Cell phones are a hot topic in education circles. Should they or shouldn’t they be banned in school?
I can say that last school year, my students were distracted by them. My colleagues and I noticed that not banning cell phones enabled students to get distracted during classroom lessons. This was not due to misinformation or cyberbullying happening on social media. Rather they were constantly receiving notifications: texts from friends and family and some received phone calls during the school day.
Our principal hosted an informational meeting with a cell phone pouch company to discuss the potential for its use at our school. The school did not move forward with that or any company to lock student phones. However, some districts have obtained the services of such companies, but not without pushback.
Pushback is a thing.
While parents can agree with educators that cell phones pose a serious distraction for students, in a world where assault rifles are widely available and as a result schools are targets of mass shooters, parents wish to have the ability to contact their children. According to a Pew Research Report, while two-thirds of adults support banning middle and high school students from using cell phones during class, two-thirds of adults don’t support a full-day ban.
The concern over cell phones is legitimate.
Educators are right to be concerned because students need to pay attention during instruction in the classroom versus their cell phones. Also, there is concern over the peer pressure that arises as a result of student use of cell phones. Prior to peer pressure existed in person, but now peer pressure exists in person and online where students get no relief from, teen angst and anxiety.
Studies have shown that social media use and cell phones harm the mental health of young people. Some adults don’t know how to stay off their cell phones at work and home, but I digress.
Cell phones are the primary way parents communicate with their children. In some families, older students pick up their younger siblings from school and may need instructions from a parent. Other students participate in extracurricular activities and may need to schedule their pick-up from a parent. Some students may need to call a parent if they miss their bus or the bus misses their stop on a pickup or a drop-off.
They definitely want to communicate with their child during a school shooting.
The reality is parents and educators will have to compromise on this issue; should the phones be banned and if so, how? The Pew Research report shows that adults are not opposed to banning cell phones during classroom instruction, so that has to be the happy medium that educators and parents can agree to. In my school building, the decision was made to compromise.
We don’t have lockable pouches. We have open pouches for students to place their cell phones at the beginning of class, to retrieve them at the end. I can say that this year our students are a lot less distracted as a result of this new policy. Our students are at ease because they’re less distracted in class and they can retrieve their phones to check them when they switch classes and during their lunch period.
Additionally, we (faculty and administration) have agreed to use our phones unnecessarily. We understand that like it or not, young people often take their cues from adults, and telling students “Do as I say, not as I do,” is passé. Educators everywhere must realize the same thing. A hypocritical educator is an ineffective one.
The elephant in the room is that cellular devices are an integral part of our daily lives. We use cell phones for everything from communicating with family and friends, mapping out our journey from one destination to the next, keeping track of our daily schedules, and for entertainment purposes, like playing games and listening to music.
Cell phones are multipurpose devices we all rely on not to mention—adults and young people alike. However, whether it’s doing professional work or student work, they can be distracting. Removing cell phones from the classroom supports student learning—this from someone who has allowed students to use their cell phones during an assignment. Yet, they’re a vital communication tool between student and their parents… Therefore, if parents and educators are partners, on this topic, they must compromise.
Or else, students will be left making their own decisions, and that doesn’t serve anyone.
