On Monday, March 24, Pascack Valley High School will be hosting its very first “tech-free” day. During the day, students will not be permitted to use phones or computers. In addition, teachers will incorporate technology-free instruction into their lesson plans for the day.
However, Principal John Puccio states he does not want to penalize any teachers who are in the middle of teaching with technology, such as classes in the middle of projects or presentations.
“I don’t want to interfere with anyone’s instructions and lessons… it didn’t say, on purpose, [in the letter] that you had to leave your computers at home,” Puccio stated.
So although the purpose of the day is to get students to connect better with each other, technology usage is not strictly banned, allowing for teachers to use computers when necessary and students to use their Pascack Periods to do whatever they need online.
“I don’t want to inhibit what you’re doing in your classroom. But, I want us to follow this the best we can,” Puccio explained.
Students will leave phones and other technology in their backpacks from bell-to-bell, similar to what will take place next school year when New Jersey’s new bell-to-bell phone ban takes effect. The idea of a tech-free day in classrooms has been spoken about among teachers for months, even before the law for the phone ban was passed back in January.
“All of a sudden, the cell phone legislation came out… we’re like, let’s just incorporate the two and let’s get a trial with the cell phones,” Puccio said.
Puccio stated that he hopes to see more social interactions between people and more engaging conversations.
“It’d be great if kids go home and say, ‘It’s kind of nice that we weren’t on the screen all day,’” said Puccio.
Puccio also explained that if the first “tech-free” day goes well, the Pascack Valley community could see more of them being a thing in the future.
“Let’s use this to the fullest. Teachers could give us feedback on it, students could give us feedback to see how things are going,” Puccio said.
Overall, the tech-free day is an experiment to help foster connection among the student body. It is not a strict day meant to scare students, but rather an experiment that will help the PV community get a taste of what the upcoming year will be like.
