unprepared for high school when I got out.

Handiwork? Didn’t this class used to be called home economics

Wait a sec... my developing country's public schools that are FREE has the same policies... now would you think about dat?!?!?

it's like this in South Africa regardless of socio-economic status

Top management of Philip Morris does not smoke. Nothing new here either.

Honestly it looks pretty fun. I would’ve liked to learn those practical skills and arts in school

You remember things better when you write it down, instead of typing.

So, basically most schools in my 3rd world country? (South Africa)

I feel it is great for preschool and elementary school. For older kids knowing how to use technology is a useful skill. Dont fight tech. Teach your kids to do something else, especially before high school age in which media are literaly detrimental

@narrator Your voice is so clear,crisp and really a treat for ears.Thank You.

100th anniversary? They’ve only had computers in schools for about 20 years now? Before that it was just normal school

@4:23 Lady, my free and public high school also taught how to crotchet, sew and knit too. we got patterns from books AND ONLINE This school really isn’t special, it’s so ridiculous

how are you supposed to make tiktok memes with your friends in between classes?

I used to teach at a Reggio Emilia preschool which is a play-based approach where technology is limited in class. In my school, the teachers had a computer to email and make yearbooks for the kids, but the kids never saw a glowing screen during class time, instead they got to play, explore different centers, and make art. Waldorf schools are not the same as a traditional school that doesn't have the budget for computers, Waldorf kids are taught to think for themselves, be independent, and learn about the world through art, storytelling, and nature. Kids learn at their own pace and get individual attention from their teachers. In many Waldorf schools, students can have the same teacher for several years, so they build a close bond and the teachers really know their students and see their journey as they grow. My issue with Waldorf is that teachers still tell kids what to do and make them all do the same activity instead of letting them choose what they want to learn, which is what the Reggio approach is. It's still better than a traditional school and it's better for kids to explore nature and make art using real material instead of clicking on a screen all day. Kids don't need to learn how to use technology, it's actually bad for young kids to use phones and iPads since it affects their attention span, mood, sleep, and ability to entertain themselves with their own imagination. Tech is purposely made to be user-friendly and easy to use, so just like I was able to use a smartphone and other tech as an adult since that stuff didn't exist when I was a kid or teenager, kids who grow up tech-free will easily be able to use technology when they get older. They're not missing anything from not having tech as kids and are gaining a lot by growing up without it.

Love this! We need this back in our lives.

No media at home? So, no newspapers or magazines? No radio? And no books, either - that’s media, too! That’s worse than censorship!

I visited a waldorf school here in Germany and grew up without a TV or video games at home. I believe it's great for children to be encouraged to play outside and also to learn to make actual thinks with your hand like, doing pottery, knitting, wood carving, welding etc. As a Teenager i wished we had programming classes and learned how to use different software. For instance during art classes it makes sense to use programs like photoshop and InDesign rather than just working with paper and brush. Also tuition is far less expensive here, ranging between 150 to 180 € per month. I wouldn't pay 30.000 Dollars (I guess it's for a year?) to send my children to a waldorf school.

It really depends on the kid. When I was a kid I adored my computer.

Good stuff - I'm glad I'm just old enough to have been educated prior to the technology boom yet also within its core now - benefits of both worlds and this concept of introducing a no tech education is purposeful in balancing that same thing now during a full technological revolution - good work

Now this is basically a Catholic school in the Philippines which I studied. Nothing new here.

I grew up in 1990’s 86 Child. very Private Education. Very Informative.

"Never get high off your own supply"

Ugh I go to a waldorf school and we literally do nothing🙄

Or teach your kid self control to know the right and wrong time of using technology in a social setting so you can save thousands of dollars that isn’t necessary lol

This just tells me I need to stop watching KZfaq and go out more often

i LOVE this!!! this reminds me of my elementary school experience ☺☺☺ loved gardening and how they taught us about nature n the world in a real way

The farming and gardening teacher has a real passion for what he does and you can tell how when he says “we” and “our”

No tech allowed at the high school I taught at in China. They even had payphones outside the classrooms!

:( students/people should never have to pay to receive a good education.

Most kids pre-smartphone / early smartphone stage had almost the exact same experience i'd imagine.

Kenya's education 8-4-4 system was based on this premise. For those born in the 70s, elite education was available in ALL public schools until the 90s despite economic background.

Tech free school is nothing but the old school. Its good at least they become people of tactile, verbal imaginative and when comouter is down they wont have a problem they adapt easy

Do tech executives really send their students to a Waldorf school located in Sacramento? That is a 2 hour drive from Silicon Valley. The title seems a bit misleading...

Just like old school! I love it, I used to have a callus on my right middle finger from writing so much and nowadays kids don’t even take notes in school they’re just given a piece of paper which is practically the answer key to the test and they have to MEMORIZE it not learn it or know how anything works or understand it just memorize the answers, it’s ridiculous.

It's funny because I saw a tech-free video through my screen.

Why didn't you people blur up those Apple Products whenever they appear on the video. Are you people doing indirect marketing to Apple?