I was a HS teacher 10 yrs ago and my wife still works as a HS teacher. A lot of teachers were begging for this kind of policy at the county/district level 10 years ago for the exact reason you cite - teachers really have very little direct punitive authority. My wife's current school has a similar policy to the one you write about. She uses an adapted hanging calculator pouch. She says most students do comply, and reckons that because they're able to see it on the wall and see others abiding that they are fine with the policy.
It's funny, the teachers kept referring to the cell phone change as "district policy," and not "their policy," because I think they want the anger/friction directed elsewhere. I think that makes sense, obviously.
I'm in the UK. The secondary school (age 11-16) that my two oldest children go to have made a zero tolerance policy on phones - no using them during the school day at all, or they get automatic detention. This seems to have worked out really well, since it makes the children focus better on what they are meant to be there for (I'm assuming that the constant distractions from the internet is what drove this).
However, you mentioned something that we never think about in the UK - shooter drills. The fact that in the US you can mention "school" and "shooter" in the same sentence frankly horrifies me. In those cases it does sound like children having access to a phone for emergency use seems reasonable. I don't know enough about the school lifestyle in the US to comment further though.
I'm also in the UK and had the same thought. It almost seems absurd to worry about phones when something like a school shootingis a day to day concern.
Maybe I'm out on a limb here, but I consider school shootings, as awful as they are in the US with the regularity that they occur, to be a lightning kind of occurrence. It could happen. It would be awful it it would happen. But it's still unlikely. I know with a much higher degree of confidence that my child can be fucked up by a phone, and ultimately, parenting comes down to risk assessment.
Last March our County implemented a no phones program across all schools. It has seen positive reactions from teachers and students. The downside is teacher’s can’t take phones, they need to call down to administration and they need to send someone to take them. Smart watches don’t fall into this category yet, which is what a lot of my middle schooler’s classmates have.
Our school district lets you wear the watches but they need to be in the equivalent of an "airplane" mode, so to speak. Feels like it's probably still a distraction, though I can imagine why they're not explicitly banning them. I can live with that.
We don't have any policies in my kid's school yet but they've put out a survey about it so I think it's coming soon. My child is 9 and doesn't have a phone, others in his class do but they're in the minority for now. The school doesn't like the kids to bring in ANY items from home because they'll get lost or broken. So I would imagine they especially don't want devices brought in but would find it difficult to make an outright ban as parents who allow their children to take phones to school would object.
In the UK we are all over the place with children's use of technology. The government just introduced online safety laws which are supposed to be for the protection of children but many people view as censorship and authoritarianism, while others think it doesn't go far enough. On the other hand the government is heavily promoting the use of AI and wants us to somehow be making lots of money out of it.
As a parent, I think I'd feel ok with some form of communication (phone or watch, doesn't have to be the Apple Watch, but something that allows for limited communications) when kids are allowed to leave school grounds on their own. For the most part, during elementary and into middle school (in the part of Canada where I am), students don't have the freedom to leave school grounds easily.
Over here, officer! Yeah, it's this one here! He was trying to be a reasoned voice on the internet.
Jokes aside, oh. My. God. How has it taken this long to find someone else who doesn't automatically conflate smart phone use and social media????? Even academic papers are doing it, and it bothers me so much. Letting kids have access to properly locked down smartphones with no social media and restricted internet access is a solid idea. Although giving them smartwatches is also pretty good. (Especially with how weirdly capable they're getting).
Also, literally every teacher I've seen online has been BEGGING for someone to do something about kids with very real dopamine addictions that are making them nigh impossible to teach. I know it's very popular right now to bash any kind of "government restrictions" as starting down a slippery slope. But this is genuinely so overdue. Ontario has started implementing a similar ban, and I'm so happy.
The conflation is really frustrating. These are two separate issues. I'm fine with finding a constructive middle ground regarding social media, but it's a separate argument from how to handle the value of phones in a classroom.
