Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein recently called the use of technology in schools "a corporate ruse" and stated that “we should be moving away from screens at all levels of education”, also saying “we should not be subjecting kids’ brains to that”, regarding wifi networks. Coming from anyone else, this statement might seem slightly out of left field, but the former physician has a track record of making bizarre and perplexing claims, such as implying that her elusive “Green New Deal” will work to solve institutionalized racism, offering a startlingly indecisive answer when asked if vaccines were safe, and denying that Hillary Clinton’s feat of becoming the first female major-party presidential nominee was an accomplishment for women.
Jill Stein’s latest comment is especially far from correct: in reality, research has shown no evidence that suggests that wifi is a danger to people's’ health. Wifi networks emit low-voltage radiation, which has not been shown to pose a public health threat. In an increasingly digital society, implementing technology in the classroom provides new ways to collaborate and motivate students; a study done by PBS LearningMedia shows that 74% percent of teachers reported that implementing a 1-to-1 technology initiative in their classroom increased their students’ motivation for learning. Technology in the classroom also allows students to become proficient in new software and gain valuable skills that will make them more competitive in the job market, such as coding and digital design.
This unfounded attack on technology-based learning made Jill Stein seem woefully out of touch with technology's growing role in America's education system. Furthermore, her lack of credible evidence to support her claims on the dangers about wifi is concerning, coming from someone who wants to be the next President of the United States. As the Green Party's presumptive nominee, Stein should know that implementing paperless technology in schools greatly reduces the number of trees that are killed for paper consumption.
Justifying one's positions based on a "feeling" they have, rather than reliable evidence seems to be a pattern amongst politicians on both the left and the right. Recently former Congressman Newt Gingrich claimed that America "felt less safe" during an interview on CNN, but could provide no evidence to back his claim, aside from claiming that America “felt it was true”.
While Stein is certainly not the only candidate in the Presidential race to make misguided and false claims, her latest statements certainly aren’t helping her poll numbers, which remain between two and four percent. It’s hard to imagine that Stein’s feeling-driven charge against technology in the classroom would elicit a positive response if she were running for PTA President, let alone President of the Free World.
