Why Fidget Tools Are Necessary In The Classroom

The American Academy of Pediatrics stated that “nearly 1 in 3 of all adolescents ages 13 to 18 will experience an anxiety disorder” (McCarthy, 2019). Many in the education field have tried different methods to quell this rising epidemic, and one method has slowly been gaining popularity. 

Fidget tools come in nearly every form imaginable, yet they’re common enough that you don’t know that they are in your presence. They could be carried in a pencil case, clipped onto a bag, or even worn as jewelry. Even items simple as a ballpoint pen that clicks could be considered a tool. The notion is simple, fidget toys are already in the classroom, whether you notice them or not. 

Fidget toys are “used to provide sensory input in a less distracting way” as they divert attention from otherwise unhealthy or dangerous habits that could present in a classroom (Mennillo 2019). Fidget toys are proven to help concentration, and can also be a comfort to people with conditions such as ADHD or generalized anxiety. 

They come in many forms, a few being picked up by wider society. For example, the fidget spinner began as a simple fidget toy, until it was the target of a media frenzy. Influencers began centring content around the toy, using it for tricks and games, until its origin as a fidget tool was forgotten. Unfortunately, this caused many fidget toys, regardless of their purposes, to be banned from classrooms due to their ‘disruptive’ nature. 

The reason why many teachers decide to ban these tools is that they may consider them to be ‘distracting’. Most fidget toys require nothing more than a few movements of a finger, meant to “filter out the extra sensory information” (Mennillo 2019). However, other toys may involve a click or a small sound that teachers could call distracting. A basis of these arguments would be the infamous fidget spinner that requires hand-eye coordination and may have distracted students from learning. 

Over the past years, fidget toys have become less popular or less in focus. However, it is important to remember that they are still very helpful and important to students who may need to divert their attention while in class. There have certainly been instances where teachers have banned or restricted the use of fidget tools without knowing their purpose to help students in their classroom, and this should not be allowed to happen. Banning these toys only serves to disadvantage students who use these tools to perform their best in the classroom, and all students should absolutely be allowed to learn in the way that best suits their needs. 

As we return to school in person, it is important that though some teachers opt to ban these tools from the classroom, it is vital that they are allowed. The benefits of these tools include a rise in productivity and academic achievement. Not to mention, the allowance of the tools may prove that the environment is more welcoming of students who have need of them. (Hinck, 2017). 

Fidget tools are not anything to hide or misrepresent. Banning these tools may be disadvantaging certain students who rely on these tools to produce their best work in the classroom. They may seek to find distraction elsewhere, whether by returning to their harmful habits or finding other sorts of tasks that may be more distracting to other students. 

A classroom must be a place where students are allowed to learn in the ways that put their best interests and academic foot forward, and banning fidget tools from the classroom only serves to alienate those students who need them. As we return to in-person learning, it is important that the Havergal classroom is a place where all students have a chance to reach their full potential.