Smart Phones in schools

[Rusty Blade]

Speaking with teachers I know, it appears the school environment for teachers and learners has been going downhill in recent years. An astronomical growth in school related violence, poor school performance and mental health issues are common headlines. And everyone seems to be pointing the finger at smart phones and social media as being the two main culprits. And now there are a growing number of school districts that are banning cell phones in the classroom. Big Tech promises of "the world at our fingertips and instant connectivity to everything great and wonderful" seem to be fading.

As for me, all my formative years of education (and a good chunk of my university education) were pre-internet and computers, so I personally think kids have been sold a bum deal when it comes to the promises of big tech and computers in classrooms. Teach them reading, writing and arithmetic (and manners) -- let life teach them everything else. But then again, what do I know, I am an old curmudgeon (now get off my lawn!).

What are your thoughts on banning cell phones from classrooms?

 

[luvmysuper]

I see no reasonable reason for any kid to have a cell phone in class.
Need a calculator? Get one.
No phone calls, internet search engine use, youtube videos or Social Media posts are necessary in any standard classroom.
The only potential drawback is that conditions in the classroom wouldn't be easily filmed or recorded which, in this day and age of teachers being social program advocates and indoctrinating rather than teaching, it removes the ability to expose the bad apples.

 

[Lightcs1776]

I am solidly against cell phones in the classroom. It becomes an easy distraction for kids. In fact, it is an easy distraction at work as well.

 

[Goblin]

I think they should do it.

In the UK, there are groups of teachers in different school districts writing to parents and getting them all to sign up to a contract that none of them will buy their kids smartphones. If none of the kids have them, there is no peer pressure.

Not only is social media and the impact of being permanently online having a negative impact on society as a whole, in terms of what people think is acceptable behaviour, but the impact on kids is just ridiculous. There has been a huge rise in reported mental health issues amongst teenagers, and the suicide rate amongst teenage girls has skyrocketed:

(This graph comes from The Economist).

I would go further. I would ban sales of smartphones to under 18s and also make it a crime to procure a smartphone for someone below that age. I would require any social media websites with more than a certain number of users to introduce document-based age verification on all accounts with a minimum age of 21. The technology already exists to verify advertisers as genuine businesses through the uploading of relevant documents (something they have been forced to tighten up on significantly in the past few years because of all the people advertising fraudlent financial products), it would just be a matter of extending this to regular user accounts.

Extreme? I don't think so, given what is at stake.

Of course, it would have a HUGE impact on the revenues for social media companies and they would fight it tooth and nail, but the fact is that legislators and parents have been asleep at the wheel while these firms have exploited the mental health of a generation in the name of vast profits.

The one positive is that I think a lot of older Gen Z are now much wiser about the negative impacts of unrestricted social media exposure then their parents ever were. Even if our governments won't do what needs to be done from a legislative perspective, they will be much better at monitoring their kids online than their own parents were.

 

[Omega48]

What are your thoughts on banning cell phones from classrooms?

Not sure.
We banned schools from our children. We have been homeschooling them since second grade.

 

[Jay21]

I teach college students. It’s impossible to get the students to put their phones down during class. Learning has greatly suffered and nothing seems to be able to reverse that trend.

 

[Mojo88]

The policy should be if you have one it goes in a backpack on silent. That time in class should be a focused time for learning, not texting friends or playing games. When we had sales meetings we had a strict no cell phone policy. We would take a break every two hours and had time to return calls at that point. If we could do it with multi-million dollar territories, it should be no problem for students to go an hour.

On the side of how things change, I had a psychology teacher in high school that predicted the violence in schools. She predicted the police in schools and said metal detectors would eventually be in play. Her reasoning came from the breakdown in the family unit. I remember we laughed and said it would never happen. I tried to find her several years ago, but she had retired. It would be interesting to get her opinion on what lies ahead.

