Well-Being of School Community: Cell Phone Policies
Cell phones and other policy reforms are top of mind for both educators and school leaders.
- “Like many teachers, I’m updating my approach to phones in class this year by necessity. But I firmly believe this has to be grounded in sharing a logical ‘why’ and a focus on the benefits we gain as individuals/as a class vs. a control-based “taking their phones” approach.” —High School English Teacher in Virginia
- “I’ve seen several new #oklaed phone policies: zero phones, zero tolerance. Full stop. I’m starting the new semester with my preservice teachers on this topic. Pairing this thread with example policies will make for lively discussion.” —Educator in Oklahoma
- “With so much focus on cell phones use and policy we have to great spaces and opportunities were we allow for the device to be a tool and not a distraction. Kahoot, brain breaks during class, and other safe ways where students can use the device as a tool is important.” —Assistant Principal in Texas
- “Wondering if I need to change my cell phone policy after reading this? Worried I have been too Laizzez-Faire on this #ClassroomManagement issue. What are other #highschool teachers doing?” —Teacher Dr. Scott M. Petri
- “Phone ‘jail’ has no place in classrooms and school buildings working toward equity. We’re in the business of imagination, so let’s implement natural consequences not rooted in the carceral, ESPECIALLY if you serve communities of color.” —High School English Teacher in Texas
- “There should be no phone jail, backpack jail, dress code jail, etc. Schools should be spaces that are fundamentally incompatible with punishment and incarceration. They’re not, but they should be.” —High School English Teacher in Texas
- “This is a time of year when educators are busy writing and revising rules and policies for the new year. Offering 8 questions here that we might use as filters for our decisions. How we ‘manage’ a space can be a chance to practice freedom instead of modeling control.” —Educator in Michigan
- “Please read and reflect on this whole thread as we begin a new school year. We must re-examine classroom & schoolwide rules & policies to ensure we are providing an emotionally and physically safe space for all students to learn. That is a part of being equitable.” —Elementary Principal in California
Cell phone policies were a topic of conversation for both educators and school leaders, however, as teachers are primarily responsible for enforcing these policies, the conversation volume in a sample of educators was 358.77% in comparison to conversation volume amongst school leaders.
Methodology: These charts represent a sample of sentiment and mentions of 10,000 teachers and school leaders on Twitter in August 2022