In a world so dependent on technology, it is important to take a step back and consider little ways to reduce time spent focused on a screen. Much of this time spent on technology is devoted to school work, but some of that screen-time could be avoided if important handouts were printed for students.

Problems arise when teachers leave it up to students to decide whether or not to print class documents like assignment sheets, answer keys, or review packets.

Teachers should print important class documents for all students, because receiving a hard copy piece of paper indicates that the document contains important information, that it should be paid attention to and saved until otherwise directed.

On the other hand, if a student prints out an assignment sheet for themselves, it may lead to a higher chance of the loss of such a document due to lack of understanding of the importance.

Not to be perceived as lazy, the time it takes for each individual student to print something out, rather than the teacher all at once, is time that could be spent doing other types of classwork, adding more thought time to a Harkness discussion, or getting a little more in-depth consideration of an important topic.

Hypothetically, providing paper print-outs will increase paper use and harm to the environment. Realistically, it probably will not make a drastic difference on the school’s environmental footprint. Most students opt to print out documents anyway. Furthermore, printing paper will increase a culture of valuing the content of the paper, meaning less will be wasted. The benefits of  teacher-provided printouts will exceed the costs of paper used.

In classes where teachers are mass printing less and less, a quick, respectful conversation with the teacher suggesting that all assignment sheets or similar documents be printed could do the trick. Even without this conversation, teachers should be encouraged to not think twice before printing documents for students; it will effectively put importance into a sheet of paper and further the effect of the contents of the document.