 

[DesertIguana]

I see no reasonable reason for any kid to have a cell phone in class.
Need a calculator? Get one.
No phone calls, internet search engine use, youtube videos or Social Media posts are necessary in any standard classroom.
The only potential drawback is that conditions in the classroom wouldn't be easily filmed or recorded which, in this day and age of teachers being social program advocates and indoctrinating rather than teaching, it removes the ability to expose the bad apples.

I agree about Kids not needing a Smart or Flip Phone in School.

Kids all want Cell Phone I understand, because of BULLING. Bullies make fun of those without electronic. In my day if you bullied me, I said meet me on playground after school. We found out our differences.

Today Kids can do that as one party might bring GUN to fist fight.

 

[Legion]

When I walk my kid to school in the mornings there are these two girls we see walking the same way, maybe five and seven years old. Both are walking to school while watching cartoons or something on their phones, heads down, not looking where they are going, shuffling along like a couple of zombies. Every day. It's weird.

 

[Mojo88]

When I walk my kid to school in the mornings there are these two girls we see walking the same way, maybe five and seven years old. Both are walking to school while watching cartoons or something on their phones, heads down, not looking where they are going, shuffling along like a couple of zombies. Every day. It's weird.

All the parents(usually both parents)in my neighborhood walk their kids to school and I understand it. What I find unusual is the parents wear their kids book bags. We walked alone and carried our books, no book bags. Things change, it’s not the same world in terms of security for kids.

 

[Ravenonrock]

Don’t ban, educate, regulate, enforce restrictions that are clear and thought out for all, students, parents and educators. Parents often model plenty of poor behaviour, including inappropriate ways to use powerful tech tools in social settings. We are really playing catch up when it comes to children and tech. The cat‘s out of the bag, there’s no going back and the road ahead has no speed limits.

 

[Lockback]

I'm glad I'm not raising a child in today's environment.
(Full disclosure: I never wanted children and never had any. And I have no regrets whatsoever.)
But today's world demonstrates the Law of Unintended Consequences. I doubt when the likes of Steve Jobs and others invented the smart phone they foresaw the distractions it would cause.
There are many things I like about having a smart phone. The ability to look up some obscure statistic, for instance. Or order razors on a whim. Or send a quick text to a loved one, etc. Or get GPS directions.
But I'm convinced on balance it's turned into a negative force in most of our lives. We're all available all the time. Remember the old days when you weren't home and people called your land line and had to leave a message? I do. And I miss those days. I know you can't turn back the hands of time but I really wish the thing had never been invented.
My wife's daughter's children have had iPhones and iPads seemingly since birth. And their people skills are sorely lacking.
Gee. I wonder why?

 

[Hair Scraper]

I’ve always thought social media is anti-social media.

 

[Rusty Blade]

Growing up pre-smart phones and internet had its challenges, but those formative years taught us myriad lessons about how to interact with people, develop healthy relationships and resolve or avoid conflict. Kids that live through their phone and the strange artificial world of social media are missing out on those lessons. I feel really bad for them. No wonder they are anxious and depressed. I fear they have a hard road ahead. Hard for a kid to self regulate such a powerful tool of mass distraction. And Big Tech is laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[SmokedStanley]

Overall, smartphones are an amazing thing and technology will continue to grow. Sure some kids are abusing them (so are a lot of adults), but not all. Raise your kids right and teach them proper etiquette at home, before you send them out into public (smartphone or not). I blame the parents who give these devices so freely to kids who are not ready for them. Age is irrelevant to maturity, or readiness. If we want the younger generation to succeed we need to stop failing them and then blaming them for it.

It is also funny how every generation seems to think they had it better and how they do not envy this current generation due to x,y,z while their generations the ones who molded the present situation. I hope I live long enough to see what my kids have to gripe about that their kids are dealing with in the future my kids create for them.

 

[luvmysuper]

The problem isn't that most or even a lot of parents aren't teaching their kids.
The problem is that not ALL parents are teaching their kids.
The grind is applied to all based on the lowest common denominator.
If a few kids cause disruption and must be corrected, the correction is going to apply to all, even those not contributing to the problem.
L.A. School district has voted for a phone ban.

