It’s curriculum selection season, so we need to talk about the biggest emerging trends in K-12 education, both of which have major curriculum implications.
First, we’re witnessing a significant Ed Tech backlash. Think “cell phone ban energy comes for Ed Tech.” It’s poised to become the story of 2026, and I believe the tipping point has arrived for concerns about tech in elementary education.
In parallel, we’re seeing a movement to mandate books in school curriculum.
These twin trends should influence any imminent curriculum selection, particularly for elementary ELA.
Mind you, there were already compelling reasons to select a books-and-paper-oriented curriculum for elementary grades. For starters:
Reading comprehension is lower when young kids read digital texts.
Handwriting promotes learning. I’ll be writing more about this soon, because the evidence base for handwriting doesn’t get enough attention.
The states with consistent use of book-centered, low-tech programs, Louisiana and Tennessee, have some of the strongest reading outcomes in the last 5 years.
I wish such factors drove curriculum decisions, but regrettably, they usually don’t. Social forces and vibes are bigger drivers.
So, let’s talk about the social forces and vibes at play.
The Ed Tech Backlash
Concerns about Ed Tech have been brewing for years1, but they are swiftly becoming a norm.
Look at these signals—from the last two months alone (!):
On January 15th, Jared Cooney Horvath, author of The Digital Delusion, testified before Congress about the harms of Ed Tech. The headlines were fire:
“The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents.”
Jon Haidt, the influential author whose Anxious Generation work fueled the phone ban movement, just called to get devices out of elementary schools by September.
Legislation is brewing:
In Tennessee, a proposed bill would prohibit digital devices in elementary schools.
In Massachusetts, a proposed bill would prohibit screen time for K-3 and limit it in grades 4+.
A Missouri bill would cap K-4 screen time at 45 minutes and require >70% of work to be done via paper & pencil.
There’s a growing parent-opt out movement. A toolkit designed to help parents opt-out has received more than 3,000 downloads.
Parents in Arlington Public Schools released a survey. Ed Tech overuse is the #1 concern of Arlington parents, and 60% would opt their children out of classroom devices if offered the choice.
Journalists are on the case. Kelsey Piper explained why schools “keep losing the technology bet.” An article about the issues with iReady just went absolutely viral. All recent media coverage has the same vibe: the jury is in on ed tech: it didn’t work.
Entire countries have responded. Sweden shifted from devices back to books a few years ago, and while this isn’t new information, an article on the Swedish pivot blew up last week.
The shift in public opinion feels reminiscent of the Science of Reading conversation in 2022 (after Sold a Story) and smartphones for kids in 2025 (after The Anxious Generation).
The Move to Mandate Books
Last year, Americans woke up to the issues with ELA and English curricula: many lack actual books. (We like to think our humble effort to explain Why books have disappeared from many ELA curricula played a role.)
Prominent media coverage propelled the conversation onto the national radar.
Now, we are seeing a policy response:
Texas just passed a law to mandate specific books in the curriculum.
Policy leaders just debuted model legislation that would mandate a minimum number of books in the curriculum, with emphasis on the classics. They drew arguments from our work.
Mind you, there are easier ways for states to accomplish these goals than book mandates. It would be easier and better for states to remove the book-lite curricula from their approved state lists. Even Texas seems to understand that it’s better to give teachers curricular materials to pair with the books.
But, because I don’t control the policy universe, book mandates could absolutely carry the day.
One way or another, we are likely to see organized efforts to bring books back into classrooms.
Your curriculum does double duty—or Double Whammy
These two movements intersect in the curriculum landscape. Broadly:
Tech-centric curricula are book-lite and designed around passages
Book-rich curricula require zero technology, by design
Sure, some schools are using book-rich curricula and choosing to incorporate devices for parts of lessons. For example, teachers might lead a reading lesson using paper books, then move students to a Chromebook for the writing task. And some schools have chosen digital versions of book-based programs. Still, those are choices. The content and activities aren’t sitting entirely in the cloud, requiring a device.
So, there is one simple, stylish solution that will put schools ahead of the anti-tech and the pro-book curves: book-rich, knowledge-building curricula2.
The Vibe Shift Needs to Reach Schools
Districts need to imagine a world where a sizable number of parents opt out of devices soon, especially in early grades. It’s coming.
They should also imagine a world of Chromebook bans, which seem likely in some states (at least in elementary schools).
When those forces hit schools, the curriculum will either be an enabling condition or a barrier. District leaders need to choose wisely to future-proof their choices.
Unfortunately, most districts are not having this conversation. Public sentiment is shifting ahead of school leader mindset. A case in point: recently, the superintendents’ association, principals’ groups, and teachers’ unions joined Ed Tech advocacy groups in writing to Congress in defense of Ed Tech.
Educators are late to this party. As Dylan Kane just posted:
Lots of chatter online about a potential backlash to classroom technology in schools. I’m in favor of reducing classroom technology, I might have another post on tech next week. Online, seems like there might be a vibe shift!
In my real school where I work with real people, I see ~zero vibe shift. In addition to ~zero vibe shift, we have a huge amount of institutional inertia (curriculum, testing, etc) tied up in classroom technology.
None the less, I’m making a firm bet: we have reached the tipping point on Ed Tech sentiment. And I have a decent track record3 on calling vibe shifts.
If you want to avoid a curriculum replacement mess in 1-3 years, get this memo to your superintendent, school board, and curriculum director.
Reading List
Olivia Mullins penned a superb two-part series on the Benchmark curriculum, showing how its content fails to be cohesive enough to build knowledge for students.
For more curriculum-oriented stories, check out my “Latest in Literacy” roundup, from this weekend. Or last week’s roundup, featuring Phonics Wars. Or the first-ever roundup, featuring Southern Surge momentum and congressional hearings on literacy. Every installment has curriculum at the heart.
Seriously, Natalie Wexler’s 2019 article for MIT press, How Classroom Technology is Holding Students Back, remains a worrisome and persuasive read. It’s also a reminder that the concerns about ed tech are far-from-new.
“Knowledge-building curriculum” is the typical name given to the programs in this category.
I don’t mean to brag, but reading K-12 education tea leaves is one of my superpowers. On September 10th, 2018, a journalist named Emily Hanford put out a long-form podcast on phonics. No one would ever have imagined that such a thing would go viral. By November, I was describing the impact as a Literacy Tsunami. Seven years later, every state has new literacy policies in place.
I also had a pretty decent pandemic track record, in forecasting the challenges we would have in reopening schools, as well as the impacts of school closure on children. Not gonna pull my zillion tweets, but #IYKYK.
We have reached the tipping point on Ed Tech, at least in elementary schools. I feel it in my bones.
Fingers crossed this vibe shift happens and school leaders get the message! I have been writing about the harms of edtech on student learning as well as the tech funding behind it. Check out The Reckoning Series https://firstfish.substack.com/s/the-reckoning-a-series
Emily Cherkin and I highlight education groups with ties to tech funding. Let's make 2026 the year we undo Big Techs death grip on education!
The vibe shift is not only online. I’m a real parent offline and I talk to other real parents about this stuff. There’s even a real advocacy group in my school district.