As schools across America grapple with collapsing literacy rates, rampant AI cheating, and students who can barely focus long enough to finish a paragraph, one teacher decided to take a radical step by going back to basics.

The results were remarkable.

Maureen Mulvaney, an AP Literature and English teacher at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, banned phones, laptops, and digital devices from her classroom, forcing students to return to pencil, paper, and old-fashioned reading.

Within months, student confidence in reading had more than doubled, raising fresh questions about whether technology has become one of the biggest obstacles to learning.

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Students Flourish After Technology Removed

Mulvaney launched the experiment after becoming increasingly frustrated with plagiarism, distractions, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence in education.

With strong support from parents, she eliminated phones and laptops entirely and required all coursework to be completed by hand.

The transformation was dramatic.

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At the start of the school year, only 46 percent of her students said they felt confident in their reading abilities.

By February, that figure had surged to 95 percent.

“We’re having a lot of trouble in education, and I think what my kids told us was that there is a solution, and the solution is to go low-tech,” Mulvaney told KARE 11.

“Go back to the old ways of doing things.

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“Remove all the distractions, and we can get our kids back.”

AI and Screens Under Growing Scrutiny

The experiment began modestly.

Students initially spent just 10 minutes reading silently and writing by hand.

Mulvaney acknowledged the first day was difficult.

Many students struggled to write even half a page without turning to a screen.

“I told the kids this is like lifting weights,” she explained.

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“You don’t go in and you don’t start with 80 pounds.”

Over time, however, students rebuilt skills that many educators say have been steadily eroded by constant screen exposure.

By February, most students could comfortably write two pages by hand, while some were producing five or six pages.

Nearly 80 percent reported that writing on paper made it easier to organize their thoughts than typing on a computer.

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Students Say They Think More Clearly Without Devices

Several students described the experience as unexpectedly enjoyable.

“It was honestly really fun,” student Rue Falbo told KARE 11.

“I enjoyed not being on tech, and I think that everyone connected a little bit more.”

Student Khalil Omar said removing devices forced him to rely on his own thinking rather than constantly searching for answers online.

“On a Chromebook, I might be tempted to maybe look something up, find a definition of something,” Omar said.

“But when I’m on paper, I feel like I can use my writing for me.”

Another student pointed directly to artificial intelligence as a major factor.

“When we use paper, there’s no temptation to use AI,” the student told Mulvaney.

“I have to force myself to come up with my own ideas. So I do.”

Growing Evidence Points to Technology’s Impact

The experiment arrives as educators nationwide sound the alarm over declining reading comprehension, shrinking attention spans, and the explosion of AI-assisted cheating.

A growing body of research suggests excessive screen use may be contributing to cognitive decline among students, while newer studies indicate that AI tools can reduce critical thinking and lower brain activity during writing tasks.

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While many schools have moved to restrict cell phones, laptops, and Chromebooks largely remain untouched despite offering many of the same distractions.

Students can still browse the internet, shop online, play games, watch videos, or interact with AI chatbots during the school day.

Mulvaney’s experiment challenges the long-standing assumption that more technology automatically leads to better educational outcomes.

A Return to What Works

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the experiment was how quickly students improved once the distractions disappeared.

The results suggest that many of the educational problems plaguing classrooms today may not be permanent.

Rather than requiring expensive new programs or additional technology, the solution may simply involve removing the devices that have increasingly dominated modern education.

“Kids haven’t changed,” Mulvaney wrote.

“Education has, and we need to go back to what works.”

At a time when schools are pouring billions into laptops, AI tools, and digital learning platforms, her classroom may offer a simple but powerful reminder that sometimes the best way forward is to return to the fundamentals.

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