Schools Are Banning Fidget Spinners Because Teachers Hate Fun

Call me a child, but I’m low-key obsessed with fidget spinners ever since pulling one out of a grocery store barrel to play with a month ago. The second I started balancing it on my toes while laying in bed to see how long it would spin for, I was hooked:

You can buy them pretty much anywhere these days:By the lotto tickets counter at 7-11, Kmart, Target, etc. Amazon has a particularly robust collection — The patriotic American flag one on Amazon is slick, as is the bare-bones $8 one. The two-winged stainless steel ones are particularly neat.

Not everyone loves them as much as I do, however. They’re enemy number one right now in classrooms across America. It’s safe to say that teachers hate the thing, according to this Business Insider article:

However, some teachers have decided that the toys create more disruption than they’re worth, despite their original purpose as a productivity tool. Schools in states including Kentucky, New York, and Massachusetts have banned the toy from classrooms.

“Although seemingly harmless, these items are being taken out during class, causing a distraction to students and staff,” Brooklyn, New York school MS 442 wrote on Facebook post in late April. “They are also being thrown around during transition in the hallways to and from class, in the cafeteria, and at recess. They are small in size, but can seriously hurt someone.”

While MS 442 banned the fidget spinners from school premises, the school said that it would keep spinners on hand for children with sensory issues.

“The only thing my students seem to focus on, however, is the spinner, itself, and not their work. It’s like a friggin’ siren song,” Cristina Bolusi Zawacki recently wrote in “Working Mother.” “Let’s stop with the flowery euphemisms. It’s a toy and I hate it. I actually have a visceral reaction when they emerge from a pencil case or pocket, like a sadistic version of Pavlov’s bell experiment.”

Boo. Then again, sitting in a classroom with some teenager doing “professional fidget tricks” would get as old as being around your friend Chad who’s constantly vaping.

Chill out with the Monster Energy drinks, Chad.

Brandon Wenerd is BroBible's publisher, writing on this site since 2009. He writes about sports, music, men's fashion, outdoor gear, traveling, skiing, and epic adventures. Based in Los Angeles, he also enjoys interviewing athletes and entertainers. Proud Penn State alum, former New Yorker. Email: brandon@brobible.com