Emily Cherkin, The Screentime Consultant

That does make me feel better. I would love to know if anyone responds!

😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant How recent news out of L.A. can shine light in dark corners

My newest essay about school leadership, EdTech, and what the recent events in LA ought to be teaching us about the most powerful companies we’ve never heard of: open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

An Uncomfortable Union When the organizations who exist to protect the teaching profession instead get cozy with the companies who seek to undo them

Our latest in The Reckoning open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

The Four Norms of EdTech The most advanced technologies in a classroom should be people, paper, and pencils.

open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

Chatbots Threaten the Attachment System: What a Mental Health Counselor is Seeing. Guest Testimony by Natalie Houston, Mental Health Counselor, before the Oregon State Legislature

New guest testimony! open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

Three Lies About EdTech and the Law By Andrew Liddell and Julie Liddell, Founders, EdTech Law Center

@andyliddell.bsky.social wrote this brilliant piece: open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

I’ll teach there.

*plea. Sigh.

My (Second) Testimony to the NTIA about EdTech A plea to lawmakers to use excess funds to study the harms of EdTech

My two minute pleas to lawmakers to use excess funds to study the harms of EdTech.

If we are going to test unsafe AI and EdTech products on children, the very LEAST we could do is study the impact of the harms.

open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

An interesting update: apparently the NPTA has removed Meta from their list of “Proud National Sponsors”. It was there as recently as Jan 26– we have a screenshot in our essay. Wonder why Meta is gone? 🤔

The Fox is in the Hen House Five Uncomfortable Truths about the National PTA and Big Tech

The Reckoning continues— the National PTA and its shady ties to tech. open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

My Testimony before the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on EdTech Debunking EdTech myths and urging lawmakers to act now

open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

The Price Kids Pay: What Alpha School Really Costs What happens when we let EdTech run a school.

What you need to know about Alpha School. open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

Higher Ed, Technology, and Relationships Through the Eyes of an Undergraduate Student A firsthand account of life as an college student in the digital age (guest essay)

A young person’s experience of the world of tech, phones, and isolation. Guest essay: open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

@velislavahill.bsky.social called this out in an OpEd in the Guardian this fall.

@andyliddell.bsky.social

Top 5 Resources for Fighting EdTech Knowledge is power. Here are some resources to get you started.

Some resources to assist you in your fight against EdTech: open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

The Fox is in the Hen House Five Uncomfortable Truths about the National PTA and Big Tech

The Reckoning continues— the National PTA and its shady ties to tech. open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

Keep swimming, friends. This is hard. But it's working. Losing one battle doesn't mean we aren't winning the war. Stay strong.

Keep going, friends. It is working. open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

Not Yet Connected: A Tale from the Cradle Guest essay by Calvin Odera, a Kenyan activist fighting to protect childhood

open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

Phone-Free Schools State Report Card The Phone-Free Schools State Report Card is a vital resource for lawmakers and advocates dedicated to strengthening school communities, offering data-driven insights into phone-free school policies ac...

Outstnading new resource available to support phone-free achool efforts: phonefreeschoolsreport.org#resources

Don’t Ask the Barber if You Need a Haircut The problematic organizations who defend EdTech

open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

Sunlight is the best disinfectant…

My Testimony to the United States Senate My warning to the senators about the 4 crises resulting from technology use that is altering childhood and the urgent need to do something...now.

Thanks @robertcruickshank.com. I was in DC last week testifying about both topics before the U.S. senate. open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

My Testimony to the United States Senate My warning to the senators about the 4 crises resulting from technology use that is altering childhood and the urgent need to do something...now.

My warning to U.S. Senators last week. open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

Emily Goes to Washington I've been invited to testify before members of the United States Senate on Thursday, January 15, 2026.

I am heading to DC this week!
open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

Just Like Smartphones, EdTech Is Terrible for Children, Skill Development, and Mental Health. What a licensed professional counselor has witnessed professionally and in the classroom and some ideas for school leaders on how to make changes.

New guest essay! open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

Jan. 13 Part 2 of WEBINAR with Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath and Emily Cherkin on Jared's new book: "The Digital Delusion" How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids' Learning-- and How to Help Them Thrive Again: Part 2!!

open.substack.com/pub/firstfis...

Join us for Part 2!

School security AI flagged clarinet as a gun. Exec says it wasn’t an error. Human review didn’t stop AI from triggering lockdown at panicked middle school.

"School warns students not to trigger AI."

The student was blamed for the trauma the students and teachers suffered because we refuse to regulate guns and love to pretend that technology can solve the social and political failures of adult humans.

Stunning. Yet, much easier to blame students for “using it wrong” than kicking AI to the curb in schools.