Its That Time of Year

Every year, many of us make New Year’s Resolutions. However, this past year, almost all Americans, by their own admission, did not actually keep theirs.

Therefore, as schools across the United States shut their doors for the holidays, the notion that these institutions could even follow through on a resolution for 2019 could easily be rejected in the first place.

However, for the sake of being optimistic, let’s assume that it is possible. Let’s assume that all elementary, middle, and high schools in the United States could set, and follow through on, any resolution of their choice for next year. But what would that resolution be?

Ban all phones for students, throughout the school day.

Really?

Now, if I was in the running for some sort of student government position in the typical American school, holding this position would spell certain defeat. But I am not, so let’s proceed.

First off, what does “ban all phones” actually mean? Aren’t many teachers already concerned with phone use in school, and discourage their use in class?

To answer the latter question: yes. Unsurprisingly, a large majority of K-12 teachers believe that student success at focusing on their various academic tasks has gone down due to phones in the classroom.

Furthermore, even if teachers engage in discouraging phone use, the process of telling students to put their phones away, or taking phones from students themselves, takes away from valuable class time. Again, coming as no surprise, a majority of teachers have reported being distracted by said phone use.

So, a stronger response is needed. There should be small lockers at the entrance of schools, which all students must put their phones into before entering. (I will get into why they should not be kept in students’ regular lockers later.)

Could this be seen as extreme? Perhaps.

But, if in the year 2005 (two years before the release of the iPhone), someone proposed that devices similar to modern phones were distributed to all students before they entered school - a massive shift from the (then) status quo - such a proposal would be seen as quite radical indeed. Yet, in effect, that is exactly what has happened.

I would posit that the current situation of phones in school is what is truly extreme, and this is simply a proposal to address it.

Nonetheless, there are certainly a few criticisms to be had of this idea, which deserve a response.

But what if … ?

The most understandable reaction to such a proposal would be that of parents concerned about the safety of their children. With school shootings on the rise, it is fair that many parents would like to have the ability to stay in touch with their children while they are at school. So, would that not be a good reason for students to have their phones?

While such a line of thinking sounds reasonable, the experts disagree.

Kenneth Trump, the President of the National School Safety and Security Services, best articulates how students having phones actually makes them less safe in emergencies.

Trump has three main criticisms: “[students with cellphones] increase the spread of rumors about the situation, expedite parental traffic at a scene that needs to be controlled and accelerate the overload of cell-phone systems in the area.” So, the student safety argument simply does not hold up.

Another argument against my proposal would be that, in an increasingly tech-driven environment, many teachers could actually utilize the phones of students to serve educational goals.

This is definitely a fair point, and to build on the proposal, teachers who plan on holding tech-based classes could grant students physical waivers to retrieve their phones at the start of class. There would be a requirement that students return the phones upon the class’s conclusion.

Another idea would be to have the school provide technology in the form of laptops or iPads to teachers on a request-basis, although this option would be more feasible for some districts than others.

Simply put, just because students need their phones for a single class does not mean they should have them all day.

A third, more minor criticism could be regarding after-school activities. What if students want to make plans with friends after school, or need to talk to their parents regarding staying after class? Again, this is a legitimate point, and all students should be able to retrieve their phones the second the school day ends - whether staying after or not.

It must be clarified then, that this proposal applies only to the normal school day, including homeroom, class, lunch, and all the time in between - not to time after school, or to other events on school grounds.

A More Social Environment

Thus far, I have spent time on the educational advantages of a phone ban, and defending the idea from critiques. It may seem then, that I feel as if the primary purpose of school is for students to develop academically, and a phone ban attacks students’ social lives to further that purpose.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

There is a deeper reason for a ban besides academic improvement: making school a more social place for all.

The psychological evidence is clear: more face-to-face interaction can reduce the risk of depression, and one way to foster increased face-to-face interaction would be to remove phones from school.

For many students, especially those who are shyer and more introverted, conversing with their classmates is the height of the socializing they will do in their day - the removal of phones would incentivize many said students to communicate with their peers in person.

Students would speak to each other more in the hallways, during lunch (which I believe should be lengthened), and at the beginning and end of their classes. This is why cell phones should not be kept in the students' main lockers, lest they could still access them.

From the first bell to the last, the school day must be phone free. Students would associate with more people in their day-to-day activities, and would better develop the crucial social skills they will need in life.

Back to Reality

Phones are not going away. Even if every school in the United States would adopt such a proposal as that here, students would still have their phones after school. There would still be social media (and cyber-bullying), and parents will still face tough decisions over their child’s phone use.

To be frank, I’m not old, I’m a college student.

I use my iPhone a lot. I share an endless amount of articles to Facebook, and I love Instagram almost too much. I enjoy being able to text all of my friends on a day-to-day basis.

Furthermore, I do not think the proliferation of advanced cell phones, or social media for that matter, is an objectively negative thing.

There are indeed many social and economic upsides to the technological advancements in communication over the past decade. (I read a wonderful article recently on how Instagram is helping to revive independent bookstores, which I can’t help but recommend.)

However, I fail to see how students having their phones throughout the day in school is of any benefit - either academically or socially. The time American students spend in school should be sacred - it should be made as productive and beneficial as it possibly can be.

So, will school districts across America take the leap?

Will they provide for the funding for a system of keeping students from their phones throughout the day? Will teachers be able to handle the complaints from students over not having their phones? Will administrators be able to stand the anger of parents demanding to remain connected to their students?

In other words, will our schools have the will to agree to, and follow through on, this New Year’s Resolution?

Don’t hold your breath.