Los Angeles school district bans use of cellphones, social media by students

The policy, which will go into effect by January 2025, is an attempt by educators to curb classroom distractions and protect students' mental health.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Vikram]

I agree about Kids not needing a Smart or Flip Phone in School.

Kids all want Cell Phone I understand, because of BULLING. Bullies make fun of those without electronic. In my day if you bullied me, I said meet me on playground after school. We found out our differences.

Today Kids can do that as one party might bring GUN to fist fight.

Well said, reminds of the movie Friday, Ice Cube’s character had a gun and was about to shoot his tormentor but his father interjected and said “You don’t need that son, a man needs (raising his two fists). If you loose you get a chance to fight another day”. Or something like that.

When I walk my kid to school in the mornings there are these two girls we see walking the same way, maybe five and seven years old. Both are walking to school while watching cartoons or something on their phones, heads down, not looking where they are going, shuffling along like a couple of zombies. Every day. It's weird.

I see this all the time with adults. Especially in the morning, crossing a major street when the lights go green. These are white collar workers and I have never seen an orange collar worker doing the same.

All the parents(usually both parents)in my neighborhood walk their kids to school and I understand it. What I find unusual is the parents wear their kids book bags. We walked alone and carried our books, no book bags. Things change, it’s not the same world in terms of security for kids.

This is a tough one. I have a 6 year old girl, I want her to go to school by herself like I did or my female cousins on their own or with friends. In my mind I know the chances of her getting hurt when crossing a road or worse (died or kidnapped) is very low. But if something happened, in my hearts of hearts, I would never forgive myself.

I wish I had my parent’s generation parental resilience.

 

[DesertIguana]

Back in day if someone need get hold of you at School they called School.



Back in day if someone need get hold you at Work they called Work.



Pay phones were everywhere, if you had no money you called collect.



Peer Pressure has created entitlement, and participation trophies, and surgically removing peoples back bone.

 

[rudygu]

This is one of those issues, like so many others, that gets blown out of proportion due to a relative few egregious examples. my son is 17, just finished his junior year, and has had a phone since middle school. he’s attended 3 different schools in that span - private and large public. Each of those schools had the same policy: the phone is silenced/off and in your backpack during class, period. If the teacher sees it they collect it and it goes to the office. that happens enough times and the parents get called to come retrieve it and discuss the continuing escalation of penalties.

Multiple times over the years there have been incidents requiring “lockdown” protocols (false alarms, weather, and one very scary incident that ended up ok)and every single time I’ve been glad my son has the ability to reach out to us and tell us he’s ok. That’s not even counting the number of times that weather has caused last second schedule changes and we’ve needed to quickly communicate with him about pickup or whatever. The good outweighs the bad. it just does. If the teacher can’t control tbeir classroom that is more of a problem with them or the school situation. I say this as someone whose mother retired as a school principal after 40 years teaching special ed. My aunt worked as a school librarian similarly long and my mother in law also retired in administration after years of classroom teaching. I worked as a middle school special ed assistant for a very rewarding and challenging school year. My best friend is transitioning into adminstration after nearly 20 years in the middle school classroom. I’m not naive about the challenges phones present, but it’s like anything else. Time goes on and adaptations are made. People just have to deal with that.

 

[Vikram]

Back in day if someone need get hold of you at School they called School.



Back in day if someone need get hold you at Work they called Work.



Pay phones were everywhere, if you had no money you called collect.



Peer Pressure has created entitlement, and participation trophies, and surgically removing peoples back bone.

Both side of my grandparents were born during the British Raj days (1930’s). My parents were born the mid 50’s.

I loved hearing them complaining about their children’s generation (my parents’ generation). Especially, being handed an independent country, dignity and respect.

I am not worried, the kids of today will be great adults, I just hope my generation has allowed them to buy a house.