So it's come to this: The only way to break the hypnotic spell that SCREENS have on our kids is to PAY THEM.
A woman named Diana Smith is the principal at Washington Latin Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. And she's made an offer to the eighth and ninth graders for this summer: Anyone who avoids screens for 11 days will get $100.
Here's how it works. Every Tuesday this summer, she wants them to avoid EVERY screen. That means no phones, computers, video games, or TV. And they need two adult witnesses to certify that they went screen-free.
If they do that for all 11 Tuesdays this summer, she'll give them $100 out of her pocket. And there are 160 students eligible, so if they ALL do it, she'll be out $16,000 . . . but she's betting that no more than 50 of them even try.
She says she's doing it because, quote, "I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the ubiquity of the phones in their lives. I don't like when teachers bribe their students . . . but I do think they need help with this particular relationship." (NBC 4 - Washington D.C.)
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