Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

Post by graemep » Thu, Apr 02, 2026, 5:33 PM UTC

deanc wrote: post #99

mentalgear wrote: post #15

I remember that - even though Steve Jobs promoted the iPad as a replacement to the 'heavy schoolbooks kids had to carry all day' - he never allowed his children to use iPads. I bet Zuckerberg doesn't allow his children to use social media. And I assume that Sam Altman won't allow his children to use AI chatbots. What does that tell us?

It’s probably more nuanced than this. Would I have let my kids use Facebook in the height of its popularity. Absolutely. It was fun, engaging and user driven. Now it’s just an absolute cesspit of paid content, ads and boomers posting in groups. I don’t even think it’s appropriate to call it social media anymore. It’s barely social. Not a single friend of mine posts anything on there.

Post by pessimizer » Thu, Apr 02, 2026, 5:36 PM UTC

graemep wrote: post #290

randcraw wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just as "there is no royal road to mathematics", no AI can do your learning for you. The need for memorization of essential math identities (like multiplication tables and use of fractions) or rules of grammar (like verb conjugation or use of anaphora) will never be enhanced by AI. There is an essential role for good old fashioned rote learning that can't be avoided. To pretend AI will not impede that learning is a f…

I do not see the point of either of your examples of rote learning. What do you lose if you do not know the? You will pick up enough of multiplication tables through doing maths, native speakers of a language will conjugate correctly without memorising (you do need to do it if learning foreign languages). Anaphora is a technique which cannot really be rote learned - and most people to try to use it do so badly and ju…

Post by graemep » Thu, Apr 02, 2026, 5:38 PM UTC

dmd wrote: post #166

artakulov wrote: post #13

[flagged]

> sits on the shelf for the next kid. Maybe in a post-Soviet country they did. In my school they shredded them so the next class had to buy a new set.

Post by weslleyskah » Thu, Apr 02, 2026, 5:44 PM UTC

bpt3 wrote: post #297

weslleyskah wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tech can save you from a bad educational environment. I think kids need extreme amounts of freedom with guidance on what are the best tools to be used for learning. From visualizing linear algebra and analytic geometry problems to piracy. If anything, the teachers need to improve their tech literacy. There is no way to be done away with tech on school, but some balance and freedom must be achieved.

> I think kids need extreme amounts of freedom with guidance on what are the best tools to be used for learning. Why an "extreme" amount of freedom? > There is no way to be done away with tech on school, but some balance and freedom must be achieved. Yes there is. Students were educated just a couple decades ago without it. We can easily return to that style.

Post by emil-lp » Thu, Apr 02, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #306

The same goes for college. I've advised college students to leave their laptops in their dorm room. Take a spiral notebook to lecture, and a couple pens. Write down everything the professor writes on the chalkboard. When studying, going over the notes, you'll hear the lecture again in your head. Of course, if the professor doesn't use a chalkboard, and does a slide presentation instead, that will make studying harder…