“Your phone is here. “More and more, these communications devices are being transformed into BlackBerries, pocket calculators, phone banks, digital cameras, radios, and even televisions.”
This is what education professor Bruce S. Cooper and former Superintendent John W. Lee warn when weighing the place of cell phones in schools:—Back in time to 2006.
1988 was the year when the unfairly enforced ban on mobile devices in New York City schools resurfaced in the public consciousness with a new crackdown.. This policy was later dropped in 2015, but everything old seems to be new again. Current New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is publicly considering a similar statewide ban, as is California Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers from six other states. Several states, including Florida, Indiana and Ohio, have already passed laws banning school cellphone use statewide in the past few years.
Cell phone technology has certainly advanced as expected over the past few decades (RIP mostly to the now-discontinued BlackBerry), but what about the debate over its use in schools?
The popularity of phone bans has declined dramatically in the years since, with 91% of public schools banning non-academic cell phone use. School year 2009-10 (the first year the National Center for Education Statistics began tracking such data). This figure fell to 66% in 2015-16 but has since rebounded to 76% in 2021-22.Latest year data available.
Already in 2006, a fault line emerged between educators concerned about cell phone misuse in class and parents concerned about not being able to communicate with their children.
“Given the potential for abuse, a ban sounds logical,” Cooper and Lee wrote in a 2006 essay. “But in today’s society, mobile phones can also act as a modern-day umbilical cord, connecting children with their increasingly busy (and worried) parents and guardians.”
If that sounds familiar, it's probably because you read a report last month by EdWeek staff writer Elizabeth Heubeck titled “When Schools Want to Ban Cell Phones — But When Parents Get in the Way.”.”
Of course, the debate surrounding cell phones in schools has never been clearer than educators versus parents. If you dig deeper into Edweek's Opinion advice, you'll find numerous educators advocating for cell phones, at least when used responsibly.
Matt Levinson, a middle school administrator, saw the crossroads ahead for teachers in a 2009 opinion essay.: “They can continue to fight a losing battle and draw harsh lines in the sand, confiscate cell phones or ban their use during class. Or, you can seize teachable moments and shift your approach to embrace technology and engage students through these devices.”
The following year, middle school teacher Paul Barnwell reached a similar conclusion., advises readers not only that cell phones can be used productively in the classroom, but that failing to do so is actually doing students a disservice. He asked what other ways schools can prepare students for the “real world.” (and if that If this sounds familiar, it may be because you read modern arguments about the place of AI in school.)
But for teachers in schools without a clear cell phone policy, finding academic applications for smartphones amidst the distractions of TikTok isn't an easy task. You can try these five tips from high school teacher Curtis White on “Using the Power of Your Phone in the Classroom.”.” Or check out education consultant Matthew Lynch's three hard rules for classroom cell phone use..
Recently, in response to Opinion blogger Larry Ferlazzo's request for teacher contributions, numerous educators shared their own strategies for curbing cell phone misuse.
Over the past few years, several education researchers have shared best practices for cell phone use on psychologist Angela Duckworth's Ask a Psychologist opinion blog. Education researcher Tom Harrison drew on his difficult experience trying to set boundaries around his 11-year-old daughter's smartphone use to come up with 'four strategies to help students manage their phone use at school'..”
In another post, Duckworth reminded readers of some basic self-control tips to help kids resist the siren song of screen time..
Psychology professor Jean M. Twenge, who examined data from 11,000 teenagers and concluded that “not all screen time is equal,” laid out the dos and don'ts of cell phone access. From the blog.
But not everyone is optimistic about finding a middle ground between endless distractions and productive learning tools. In a widely read 2016 opinion essay:Teacher Steve Gardiner had another word for his students' relationship with their cell phones: addiction.
“Addiction is a strong word, but it accurately describes the dysfunctional behavior seen in high school English classrooms when teenagers are asked to put away their phones,” he wrote. Gardiner did not call for a total ban on phones; in fact, he confirmed legitimate academic uses of the technology. He rather warned against “obsessive and dependent behavior” that underpins the student's misuse of mobile phones.
“We have incentives to promote attendance and graduation, but many teens need help,” he said. “Because their bodies may be in the classroom, but their minds are on their phones,” he concludes.
For some teachers, their dependence on mobile phones has worsened to the point where it completely disrupts their profession. High school biology teacher Mitchell Rutherford decided to quit teaching because of the exhaustion she felt competing with cell phones for her students' attention.
He told Education Week earlier this month: “I wasn't emotionally available to myself or my wife.“Because I was pouring my heart into my students, and I saw them struggling with socializing, anxiety and concentration. I think this is largely caused and definitely exacerbated by intentionally designed addictive phone apps.”