Genuinely, as someone whose smartphone is very much a digital multitool, it frustration me to see something that's an actual handy computer be reduced in popular conversation to, not even a web browser, but the equivalent of a handful of websites. Certainly they make it easier to access social media than any normal pc (I'll admit 90% of my own social media viewing happens on my phone), but it ignores the fact that it's much, much more. Even if most of it is far more mundane and less engaging.
But this is probably getting way off topic now. I really appreciated this post!
I'm a high school teacher, and I'm really torn on device use. My school board has a ban on using mobile devices unless "at teacher's discretion". Of course this can very class to class. Mine, for example, is a media production course. I frequently let the students take photography, video or access their production notes during class using their devices. I definitely see the affects of the devices as a distraction... But also they are great tools... And the students will have to learn to balance these distractions in college/work force.
Side note: even if a student 'misused' a phone... No way am I taking that device away. The liability of damaging or losing a $1000 dollar device is too much of a risk. Anither consideration for teacher-centric policies.
I'm not a parent, but I've done social work with teens, and am generally invested in the kids being alright. I'm all for the phone restrictions in school (heck, if we could ALL take a break once in a while that would be just swell) but lately I worry they're too little & too late.
I'm good friends with a first grade teacher in Georgia, who told me that her students already have their own laptops (and apparently have for six or seven years). Not only that, but just this year the county introduced a mandatory AI assistant powered by Microsoft. I struggle to describe the dark pit that put in my chest. I wonder what those kids' relationships with technology and learning will be.
Patrick, have you had to grapple with any of these issues as well? It seems location is increasingly important when it comes to where children get their education, or maybe I've been out of the loop so long that I'm just now catching up. Thanks for your work.
Nothing related to AI came up at the school orientation meetings this week regarding tech. (My five-year-old's teacher was like "so, they have access to an iPad as part of the district," but we aren't going to use them that much, I don't want it to become the expectation at school." That's good imo. My nine-year-old has a Chromebook that's pretty locked down? I need to check the AI stuff on it...) Plus, Illinois in general *seems* to be deeply skeptical—we just passed laws pushing back on using it as therapy. I cannot fathom they would inject it into elementary schools anytime soon, because I would put up a holy hell of a fight over it. I consider AI at that age to be unbelievably dangerous.
Our elementary school has the same "store your phones off and in a backpack/cubby" policy, which I think is great. Smart watches are supposed to fall into that category too, though I know that last year that didn't always get followed.
We haven't reached middle school yet, but our middle school in DC has kids use the Yondr pouches, which I think sounds like a really good solution—lots of kids take the city buses to and from school, so I can see having some sort of phone, maybe, but think it's best to make sure they aren't using it during the day.
My kiddo's school hasn't done a blanket ban yet, but I'm sure it's coming. She's in fifth grade though, so far she doesn't have a phone.
But I work for a school in the tech department in the next state over. There was a statewide bell-to-bell ban put in place over the summer with no guidance on how to implement it. Shocking, I know! Being that we're in a rural area, our solution has been to kill the student BYOD Wi-Fi and let it ride. Can't use the phone for much if there's no service.
Of course at least one teacher has given out the staff BYOD password so now the staff will lose their Wi-Fi access too. Again, very shocking I know.
In high school, they implemented some network filters to block some websites, but I had unfiltered access because I was on the school newspaper. Unfortunately, because I am a dope, I shared that login with other friends and it got locked down, too.
Sounds about right. We don't filter much of anything here because so much stuff that schools would filter is actually useful for different classes. But there are definitely some things that send warnings to administrators, mostly related to safety and self harm.
Our middle school uses Yondr pouches, where if kids want to bring their phone to school they must lock them in these pouches that can't be unlocked by students, but the phone/pouch itself stays in the student's possession. I think in an emergency they could be cut open
I was a HS teacher 10 yrs ago and my wife still works as a HS teacher. A lot of teachers were begging for this kind of policy at the county/district level 10 years ago for the exact reason you cite - teachers really have very little direct punitive authority. My wife's current school has a similar policy to the one you write about. She uses an adapted hanging calculator pouch. She says most students do comply, and reckons that because they're able to see it on the wall and see others abiding that they are fine with the policy.
