中文导读 一边开发屏幕上的产品，一边不想让自己的孩子在课堂上整天盯着屏幕，这是不少硅谷父母的选择。文章从一位软件工程师为女儿挑选无屏幕私立学校讲起，说明这种做法为何越来越受欢迎；接着用教师调查和研究观点解释家长的担忧，再介绍他们如何凭借对科技行业的了解推动公立学校改变；最后转向专家的提醒：学校预算紧张时更容易用技术代替人，低收入地区的孩子反而可能更多地面对屏幕。阅读时可留意 however、As a result 等词如何引出转折与结果，以及结尾怎样把“离开公立学校”和“改善公立学校”联系起来。
正文 German Gil is a software engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area . He has worked for big tech companies such as Netflix and Facebook , and he spends most of his day looking at screens . For his daughter , however , he wanted something different . She goes to a private school where pupils use no screens at all and even make books by hand .
本段译文 German Gil 是旧金山湾区的一名软件工程师。他曾在网飞和脸书等大型科技公司工作，一天中大部分时间都在看屏幕。然而，对于女儿，他希望她有不一样的经历。她就读于一所私立学校，那里的学生完全不用屏幕，甚至还会手工制作书本。
Gil is not alone . Many well-paid tech workers in Silicon Valley now pay a lot to keep their children away from the products they help build . At the San Francisco Waldorf school , a year of kindergarten costs about $40,000, yet applications for early classes have grown , and many new parents work in tech .
本段译文 吉尔并不是个例。如今，硅谷许多高收入的科技从业者花大价钱，让孩子远离他们参与开发的产品。在旧金山华德福学校，一年幼儿园的费用约为 4 万美元，但低年级的入学申请仍在增加，而且许多新家长都在科技行业工作。
These parents are also trying to change public schools , where screens have become a normal part of every lesson . In 2025, 99% of teachers in a New York Times survey said their students received school devices , and 81% said children got them by kindergarten . One mother in San Mateo was shocked when her five-year-old daughter came home with a laptop for maths practice .
本段译文 这些家长也在努力改变公立学校，在那里，屏幕已成为每节课的常规部分。2025 年，在《纽约时报》的一项调查中，99% 的教师表示他们的学生领到了学校发放的设备，81% 的教师说孩子在幼儿园阶段就拿到了这些设备。圣马特奥的一位母亲看到五岁的女儿带着一台笔记本电脑回家做数学练习时，感到非常震惊。
Why are they worried ? Research suggests that students remember what they learn with pen and paper better than what they learn on screens . Critics also say too much classroom technology weakens the bond between students and teachers . As one education researcher put it , people try harder for a teacher they love than for a computer .
本段译文 他们为什么担心？研究表明，学生用纸笔学到的东西比在屏幕上学到的记得更牢。批评者还说，课堂上过多使用技术会削弱师生之间的情感联系。正如一位教育研究者所说，人们会为自己喜爱的老师付出更多努力，而不是为一台电脑。
Parents in the area have an advantage : they understand the industry . Some have joined school groups that study AI , and they push school districts to ask companies for proof that their products really improve learning . Their pressure is working . Public schools in San Mateo have stopped sending laptops home with the youngest pupils and banned phones in high schools , while Palo Alto schools have banned “smart ” glasses .
本段译文 这一地区的家长有一个优势：他们了解这个行业。有些人加入了研究人工智能的学校小组，并推动学区要求公司拿出证据，证明其产品确实能改善学习。他们的压力正在起作用。圣马特奥的公立学校已不再让年龄最小的学生把笔记本电脑带回家，并在高中禁止使用手机；帕洛阿尔托的学校则禁止了“智能”眼镜。
However , experts warn that the change may not reach everyone . Staff pay is the biggest cost for any school , explains Jon Valant of the Brown Center on Education Policy . When budgets are tight , schools are tempted to replace people with technology . As a result , children in low income areas may end up spending more time on screens , even if their parents do not want this .
本段译文 然而，专家警告说，这种变化未必能惠及所有人。布朗教育政策中心的乔恩·瓦朗解释说，员工薪酬是任何学校最大的开支。预算紧张时，学校就容易想用技术代替人。结果，低收入地区的孩子可能最终会花更多时间面对屏幕，即使他们的父母并不希望这样。
A Stanford professor , Antero Garcia , adds that families who leave public schools take funding with them . He believes the parents who could afford to leave are also the people best able to improve public schools for everyone else .
本段译文 斯坦福大学教授安特罗·加西亚补充说，离开公立学校的家庭会把经费一并带走。他认为，有能力离开的家长，恰恰也是最有能力为其他所有人改善公立学校的人。
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