Schools across the country – or around the world, for that matter – are grappling with policies and regulations tied to their students’ use of cell phones during school hours.
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These policies run the gamut, from allowing students to use smartphones as learning tools to requiring them to keep the devices turned off. One public high school’s action on cell phones, initiated this year by a parent, has prompted one parent’s thumbs-up. This school is phasing in a lock-up-your-cell-phone policy.
NPR reporter Jennifer Ludden said that when the idea was first floated toward the end of the last school year, it provoked a parental outcry at her sons’ school. “My generation is used to 24/7 access to our kids, wherever they are. I confess, I’ve texted mine at school. It was about a doctor’s appointment,” Ms. Ludden says.
Meanwhile, she says, some asked: “ ‘What if there’s an emergency?’ It’s a fair question. We’ve all heard about students hiding from a gunman, posting updates, and texting to let friends and family know they’re safe,” she says.
Yet, evidence suggests that a cell-free classroom is a safer classroom, without the distraction of that screen to divert attention instructions that come in the wake of a school emergency. And, in a chilling mental image, a phone’s ringtone or vibration on a desk could be a beacon for a shooter.
Putting aside the horrific potential of school violence, a no-phone policy could have other tangible benefits that would help students in real life. The rejigging of adolescent brains away from the umbilical cord of their phone would be welcome. Imagine social interactions, instead of that face-down, thumbs-poised posture that is everywhere! And it could also help curb the electronic version of passing notes during tests.
Ms. Ludden mentions another benefit. “ Invaluable time to relax, and connect, without phones. I’m grateful to see some schools investing in that,” Ms. Ludden says.
Click here to listen to Ms. Ludden’s take.