Sweden schools going old school: electronic gadgets out of classrooms

Sweden is seriously dialing back the screen time in classrooms, especially for the little kids, though let's be clear: it's not some total nationwide gadget blackout.

The Swedes started pivoting away from the all-digital everything around 2022–2023 once the data started screaming about tanking reading scores, kids who couldn't focus for five minutes, and shaky basic skills all tied to too much time staring at glowing rectangles.

They're going old-school hard now: pushing physical textbooks, actual handwriting practice, pen-and-paper everything, and real printed books, particularly in the early grades (preschool through primary).

The government's pumping money into textbooks and libraries again, they've scrapped any mandate for digital tools in preschools (zero screens under age 2, and heavily limited after that), and they've basically called the previous full-throttle digital experiment what it was: a failed one.

Then there's the big one: a nationwide mobile phone ban rolling out in compulsory schools (that's primary and middle, up through grade 9, ages roughly 7–16) starting autumn 2026. Kids hand over their phones at the door (or lock 'em up), get 'em back when the bell rings at the end of the day. Phones are already prohibited in classrooms in about 80% of schools, but this makes it mandatory everywhere—including during breaks, to kill distractions, boost concentration, and improve overall security.

It's not a blanket ban on every laptop or tablet in every school or for every age group. The vibe is more "screens only when they actually make sense and add real value"—not the default setting anymore. A lot of coverage calls it "pulling the plug" on the over-digitalization fad, but really it's a smart recalibration: analog methods get priority for the core stuff kids need to master.

This whole move has people around the world taking notes as a possible blueprint for fixing screen-addled classrooms. 

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Mom shamed by school for cake in daughter's lunch box

First they nastygrammed about a kid's school lunch, then they nastygrammed about his dirty underwear. When will it stop?

An Australian nastygram has gone viral.

A mother, who obviously loves her 3-year-old daughter, put a slice of chocolate cake in her school lunch bag. How horrible!

The cake set off an alarm, flagging the delicious desert as a violation of the school's mandatory healthy foods policy. The cake was flagged in the shuddersome "Red Food Category," which lists foods "that may contain excess energy (kilojoules), saturated fat [Michael Moore], added sugar and/or salt."

The mother discovered how terrible she was when her daughter returned home with a note from the teacher that was topped with a sad face and said: "Your child has chocolate slice from the Red Food category today. Please choose healthier options for Kindy."

'Kindy' refers to kindergarten in Australian.

A friend of the warned mommy, Melinda Tankard Reist, (who is also an author and advocate for women and girls) went on Facebook to support her friend. She posted a photo of the note and wrote: "My friend (mother of 8 healthy children, what follows relating to no. 7) received this today from her 3 year old's kindy. I told her to put in two slices tomorrow and tell them to get lost."

The post received hundreds of shares and over 800 comments.

One commenter wrote: "I'm quite sure the mother knows it has sugar . . . the mother is NOT in kindergarten . . . the teacher is chastising the parent here! Plus makes the child feel bad . . . shame on the teacher . . . it's not every day I am sure."

Another wrote: "Perhaps tell them that they are breaching our privacy by looking. Quote privacy legislation--no right to judge my lunchbox."

Today it's the lunch boxes . . . tomorrow, our skivvies. It must end now!


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Tribe offers cash to schools to ditch "offensive" Indian mascots

A Michigan Native American Indian tribe is planning to bribe K-12 schools, both public and private, as well as universities and municipalities to replace Indian mascots.

A recent survey found that 35 K-12 schools in Michigan had Native American Indian-themed mascots, including the Indians, the Warriors, the Redskins, the Chiefs, the Big Reds, the Chieftains and the Braves.

The Notawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi (translated: "The Falling Snowflakes on the Murky Pond") said that they would be the first U.S. tribe to help offset the costs of replacing the mascots with a bribe. 

In addition, they ask that the Irish folk group, The Chieftains, call themselves by another name and suggested "The Porcelain Skin Beer Guzzlers."

Princess Summerfall Winterspring, a tribal spokeswoman, said the replacement process of the mascots can be very expensive. A school may have to change the gym floor, athletic uniforms, band equipment, student mindsets and even the official letterhead to its website.

But, she said, if it makes our braves feel better, then it's worth the cost.

The bribe money would be coming from the newly established Native American Heritage Fund, which will start each year at $500,000 in its account.

Other uses for the money will go to improving tribal schools and providing tribal members with good horses and firewater.

Everyone seems so easily offended--I hope you weren't. 

This post wasn't intended to offend, just like Native American mascot names are also not meant to 'hurt feelings. 

In fact, it seems as if the monikers actually honor the Native American.


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Textbook pulled saying some slaves treated like family

Norwalk, CT. -- According to a social studies textbook, some Connecticut slaves were treated like family, not possessions. 

The text is titled: "The Connecticut Adventure."

Depicting white people as compassionate to slaves was too much for public school officials to tolerate and the text was pulled from the classrooms after a parent raised concerns about its depiction of slavery. 

The book by John W. Ifkovic was published in 2001. In one chapter on slavery in Connecticut it states: "Compared to other colonies, Connecticut did not have many slaves. Some people owned one or two slaves. They often cared for and protected them like members of the family. They taught them to be Christian, and sometimes to read and write."

How dare Ifkovic state such facts! 

District spokesliberal, Brenda Wilcox Williams, said the book had been used for several years at 10 of the 12 Norwalk schools. The concerns about the factual content were brought to the attention of district liberal officials November 29th and bam! within a week it was pulled. 

"When it wqas brought to our attention it was pretty clear it wasn't consistent with our core beliefs and values," Williams said, referring to their values that feelings trumps facts and Hillary trumps Trump every time. "We felt it was important to respond quickly as a result of that."

Imagine how horrible it is for liberals to believe that slave owners were simply products of their time and could actually be decent people to their slaves.

Slavery is wrong. Totally wrong. It was a horrible time in our history and should never be repeated, although we still do business with countries, like Saudi Arabia and other Islamic nations, where slavery is practiced. 

But if the text is accurately depicting the facts, that many Connecticut slave owners weren't horrible human beings and actually treated slaves somewhat like family, then it should be stated--in spite of how it goes against the liberal agenda.




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