CHICAGO — "Fidget spinners" may be sweeping the nation, but they are not getting the warmest reception in city classrooms.
Some Chicago Public Schools have banned the fanlike spinners that have become extremely popular with kids and adults.
Initially developed as a tool to help kids with autism and attention disorders stay calm and focused, the spinners have also been embraced by stressed-out adults looking to curb nervousness, boredom or excess energy.
Forbes describes fidget spinners as "the must-have office toy for 2017."
But the devices are becoming too much of a distraction in many schools, officials said.
Ogden International School of Chicago, at 1250 W. Erie St., told parents in a weekly newsletter sent on Sunday that teachers will take them from students if the devices cause a problem.
"While we applaud parents for attempting to give their children a healthy outlet to help with stress, fidget spinners have become such a craze and fad that the opposite is happening. If students become so distracted by their own or others' fidget spinners or devices, teachers may confiscate them," the newsletter said.
At Andrew Jackson Language Academy, 1340 W. Harrison St., the school warned parents in an email: "If [a spinner is] brought to school, it will be confiscated."
Michael Passman, a CPS spokesman, said on Monday that the school system does not have a stance on the spinners.
"This policy is set at the school level," Passman said.
At Ogden, the only students who are allowed to have a fidget spinner are those who are allowed to use them under a written individual education plan [IEP] or have a prescription from a doctor, the school said.
A Chicago Board of Education administrator who works with special needs students and asked not to be named said a roomful of kids spinning the devices can overwhelm a classroom.
"I feel like [the] original purpose of these got lost on the road to popular," she said.
The administrator said she has yet to see an individual education plan with a fidget spinner written into it.
"We were discussing this the other day. It may be beneficial to some of our student body," she said. "Unfortunately, the [nonspecial needs] population is jumping on the bandwagon, and [spinners] are turning into classroom distractions."
She added, "It seems the only way to get around the [nonspecial needs] population is to write it into an IEP in some fashion, understanding that the spinners can't be used to avoid work. We are a digital school [system]. Every child has a laptop. It's unrealistic to think a child can spin and type."
Katherine McHenry, owner of Building Blocks Toy Store, which sells spinners at its Wicker Park and Lakeview shops, said she's not happy with the ban, and parents have told her the gadgets can help their kids.
"To use a street word, I am bummed about it," she said. "There are some kids who need it as a tool. Some parents are telling me their kid can't focus. A toy can be a tool and a tool can be a toy."
She said the gadgets are made by several manufacturers and vary in size, material and color.
"A lot of our toys are educational and developmental, and [the spinners] are fun to play with and help kids and adults to stay focused and calm," McHenry said.
McHenry said that there are two general types of spinners: ceramic spinners and spinners that are encased in metal. Ceramic ones spin the longest and are a bit "smoother and quieter," but can break if the spinner gets dropped or thrown around.
Metal-encased spinners don't spin quite as long but do not break as easily, McHenry said.
Jaime Vasquez, a Belmont Cragin resident, said he had never heard of the spinners until last weekend, when his 17-year-old son, a junior at St. Patrick High School, came home from a road trip to Virginia and brought back a fidget spinner.
"He dropped it, and it broke a bit; it doesn't spin as fast. I can see how it would be distracting in a classroom," Vasquez said.
So #fidgetspinners are the new thing that's ruining our kids are they. Good job they don't know about yo-yos, klackers or garbage pail kids. pic.twitter.com/uqKyd7gPSS
— Richard Burr (@RichardPBurr) May 4, 2017
