Burke County brings pen and paper back in the classroom

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Burke County Public Schools is putting pen and paper back in the classroom. It is giving teachers the freedom during the day to choose when computers are better and when paper is better during this transition year.

Tiana Beachler is both a mother and Burke County Board of Education member. She says when she was home, she saw her sons’ attachment to devices.

“When the devices go away, now we get the emotions,” Beachler said.

She saw it’s happening with other families too, so she came up with an idea to take a step back.

“In order to run you have to learn how to walk, in order to walk you have to crawl, so instead of the thought that we are taking a step back, it’s important to teach them the foundation of how to work things out on paper,” Beachler said.

Teachers say they like it. Connie Fox teaches kindergarten and says the computers were too much for her students.

“Eight years ago, they were writing sentences, and last year they were barely writing words, and in my head they were on the computer so much,” Fox said.

Now, she does more hands-on work and made them a reading corner.

“This has just been such a blessing to be able to go back to what is age-appropriate for these children especially,” Fox said.

Fifth-grade teacher Emily Hendrix says it’s good for math. She says students can now show their work.

“A computer, it’s very easy just to click and push the buttons until it moves you on to the next problem,” Hendrix said.

She mentioned that they’re now able to learn cursive.

“Students don’t know cursive, and they do struggle to sign their names, and in documents later in life they need to know how to do that,” Hendrix said.

They say they are going back to the basics to try to give students a well-rounded education.

“We’re seeing paper come home again, because we have kids in the system. We see the homework come home again,” Beachler said.