Your students haven't lost focus. They've learned to choose.

In this episode we explore a question many educators are asking: Have students actually lost the ability to pay attention, or has something else changed?Topics covered:Why teachers report declining student reading staminaWhat research actually says about screens and attention capacityThe difference between attention ability and willingness to pay attentionHow “delay discounting” can influence persistence and schoolworkWhy phones may make ordinary classroom tasks feel more boringHow the availability of distractions changes students’ experience of learningWhy briefly checking a phone may actually increase boredom afterwardWhat cell phone restrictions can—and cannot—solveThis is Part 1 of a two-part series on student attention.Source:https://www.aft.org/ae/spring2026/willingham