“Well, I think it’s fine building jumbo planes/or taking a ride on a cosmic train/ switch on from a slot machine./Get what you want to if you want to/‘cause you can get anything.”*
— “Where Do the Children Play?” by Cat Stevens
I stumbled across a TikTok video the other day about the simplicity of life in the 1970s, and honestly? It was spot-on.
How do I know? Simple—I was there.
The video made this fascinating point about how much easier life felt back then, primarily because we had fewer choices.
But today, here in 2025, things are different, right? You’ve finally carved out some precious evening time to unwind, you open Netflix, and then… you spend forty-five minutes scrolling through endless options and reading movie summaries before giving up and going to bed. You go to Starbucks, and instead of coffee or decaf with sugar or cream, you can have a half-mocha latte frappa-whosit with a shot of whatsit.
Or not.
Sound familiar?
This is choice overload in action, and it’s everywhere in our lives—including our classrooms.
Speaking of the 70s, back in the days of yore, Happy Days aired Tuesday nights at 8 PM. That’s what you watched. Period. Unless you were one of those nutjobs tuning into Black Sheep Squadron with Robert Conrad (don’t @ me).
But now we have billions of channels and streaming services to choose from. And the choices don’t stop with T.V. and movies.
Let me use my 84-year-old father as an example. He loves music and has the most incredible sound system you’ve ever seen. We’re talking multiple speakers, various devices, woofers, tweeters, sound bars, Dolby everything. There are several iPads throughout the house that control all of the components. My dad’s stereo set-up would make George Lucas’s THX system weep with envy.
But here’s the thing: Dad spends more time fiddling with buttons and adjusting levels than actually listening to music. The complexity that should enhance his experience often leads to genuine frustration and amusingly colorful language.
I also love music. But I only have Spotify on my phone connected to a single Bluetooth speaker in my living room, and a simple turntable-receiver-speakers combo for my vinyl collection in my bedroom. Is it as sophisticated as Dad’s system? Not even close. But the difference is that I spend my time listening to music, not managing technology.
As educators, we face this same challenge daily. We have access to countless teaching tools, apps, platforms, resources, and methodologies. The EdTech world promises that more options equal better outcomes.
But do they really?
Do I really need an EdPuzzle, a Pear Deck, a Schoology, a CommonLit, a Grammarly, a Kahoot, a Padlet, AND a Quizlet?
I get tired just typing that.
Here’s what I’ve learned: more than three choices, and we start getting lost and confused. This isn’t just my observation—it’s backed by research on decision fatigue and overwhelm.
What if we simplified the number of choices for both ourselves and our students.
In your classroom, this might look like:
– Offering three project options instead of seven
– Providing three research topics rather than “anything you’re interested in”
– Setting up three learning stations instead of five
Furthermore, I challenge you to cancel a couple email subscriptions. (Not THIS newsletter, of course, but maybe one or two others.) See if reducing that information flow gives you more mental space to actually implement and enjoy what remains.
Sure, Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors.
But there’s nothing wrong with choosing between vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry and having a little more time enjoy your ice cream. TZT
If you enjoy the ideas I share in this newsletter, consider picking up a copy of Teaching is Being: Embracing the Educator Within.
You can grab your copy here.