It's funny, the teachers kept referring to the cell phone change as "district policy," and not "their policy," because I think they want the anger/friction directed elsewhere. I think that makes sense, obviously.
I'm in the UK. The secondary school (age 11-16) that my two oldest children go to have made a zero tolerance policy on phones - no using them during the school day at all, or they get automatic detention. This seems to have worked out really well, since it makes the children focus better on what they are meant to be there for (I'm assuming that the constant distractions from the internet is what drove this).
However, you mentioned something that we never think about in the UK - shooter drills. The fact that in the US you can mention "school" and "shooter" in the same sentence frankly horrifies me. In those cases it does sound like children having access to a phone for emergency use seems reasonable. I don't know enough about the school lifestyle in the US to comment further though.
I'm also in the UK and had the same thought. It almost seems absurd to worry about phones when something like a school shootingis a day to day concern.
Maybe I'm out on a limb here, but I consider school shootings, as awful as they are in the US with the regularity that they occur, to be a lightning kind of occurrence. It could happen. It would be awful it it would happen. But it's still unlikely. I know with a much higher degree of confidence that my child can be fucked up by a phone, and ultimately, parenting comes down to risk assessment.
Last March our County implemented a no phones program across all schools. It has seen positive reactions from teachers and students. The downside is teacher’s can’t take phones, they need to call down to administration and they need to send someone to take them. Smart watches don’t fall into this category yet, which is what a lot of my middle schooler’s classmates have.
Our school district lets you wear the watches but they need to be in the equivalent of an "airplane" mode, so to speak. Feels like it's probably still a distraction, though I can imagine why they're not explicitly banning them. I can live with that.
We don't have any policies in my kid's school yet but they've put out a survey about it so I think it's coming soon. My child is 9 and doesn't have a phone, others in his class do but they're in the minority for now. The school doesn't like the kids to bring in ANY items from home because they'll get lost or broken. So I would imagine they especially don't want devices brought in but would find it difficult to make an outright ban as parents who allow their children to take phones to school would object.
In the UK we are all over the place with children's use of technology. The government just introduced online safety laws which are supposed to be for the protection of children but many people view as censorship and authoritarianism, while others think it doesn't go far enough. On the other hand the government is heavily promoting the use of AI and wants us to somehow be making lots of money out of it.
As a parent, I think I'd feel ok with some form of communication (phone or watch, doesn't have to be the Apple Watch, but something that allows for limited communications) when kids are allowed to leave school grounds on their own. For the most part, during elementary and into middle school (in the part of Canada where I am), students don't have the freedom to leave school grounds easily.
Being able to use the phone when you're, say, driving to lunch makes sense to me.
Over here, officer! Yeah, it's this one here! He was trying to be a reasoned voice on the internet.
Jokes aside, oh. My. God. How has it taken this long to find someone else who doesn't automatically conflate smart phone use and social media????? Even academic papers are doing it, and it bothers me so much. Letting kids have access to properly locked down smartphones with no social media and restricted internet access is a solid idea. Although giving them smartwatches is also pretty good. (Especially with how weirdly capable they're getting).
Also, literally every teacher I've seen online has been BEGGING for someone to do something about kids with very real dopamine addictions that are making them nigh impossible to teach. I know it's very popular right now to bash any kind of "government restrictions" as starting down a slippery slope. But this is genuinely so overdue. Ontario has started implementing a similar ban, and I'm so happy.
The conflation is really frustrating. These are two separate issues. I'm fine with finding a constructive middle ground regarding social media, but it's a separate argument from how to handle the value of phones in a classroom.
