Update on cell phone policies reactions
The legislation banning cell phones in classrooms continues to pay off for students, teachers and leaders across North America.
- “I teach at a high school. It’s been way easier to do a phone ban than I assumed. It’s way better than before, kids are chatting with each other and they’re getting more work done.” —High School Teacher in Minnesota
- “I have to credit @JonHaidt and @jean_twenge for their persistence. It (the cell phone ban) is paying off. Rolling back almost 20 years of dependence on devices isn’t an easy proposition. But everyone – adults and kids – realizes the necessity of removing these devices from the school setting. It can be done. And it can also be a resounding success. Thank you for your advocacy. I must also give credit where it is due. [Redacted], Superintendent of [Redacted] and our board thankfully had the foresight to implement this policy, and deserve credit for this success.” —Middle School Principal in Mississippi
- “Our cell phone ban has been extremely noticeable to me. Kids actually talk to each other when they finish their work. They play hangman on the board. After proctoring tests, kids are pulling out novels from their backpacks and reading until the class period is over. In the hallways, it used to be just walking zombies – everyone staring at their phones and no one talking to each other. But after the ban, I see a lot less running into doorways because you were looking down and a lot more laughing and joking and telling stories from the weekend. The difference is literally night and day and for the first time, I have hope that this generation coming up is healing.” —Substitute Teacher in Alabama
- “My district went phone free in Yondr pouches last year and it’s the best thing that’s happened in my 25 years of teaching high schoolers! Kids connect with each other! They talk. They make eye contact. They’re less stressed. Suspensions are way down. It’s the best and I’m so grateful!” —High School Teacher in Maine
- “Title 1 school in NY. My school hard-banned phones this year, and it’s a night and day difference. I’m genuinely happy for the kids, because even when they aren’t learning, they are socializing.” —Teacher in New York
- “I’m a teacher where a phone ban was implemented for the first time this year. The difference is gigantic. The students are more present, less distracted, more social and therefore work better in groups. The hallway feels alive and positive. The city did a survey of teachers about the ban, and a huge majority reported similar improvements. Anyone arguing against a phone ban after this is an idiot.” —Teacher in New York
- “Texas passed this as a law. It has been fantastic. In my individual classroom, I do almost everything with pen and paper. It makes a difference!” —Teacher in Texas
- “The future of education is phone free schools. As more states move to ban phones in schools I’m curious what you guys think about this. My school has effectively no enforcement for phones and it is brutal to have to deal with. My lessons simply cannot compete with short form videos, sorry. I recently started making the kids turn them in at the start of class and it’s been going much better already. These students are legitimately addicted to their phones and I find it to be wildly irresponsible for schools to keep pedaling the mantra of “kids need to learn how to regulate their own phone use” — they CAN’T! I’m 25 so I am dealing with my own phone dependency issues, but I can’t fathom being a developing teenager and spending 8-14 hrs. on my phone every day. It’s so harmful for them and it hurts to watch them scroll their lives away when they should be learning and connecting with their peers. I do not see education improving unless phones are fully banned in schools. Let them be bored. Let them talk to people in person. Let their brains rest.” —Teacher in Pennsylvania