This podcast explores ways schools can address the increase in mental health issues and disengagement among students by focusing on two key strategies: becoming phone-free and increasing opportunities for unstructured free play.

The podcast will examine how aphone ban throughout the entire school day, where students store their phones in lockers or pouches, can reduce social comparison and the pull to the virtual world, and how it can lead to improved academic performance. It will also look into the ineffectiveness of policies that only ban phones during class time, which may incentivize students to hide phone use during class and increase use after class.

The podcast will also delve into the importance ofunstructured free play, highlighting the benefits of a "Play Club" with loose parts and minimal adult supervision, which can foster social skills and reduce anxiety. The podcast will discuss how free play can help students develop crucial skills such as creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and collaboration. Additionally, the podcast will cover how schools can improve recess by giving students more of it, creating better playgrounds, and reducing rules. The podcast will also explore the concept of adventure playgrounds, including junk playgrounds and nature playgrounds.

The podcast will also discuss the"Let Grow Project", a homework assignment that asks children to do something they have never done before on their own, to increase their sense of competence and parents' willingness to give children more autonomy. The podcast will also touch on the issue of declining engagement among boys, and how schools can address this by offering more vocational training and hiring more male teachers.

The podcast will investigatethe evidence and research that show how technology, particularly smartphones, can interfere with learning and contribute to mental health issues. It will also examine how the decline in test scores in the United States can be linked to the increased use of smartphones.

Ultimately, the podcast will propose that by going phone-free, becoming play-full, and implementing programs like the Let Grow Project, schools can create a healthier environment for children and reverse the trend of increasing anxiety and depression in schools.

S1E12 | What Schools Can Do Now | The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt | The Messy Podcast

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