Lotta Edholm called for the return to traditional learning, with handwriting favored over keyboarding skills and the printed page prized above illuminated screens, after complaints snowballed of graduates who could barely function without devices in front of them. Since schools returned this month, teachers have downplayed the previous emphasis on independent learning and the use of online resources.

In order for California’s new Common Core education standards to succeed, districts and the state must address the needs of these students. Common Core is a new set of standards in English language arts and mathematics designed to assess and instruct students, placing greater emphasis on critical thinking and analysis. Instruction is to be more interactive and project-based. Textbooks will have less of an emphasis on rote exercises and more on abstract reasoning.