When seventh grade teachers announced a gradewide ban on a trendy fidget toy, news circulated through campus, upsetting many students.
NeeDohs are a popular line of squishy, dough-filled fidget toys. Recently, they have gained attention among students, offering them a reliable way to release stress.
Amplifying the craze for NeeDoh’s is its hunting trend on TikTok. Middle school English teacher and seventh grade team leader, Jack Fisher, speculates that gives them a higher status than other squishes.
Many participate in the hunting trend by going around general merchandise retailers and drugstores such as Target and CVS to try and find NeeDohs. Since NeeDohs’ popularity has risen recently, finding NeeDohs in general has been challenging.
Soon enough, however, these sensory fidgets began to pose concerns about student engagement in the classroom.
“What we have seen recently is more and more students bringing NeeDohs into the classroom in ways that have become distracting, not only for them, but also for the students around them,” Fisher said.
While some students were using NeeDohs as helpful tools to maintain focus, Fisher noticed others taking advantage of the privilege.
“The other day in one of the English classes, a NeeDoh was twisted to the point where it burst in the classroom,” Fisher said.
This issue built up for weeks. In Middle School english teacher Melanie Girard’s class, students had been passing NeeDohs around which not only distracted Girard from teaching but also distracted other students from learning.
In March, after spring break, Girard communicated with other teachers asking if they had seen the same problem. As teachers like Fisher continued to observe similar behavior in class, the 7th Grade Team settled on the idea of implementing a grade-wide NeeDoh ban, sparking various reactions among students.
“I feel like ever since the NeeDoh rise, we’ve been able to focus a bit more and I’ve been feeling more engaged in class,” seventh grader Elissa Shalabi said.
With NeeDohs effectively banned, many students struggled to regain the levels of focus that their fidgets had unlocked, according to seventh grader Julia Pinho.
“I was expecting the ban because a lot of students have been getting out of hand with it, but I was really upset because it’s been a fun thing throughout the grade,” Pinho said. “[The NeeDoh ban] has led me to not be able to focus as much in class.”
Teachers hold a unique perspective on the measures taken.
Middle School Learning Specialist Kathryn Kendall says sensory tools can be effective when they are used in a mature and appropriate manner.
“However, they very easily also turn into toys, and I’ve been in lots of classes where I’ve seen sensory tools being used as toys,” Kendall said.
While seventh graders believe NeeDohs are beneficial to their learning, the seventh-grade team believes the decision is likely for the best of the larger student body.
