‘Addiction to technology’

A candidate for school board at Evanston Township High School said something which stood out quite a bit in an otherwise low-key candidate forum.

“Addiction to technology.”

When asked about the biggest challenges facing ETHS, “addiction to technogy” was Mirah Anti’s answer, an over-reliance on cell phones which Anti said is “pretty scary.”

Anti is one of five District 202 school board candidates on the April 4 ballot.

But unlike the others, Anti, an incumbent is guaranteed re-election.

That’s because Anti is the only person running for a two-year slot, to fill out the rest of a term she was appointed to fill. Running as a write-in, all Anti has to do is vote for herself, and she wins. She’s running as a “valid” write-in, and thus is the only one whose name can count.

The four other candidates, incumbents Monique Parsons and Elizabeth Rolewicz, and challengers Leah Piekarz and Kristen Scotti, are squaring off for four-year terms. The top three finishers will be elected.

While many issues besides cell phones were discussed in the recent 90-minute forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters, there was basic agreement on just about everything, from the need to close the racial achievement gap, to not having airport-style metal detectors at ETHS, to supporting the “earned honors” system that ended tracking into separate academic paths for different students.

Anti made her “addiction to technology comment” early on, and it seemed like it would not come up again.

But the last question in the debate, whether by coincidence or if playing off of Anti’s remark, was about potential dangers of social media, which includes the use of cell phones (and district-issued Chromebooks).

Scotti said the issue is not technology itself, but “how you interact with it.”

She said “we have to teach our kids how to engage with it, and can’t wait until they are adults in order to figure it out.”

She said can range from possibly incorporating cell phone usage in parts of the curriculum, to simply “locking phones at the [classroom] door.”

Rolewicz said a total cell phone ban in classrooms would not work.

“Sometimes they’re a necessity,” she argued.

But with phones often used for peer pressure, bullying, or following social media “influencers,” Rolewicz said that having a class on proper use of social media “would be awesome.”

Parsons also indicated that a total cell phone ban was not practical.

“Technology is not going anywhere, and neither is social media, ” she said.

“It’s big business.”

Figuring out how to “re-engergize our kids” after the pandemic is critical, she noted.

Piekarz agreed that technology is not going to disappear, but cell phones in the classroom can also be “really disturbing to learning.”

She said that thee should not be a ban, but a “really clear, consistent and compassionate policy on cell phones, in class” so there is both digital literacy among students, and an understanding about what is and is not allowed.

Noting that technology is part of a child’s education, Piekarz also said there needs to be a discussion on what to do with new developments such as Chat GPT, the artificial intelligence program that could write term papers.

Anti said it is possible for kids to exist without cell phones, at least for awhile.

It’s not possible to use them, she noted, while playing tennis or a musical instrument.

“I say shut it down, the phones are gone,” Anti said, regarding phones in class.

Some other highlights from the forum:

Parsons, who is running for her third term, stressed her leadership role as head of the McGaw YMCA, and said it’s vital to “see faces” of students while reviewing data.

Parsons said that ending tracking in favor of earned honors “is a committment to excellence and equity.”

“I believe in the collective power of Evanston,” she added.

Rolewicz, running for her second term, said she is running because of her “passion for ETHS and her advocacy for the students.”

She also called for “big and bold” actions by the school in climate action, such as adding solar panels.

Piekarz, a retired ETHS counselor, said she “feels forever a part of ETHS,” and her “work is not done.”

She said it’s critical to “continue chipping away at having two schools in the same school,” when it comes to the achievement gap.

Scotti’s campaign is keyed to disability rights, and said “we need disability representation on the board.” Scotti described herself as “neurodivergent,” and said her child has disabilities as well.

She said ETHS “is not safe” for students with disabilities.

Anti said when it comes to learning and opportunities, she prefers the term “justice and integration” to the standard “equity and inclusion.”

To view the entire forum, and learn more about each candidate’s background and position on the issues, go to www.lwve.org, and click the link for the District 202 forum.