A Plus: Cheshire Elementary Students Set Sights on Reducing Screen Time Through Low Tech Week00000184-9c00-d6f8-a1cf-be04e2030000
Our NewsDepth A+ this week goes to two students who planned a project about eyesight and brought their "vision" to life! Fifth-graders Berkeley Wallace and Madeline Trimmer organized "No Tech Week" at their school Cheshire Elementary in Delaware, Ohio.
The mission of No Tech Week was to prevent vision problems in kids by encouraging them to engage in activities away from screens and electronics. Each day of the week, the school's principal planned to give students a daily screen-free challenge during the morning announcements. Challenges included reading a book, playing a board game, or hanging out outside.
The project was adapted to "Low Tech Week" when the school closed due to the coronavirus.
Berkeley was inspired by a project she worked on at the Invention Convention called The Cool Kids: Glasses to Help Prevent Myopia. Myopia is the medical term for nearsightedness, a condition in which people can see close objects clearly, but objects farther away appear blurry.
Berkeley's project went all the way to the national competition. Then she used her knowledge of the subject to team up with Madeline to plan the school event.
Madeline said she learned a lot from Berkeley's myopia project.
"I learned about how being on a screen so much can affect your eyesight. Berkeley explained to me about how you can get myopia from staring too close to a screen for too long," Madeline said. "We wanted the kids at school to learn the benefits of limiting their time on screens while having fun doing it."
Berkeley said her favorite part of the project was working with one of her friends.
"It was really fun, and I hope that No Tech Week will continue for a long time," she said.
Way to go, Berkeley and Madeline! We're proud to award you this week's NewsDepth A+ for keeping your "eyes on the prize" and educating fellow students about a serious problem.
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