November 2025 Volume 7

INDUSTRY NEWS

The Severed Pipeline and Its Catastrophic Effects Roots of the skilled trades

Screen Time and Mental Health Scientific data about screen time and its damaging effects on the human brain show that much harm is being done to students sitting in the Google classroom staring at screens all day. “Screen time during the early years can slow the development of executive function, the skills needed to plan, focus, redirect, and so on.

education crisis can be traced back to 1983, when A Nation at Risk highlighted an alarming report showing that American public schools were failing to adequately educate our students. With this report, universities across the country set the education trends that influenced the college prep culture in high schools. Meanwhile, globalization of U.S. manufacturing jobs ramped up in the 1980s devastated the existing workforce as well as skilled trades education. The

Increased screen time and more exposure to age-inappropriate content are associated with reduced impulse control and self regulation.” vii Excessive screen time for adolescents, includes short term attention, increased distraction, eye strain, screen addiction, anxiety, depression, difficulty coping / solving problems, obesity, and sleep problems. Our young adults are also at risk of permanent brain damage from excessive screen time. “For adults aged 18-25, excessive screen time causes thinning of the cerebral cortex, the brain’s outermost layer responsible for processing memory and cognitive functions.” viii The National Report Card As TechEd rules the classroom, it seems clear from the recent National Report Card that technopoly has overtaken the educational experience of American public-school students. As reported by news agencies across the country, the level of education in the U.S. is in free-fall. From the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times the results were heralded with alarm and disgust. “Twelfth Grade Math and Reading Scores in U.S. Hit New Low.” 31% of eight-graders are proficient in science. 22% of twelfth graders are proficient in math. 35% of twelfth graders are proficient in reading. ix Where does Michigan stand? In lockstep with the national statistics. In the report, the “new low” shows that these results are not due to the Covid pandemic. However, there is mounting evidence that screen time affects children’s mental health and learning abilities. And what are the long-term effects of students who complete their high school education unable to read proficiently? The National Literacy Institute reports that, “low literacy costs the country up to $2.2 trillion per year…and lies at the core of multigenerational cycles of poverty, poor health, and low educational attainment, contributing to the enormous equity gap that exists in our country.” x Education and the Workforce Crisis Let’s do the math. 3.8 million jobs in manufacturing alone will need to be filled over the next decade. Yet there are 7 million American prime-aged men, (ages 25-54) who are neither seeking work nor attending school. Where are these men who are needed in our society, workforce, and economy? Well, 64% of them are depending on family for housing. They spend 500 hours per year playing video games. 57% of them say that physical or mental health prevents them from looking for work. xi But can we honestly say that video games are to blame? The World Health Organization says yes. The WHO has identified video gaming disorder as an addiction. The disorder causes, “significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning.” xii It’s taken Governor Gretchen Whitmer several years to comprehend the scope of the crisis of prime-age men in Michigan. Recently calling for increased support for men’s education in Michigan she stated, “The last thing any of us wants is a generation of young men falling behind

technological revolution took control of every classroom and dramatically changed the experience and direction of American education. Yet, these changes spurred by A Nation at Risk did nothing to improve education. By 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act focused on accountability to improve education in primary and secondary public schools. Instead of investing in hands-on learning that benefitted students, industrial arts was abandoned in most American public schools. From Tool Culture to Technopoly Considering how far the education system has fallen, it’s valuable to think about how the U.S. has evolved from being a “tool culture” to a “technocracy” to our current state of Technopoly. As author Neil Postman explained, “a tool culture is where man’s innovations serve his work. Tool culture is harmonious with traditions, faith, family, and objective moral truth.” Postman goes on to explain, “a technocracy takes on a life-force of its own as the tools man creates pose a threat to human culture.” Finally, Postman explains that, “man is at the disposal of technopoly, which renders everything but itself ‘invisable and therefore irrelevant.” vi But does our technology hold the place of primacy in our culture? It would seem so. Consider the relationship between a human and his “smart device.” It’s the constant companion; the reliable authority; the source of knowledge, and for many, the reason for living. Invasion of TechEd American classrooms have been commandeered

by Google. Headlines from Education World and Ed Week, to Slate and BuzzFeed announce that “Google Continues to Dominate in K-12 Classrooms.” And, “Chromebooks Have

Officially Taken Over the Education Market.” Further, “Google is Winning the Tech Race in America’s Classrooms. And Apple is Losing it.” Moreover, “Google’s Notebook LM is Now Available to Younger Users as Competition in the AI Education Space Intensifies.” Has Google improved the quality of education in American classrooms? Has TechEd fostered health and well-being in our students? Not so much.

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2025 43