In a letter to the editor, a tutor who has worked for the Madison school system as a tutor through the AmeriCorps program has noted some problems they have observed through their work with the students. While this reader acknowledges some disparities created by structural inequality, they center their complaint on technology.
Have you ever thought about how cell phones and calculators might hinder math skills?
A tutor is blaming technology for problems with the educational system.
Firstly, the reader notes that the students are far too dependent on technology to complete tasks, such as using calculators for simple math problems. The reader believes that this handicap is holding back students from progression. Second, and more compelling, the reader highlights the negative impact smart phones have had on student engagement in academics.
Achievement Connections works in close partnership with the math department to provide targeted support and structured tutoring for our students, the goal being to close the achievement gap of children of color and low income or any failing math student.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Key takeaways
- Cell phones might be making kids worse at math.
- Experts believe that cell phones and technology are having a negative impact on children’s capacity to focus.
- Children from third world countries with less access to technology can learn math at a much faster rate when given the chance.
Take the dyscalculia test
Is your child struggling in school?
Get your free personalized learning roadmap
You describe what you see at home. We turn it into a plan you start this week.
- Answer 5 short questionnaires about what you already notice, 30–45 minutes at your own kitchen table
- Your child sits no test and gets no score: nothing to schedule, nothing for them to dread
- You do the answering, the AI does the writing, and a person reviews it before it reaches you
- Access all 40+ courses instantly: reading, math, focus, processing and more, with new ones added regularly
Why we use AI, plainly: it writes from a knowledge base our team maintains and audits. We work through it line by line and pull anything the evidence stops supporting. The roadmap you get on Tuesday reflects what we corrected on Monday, and a human still reads it before you do.
Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.
Your answers stay yours. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not hand identifiable assessment data to outside AI companies to train their models.
A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.
