New craze puts teachers in spin

New York – It was supposed to calm nerves, relieve stress and improve concentration but a new antifidget toy spreading fast through US and European schools is whipping up anger among teachers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Just months after the “fidget spinner” – a spinning top-like gadget sold for a few dollars – first whirled its way into the hands of antsy youngsters, some schools have already banned it – prompting a debate about difficulties children experience concentrating.

“The fidget spinners came out of nowhere and then it seemed every other kid had them,” said Meredith Daly, a sixth-grade teacher at a public school outside Phoenix, Arizona. “The kids would say, ‘oh, it helps me calm down’. I did not really know what to think at first.” –