1 . As young children went back to school across Sweden last month, many of their teachers were putting a new emphasis on printed books, quiet reading time and handwriting practice and devoting less time to tablets, independent online research and keyboarding skills.

The return to more traditional ways of learning is a response to experts’ doubt on the country’s over-digitalized approach to education, which has even introduced tablets into kindergartens. They are worried that it has already led to a decline in basic skills.

The rapid adoption of digital learning tools has also drawn concern from a United Nations’ education agency. In a report published last month, the agency issued an urgent call for appropriate use of technology in education. The report urges countries to speed up Internet connections at schools, but at the same time warns that technology in education should be used in a way so that it never replaces in-person, teacher-led instruction and supports the shared objective of quality education for all.

However, online instruction is a hotly debated subject across Europe and other parts of the West. Germany has been famously slow in moving information of all kinds online, including education. Many students can complete their schooling without any kind of required digital instruction, such as coding. Most parents worry their children may not be able to compete in the job market with technologically better-trained young people from other countries. “If we don’t manage to make education digital, then we will no longer be a competitive country in 20 years,” said Sascha Lobo, one of the parents interviewed last year.

However, not all teachers are convinced that Sweden’s back-to-basics push is in the best interest for students. “Technology is just one part of a really complex network of factors in education,” said Catarina Branelius, a third grade teacher in the Swedish capital, Stockholm. “I use tablets in math, but I don’t use tablets for writing text. Students under age 10 need time and practice and exercise in handwriting… before you introduce them to write on a tablet.”

2 . Two authors, Kylen Ribeiro and Michelle Zofrea, have written a children’s book Henry’s Tech-Free Trip to explore why parents want kids to limit screen time.

The authors said they have seen many news stories and studies in recent years warning parents about monitoring (监视) both the quality of the content and the amount of time their kids spent with tablets, phones and smart watches. But they didn’t see any books that were written for kids on the topic.

“We hope that it will help kids connect the topic,” Zofrea said. She said it reminded her that her mother warned her not to overdo it on Halloween candy. She didn’t follow the advice and wolfed down all her treat and felt sick later. “Like with food, we can set rules and lecture kids. It’ll be more effective if they start to notice how they feel,” Zofrea said.

The authors both work for DefenderShield, a Tampa-based company that sells products to block electromagnetic field radiation (电磁辐射) from laptops, cell phones and tablets. Their work there is what inspired the book, though they know it can be a heated topic because of the debate over the science of radiation’s effects.

While concerns are rising about the amount of time kids spend online, parents always remain on their phones at home. “I’ve always said children learn from what we do and not what we say,” said Pam Patranella, a doctor who reviewed the book and liked the idea of taking the screen time lesson to kids.

The book’s authors said parents need to be reminded that their kids have grown up in a different world, one that has had computers and tablets since the day they were born. “We want to bring up the concept (观念) of digital wellness for families and children,” Ribeiro said.

4 . Marva Collins’ journey as a teacher began in the 1960s, when she was assigned to teach at a public school in Chicago. At the time, the school was plagued (困扰) by violence, low academic standards, and a ______ of resources, and many of its students were ______ as “unteachable” or “at-risk.”

Despite these ______ , Collins was determined to make a difference. She ______ to create a classroom environment that helped to develop a love of ______ , a sense of discipline, and a belief in oneself. Collins’ teaching methods proved ______ , and her students soon began to show remarkable progress. They ______ well above average on standardized tests, and many of them went on to ______ top universities.

Collins also ______ the importance of building relationships between teachers and students. She believed that strong relationships were the foundation of effective teaching, and she ______ teachers to get to know their students as individuals and to personalize their instruction ______ .

Collins’ impact on education was recognized by educators across the world, and she was ______ to speak at conferences across the world. Today, Collins’ legacy (遗产) lives on through the many students and educators inspired by her work. Her emphasis on ______ , hard work and relationships continues to be a model for effective teaching, and her ______ in the potential of every student ______ to inspire educators to make a difference in the lives of at-risk students.

5 . “From one day to the next, our profession was wiped out. We woke up and discovered our skills were unnecessary.” This is what two successful graphic designers told me about the impact of AI. The old promise—creative workers would be better protected than others from mechanization (机械化) —ruined overnight. If visual artists can be replaced by machines, who is safe?

While there’s plenty of talk about how education might change, little has been done to equip students for a world whose conditions shift so fast. It’s not just at work that young people will confront sudden changes of state. They are also likely to witness more environmental breakdown and the collapse of certain human-made systems.

Why are we so unprepared? Why do we manage our lives so badly? Why are we so expert at material innovation, but so unskilled at creating a society in which everyone can succeed? Why do obvious lies spread like wildfire? What is lacking in our education that leaves such gap s in our lives?

The word education partly comes from Latin, meaning “to lead out”. Too often it leads us in: into old ways of thinking, into dying professions. Too seldom does it lead us out of our cognitive and emotional circles, out of a political and economic system that’s killing us.

I don’t claim to have definitive answers. But I believe the extreme demands, throughout our schooling, of tests and exams reduce the range of our thinking. The exam system creates artificial borders. The intense combined demands of the testing system leave almost no time to respond to opportunities and events, or for children to develop their own interests.

Education should be joyful and delightful, not only because joy and delight are essential to our health and happiness, but also because we are more likely to survive major changes. Schooling alone will not be enough to lead us out of the many crises and disasters we now face. But it should at least lend us a torch.