‘I’ve been here a week, and I can’t figure it out,’ says Dr Jared Cooney Horvath, neuroscientist, teacher and now the figurehead in the fight to get screens out of classrooms. ‘Every other country is pulling the trigger on rolling EdTech back. But here, you’re spending £900 million a year on it, more than any other country – and no one gives a shit!’

He apologises for being sweary – but he’s passionate about this stuff and: ‘Hey, I’m an American!’ I wave it away: plenty of parents who control screen time at home – but feel undermined by online homework and school-issued iPads – are finding similar words creeping into their vocabulary, I say.

Horvath is in London for the publication of his book, The Digital Delusion, which sets out in stark terms how classroom tech is damaging children’s learning. He self-published the book last December after learning how long it would take via the traditional route. After testifying in front of a US Senate committee in January on screen time in schools, the book shifted thousands of copies, before being picked up by Penguin.

‘I saw all these countries banning smartphones. The next fruit on that tree is EdTech’

‘I saw all these countries banning smartphones. The next fruit on that tree is EdTech’

‘Thank God I ran as fast as I could,’ he says. ‘I saw all these countries banning smartphones and starting to move on social media, and the next fruit on that tree is EdTech. I think a lot of parents are like, “Yeah, ban smartphones, but because that screen is slightly larger and has my school’s name stamped on it, it must be good.” And I just wanted to get the data and arguments out........

© The Spectator