Genuinely, as someone whose smartphone is very much a digital multitool, it frustration me to see something that's an actual handy computer be reduced in popular conversation to, not even a web browser, but the equivalent of a handful of websites. Certainly they make it easier to access social media than any normal pc (I'll admit 90% of my own social media viewing happens on my phone), but it ignores the fact that it's much, much more. Even if most of it is far more mundane and less engaging.
But this is probably getting way off topic now. I really appreciated this post!
Frustrates*
I'm a high school teacher, and I'm really torn on device use. My school board has a ban on using mobile devices unless "at teacher's discretion". Of course this can very class to class. Mine, for example, is a media production course. I frequently let the students take photography, video or access their production notes during class using their devices. I definitely see the affects of the devices as a distraction... But also they are great tools... And the students will have to learn to balance these distractions in college/work force.
Side note: even if a student 'misused' a phone... No way am I taking that device away. The liability of damaging or losing a $1000 dollar device is too much of a risk. Anither consideration for teacher-centric policies.
Here's the thing. A ban that has an exception is, in the end, a ban.
I'm not a parent, but I've done social work with teens, and am generally invested in the kids being alright. I'm all for the phone restrictions in school (heck, if we could ALL take a break once in a while that would be just swell) but lately I worry they're too little & too late.
I'm good friends with a first grade teacher in Georgia, who told me that her students already have their own laptops (and apparently have for six or seven years). Not only that, but just this year the county introduced a mandatory AI assistant powered by Microsoft. I struggle to describe the dark pit that put in my chest. I wonder what those kids' relationships with technology and learning will be.
Patrick, have you had to grapple with any of these issues as well? It seems location is increasingly important when it comes to where children get their education, or maybe I've been out of the loop so long that I'm just now catching up. Thanks for your work.
Nothing related to AI came up at the school orientation meetings this week regarding tech. (My five-year-old's teacher was like "so, they have access to an iPad as part of the district," but we aren't going to use them that much, I don't want it to become the expectation at school." That's good imo. My nine-year-old has a Chromebook that's pretty locked down? I need to check the AI stuff on it...) Plus, Illinois in general *seems* to be deeply skeptical—we just passed laws pushing back on using it as therapy. I cannot fathom they would inject it into elementary schools anytime soon, because I would put up a holy hell of a fight over it. I consider AI at that age to be unbelievably dangerous.
Our elementary school has the same "store your phones off and in a backpack/cubby" policy, which I think is great. Smart watches are supposed to fall into that category too, though I know that last year that didn't always get followed.
We haven't reached middle school yet, but our middle school in DC has kids use the Yondr pouches, which I think sounds like a really good solution—lots of kids take the city buses to and from school, so I can see having some sort of phone, maybe, but think it's best to make sure they aren't using it during the day.
That makes a ton of sense to me.
My kiddo's school hasn't done a blanket ban yet, but I'm sure it's coming. She's in fifth grade though, so far she doesn't have a phone.
But I work for a school in the tech department in the next state over. There was a statewide bell-to-bell ban put in place over the summer with no guidance on how to implement it. Shocking, I know! Being that we're in a rural area, our solution has been to kill the student BYOD Wi-Fi and let it ride. Can't use the phone for much if there's no service.
Of course at least one teacher has given out the staff BYOD password so now the staff will lose their Wi-Fi access too. Again, very shocking I know.
In high school, they implemented some network filters to block some websites, but I had unfiltered access because I was on the school newspaper. Unfortunately, because I am a dope, I shared that login with other friends and it got locked down, too.
Sounds about right. We don't filter much of anything here because so much stuff that schools would filter is actually useful for different classes. But there are definitely some things that send warnings to administrators, mostly related to safety and self harm.
Our middle school uses Yondr pouches, where if kids want to bring their phone to school they must lock them in these pouches that can't be unlocked by students, but the phone/pouch itself stays in the student's possession. I think in an emergency they could be cut open
I really like that approach, feels like a nice middle ground between acknowledging wanting to have the device close in case of an emergency.