"Tech Took Their Words Away": Former Teacher Warns of Growing Illiteracy in a Digital Age

 

After three years in the classroom, former middle school teacher Lauren Mitchell made headlines this month by walking away from her teaching job—and sounding the alarm about an invisible academic crisis.

“The kids can’t read,” she said bluntly in a now-viral video message posted shortly after resigning. “Not like we think they can. They can't focus, they can't decode, and they certainly can't comprehend. The digital world has stolen their ability to think critically.”

Mitchell’s message isn’t about budget cuts, classroom sizes, or even student behavior. Her chilling warning is that technology—particularly unregulated screen time, constant device access, and the rise of AI writing tools—is gradually erasing foundational skills in reading and writing.

From Chalkboards to Chatbots

Lauren, 29, started teaching 6th and 7th grade English in a suburban school outside Atlanta with hope and enthusiasm. A self-professed book lover, she entered the profession imagining book circles, passionate essays, and thoughtful debates. What she found instead were iPads replacing books and AI-generated essays replacing student thoughts.

“The first time I got an essay that was clearly written by ChatGPT, I was stunned,” she recalled. “I asked the student about it and he laughed. He didn’t even try to hide it.”

By her third year, she said more than half of her students had stopped attempting to write original work. AI tools had become a shortcut, and with that shortcut came a collapse in their ability to express themselves, analyze text, or even finish a simple novel.

“They weren’t even reading the books,” Lauren said. “They’d watch summaries on YouTube, or use apps that fed them answers. They didn’t see reading as necessary anymore.”

Shorter Attention Spans, Shallow Thinking

What alarmed Lauren most wasn’t just the cheating—it was the loss of thinking.

“Reading is not just about decoding words. It’s about holding information in your mind, making connections, and forming new ideas,” she explained. “But the kids were struggling to follow a paragraph, let alone a chapter.”

Many of her students, she claimed, were reading two or more grade levels below standard. But these weren’t kids with diagnosed learning disabilities or access barriers. “These were smart, capable students who simply never had to work for information. Tech made everything instant, and they never learned how to wrestle with text.”

Screens in Every Corner

When tablets were introduced into Lauren’s classroom, they were intended to be educational tools. Instead, they became a constant distraction.

“There’s only so much you can do when a child is one click away from games, TikTok, or an AI that will do the work for them,” she said.

Even when the school introduced monitoring apps, students found workarounds. Lauren remembers one student who had mastered switching between a Google Doc and a gaming tab so seamlessly she didn’t notice until weeks into the term.

“I spent more time policing screens than teaching.”

The Silent Erosion of Literacy

Lauren’s story isn’t isolated. A growing number of teachers across the U.S., UK, and Australia have reported alarming declines in student literacy, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic normalized digital learning.

Dr. Martha Choi, a cognitive development researcher at a Boston university, confirms what Lauren observed.

“When children are exposed to fast, high-reward stimuli from screens at a young age, their brains are conditioned to avoid deep thinking,” Choi explained. “Reading, by contrast, is slow and cognitively demanding. We’re seeing a generation that struggles to do it because their brains haven’t been trained to.”

A Plea to Parents: Delay Tech

In her farewell message, Lauren issued a plea that has stirred both support and controversy: “Delay personal tech as long as you can. Don’t give them smartphones in elementary school. Don’t default to iPads for learning. Make reading physical, make it interactive, and be present.”

She isn’t anti-technology—she sees the value of digital tools when used appropriately. But she insists that kids need to master analog thinking before they dive into the digital world.

“Tech is like fire. It can cook your food or burn down your house. We’re giving it to kids without instructions.”

A System Not Built for the Digital Age

While some critics have accused Lauren of overreacting, many teachers privately echo her concerns. A former colleague who requested anonymity said, “We’re not trained for this. The speed at which AI and tech are changing student behavior is faster than curriculum reforms.”

Even parents have expressed shock upon hearing her message. One mother commented, “I thought my son was just lazy. Now I realize he’s never really learned how to read deeply. He’s just skimming.”

What Comes Next

Lauren now works with a literacy nonprofit, helping parents and communities rebuild a culture of reading outside of school. Her new mission is to reconnect kids with books—real books, with pages that don’t ping or glow.

“I still believe in kids,” she says. “But we’ve got to fight harder for their brains.”

Her message isn’t just a warning—it’s a call to action.

“If we want a generation that can think, question, and dream, we have to start by giving them back their words.”