The chief technology officer of eBay sends his children to a nine-classroom school here. So do employees of Silicon Valley giants like Google, Apple, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard. But the school’s chief teaching tools are anything but high-tech: pens and paper, knitting needles and, occasionally, mud. Not a computer to be found. No screens at all. They are not allowed in the classroom, and the school even frowns on their use at home.

The chief technology officer of eBay sends his children to a nine-classroom school here. So do employees of Silicon Valley giants like Google, Apple, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard. But the school’s chief teaching tools are anything but high-tech: pens and paper, knitting needles and, occasionally, mud. Not a computer to be found. No screens at all.

The New York Times article describes the Waldorf School of the Peninsula in Los Altos, where children of Silicon Valley executives attend classrooms with no computers and no screens. The piece says the school’s teaching tools are pens and paper, knitting needles and mud, and that screens are not allowed in the classroom.

Reflecting on the media narrative, the article states: “Early coverage included a widely discussed 2011 *New York Times* article about the preponderance of ‘digerati’ offspring, including the children of eBay’s chief technology officer, at the tech-adverse Waldorf School of the Peninsula.” It describes this school as “techie-dominated, tech-shunning” and notes that the NYT piece portrayed many Silicon Valley tech elites choosing a technology-free private school for their children.

The Waldorf School of the Peninsula, located in Silicon Valley, describes itself as screen‑free in the early grades: "Preschool–Grade 5: Screen‑Free." Its site notes: "Many Silicon Valley families choose WSP precisely because they understand technology’s power—and its limits—and value a school setting that prioritizes human development first." It adds that "Many tech executives—including those who designed the platforms dominating our world—choose low‑tech education for their own children."

Early coverage included a widely discussed 2011 New York Times article about the preponderance of “digerati” offspring, including the children of eBay’s chief technology officer, at the tech-adverse Waldorf School of the Peninsula.

Since that encounter, I've encountered several tech executives and venture capitalists who echo similar sentiments: they impose strict limits on their children’s screen time, often prohibiting any devices on school nights and enforcing strict time restrictions on weekends.

A Business Insider/Thrive Global piece, referencing the New York Times, notes that "Silicon Valley’s low- and anti-tech parents may seem overly cautious, but they actually follow longstanding practices of former and current tech giants like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Tim Cook." It explains that around Silicon Valley "a number of low-tech schools have popped up" and highlights the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, where "kids use chalkboards and No. 2 pencils" and "Faculty don’t introduce kids to screen-based devices until they reach the eighth grade."

The cover story to the New York Times Sunday edition on October 16, 2011, made quite a splash and put Waldorf schools on the educational map. The article, titled "At Waldorf School in Silicon Valley, Technology Can Wait," described a Silicon Valley Waldorf school attended by children of tech executives where classroom computers were absent and technology use was delayed.

As teachers across the country turn to laptops and iPads as education tools, one school in Silicon Valley, Calif., has actually banned computers. Priya David Clemens reports on why The Waldorf School of the Peninsula has gone low-tech.

He has five children and 12 tech rules. They include: no phones until the summer before high school, no screens in bedrooms, network-level controls, and other limits on children’s device use. The article frames this as part of a broader Silicon Valley trend of tech-minded parents limiting screens for their children.

An Instagram reel summarizing media reporting states: "The New York Times reported in 2011, and has continued reporting since, that a striking number of Silicon Valley's tech leadership" send their kids to schools "with chalkboards and pencils, not iPads." It attributes to the Times ongoing coverage of Silicon Valley tech leaders choosing schools with little or no screen use for their children.

Some Silicon Valley parents limit social media. Some keep screens out of bedrooms. Some tightly manage screen time. ... Right in the middle of Silicon Valley sits the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, attended by children of engineers and executives from companies like Google, Apple, and Meta. In the early grades there are no laptops. No tablets. No smartboards.

The article actually says most of these Waldorf kids get very little exposure to technology outside the classroom. There’s even an anecdote about one kid who was shocked by how absorbed his cousins were with their devices, and how this seemed to inhibit their ability to interact on a personal level. The discussion centers on the 2011 New York Times piece about a Silicon Valley Waldorf school that delays screen-based learning.

See why Steve Jobs and other tech execs choose a gadget-free life (or very limited use) for their children. A Silicon Valley School That Doesn't Compute. Schools nationwide have rushed to supply their classrooms with computers, and many policy makers say it is foolish to do otherwise. But the contrarian point of view can be found at the epicenter of the tech economy, where some parents and educators have a message: computers and schools don’t mix.

The Waldorf teaching philosophy is used at more than 1,000 institutions in 91 countries, including 136 schools in the U.S. Technology and screens aren't used at all through 8th grade, and are scarce even in high school. At some Waldorf schools, many big names in tech send their kids, where technology and screens are deliberately minimized in the classroom and often discouraged at home.

A Reddit discussion references New York Times coverage of "tech in schools" and mentions parents who are "against screen time in elementary school," reflecting ongoing debate influenced by articles like the 2011 NYT piece on Silicon Valley’s low‑tech Waldorf school and later follow‑ups on screen use in education.

The article says the school’s chief teaching tools are pens and paper, knitting needles and mud, with no computers or screens in the classroom, and notes that some Silicon Valley executives send their children there.