The Washington Post reports that President Obama is cheerleading for more spending on high-speed Internet, tablet computers, and Wi-Fi in the nation’s K-12 schools. There are budget and federalism reasons why the president of the United States should not be sticking his nose into local schooling activities, but let’s put those concerns aside here.

I’m very skeptical of putting so much money into technology in the classroom. Just because kids think computers are fun does not mean that’s the best way for them to learn math, reading, science, and history. Politicians love doing photo-ops for their tech “initiatives,” but new computer gizmos are added distractions that students probably don’t need.  

This year my kids are entering a public middle school, which recently had an open house for parents. One of our stops was a science class that had few computers but lots of shop tools and woodworking machines. In this class, the kids learn about things such as aerodynamics and magnetism by building and testing actual models. The teacher said his optional class was in very high demand. I asked why. He said something to the effect, “The kids are saturated with computers in their other classes, but here they can get away from it and learn while working with their hands.”

Recently, I was horrified when the superintendent of our school system said that she wants to issue an Apple iPad to every student. But why? Today’s textbooks are often very colorful and interesting. And many teachers these days are highly trained with advanced degrees—so shouldn’t kids be engaging with them during school time rather than becoming computer zombies? Shouldn’t they be listening to a human rather than staring at a screen?

My kids seem to learn mainly by interacting with their parents and their excellent teachers, and by reading books, doing assignments, and focusing on homework written on old-fashioned paper. They also learn from TV and computers, but there is a balance here that tech-in-the-school advocates seem intent on obliterating. The Washington Post story quoted Obama administration officials saying that their tech initiatives were a “breakthrough investment in schools” and that “this is a transformative moment for teaching and learning in this country.” Baloney.