Cal High teachers have been enforcing stricter phone policies this year.
Some teachers are completely banning phones in the classroom, while others expect students to put phones into pouches at the front of the classroom. Some teachers even use these pouches to mark student’s attendance with each student having a designated pouch with a number.
These policies are being implemented to reduce cell phone distractions, enhance focus and boost classroom productivity.
But with phones having versatile uses – from recording lectures and timing experiments to taking pictures of assignments – it does not make sense for teachers to take them away. There are many ways to use phones for learning in the classroom.
Sadly, many uncompromising educators impose restrictions on cell phones without considering their value in the classroom. Teachers place restrictions on phones assuming they create a quieter and more productive workspace.
In truth, restricting phones creates a less productive classroom. Phone restrictions only hinder communication, stifle creativity and create tension between students and teachers.
From creating videos to making creative coding projects to participating in global online communities, phones give students access to many resources for collaboration and innovation. When teachers ban these devices, they limit students’ creativity.
Phones can also serve as a valuable safety tool for students. In the event of an emergency, such as a sudden medical issue or campus lockdown, students can use their phones to call for help, contact friends in the school or send a message to let others know they are safe.
Parents would be concerned if they could not reach their children in an emergency. If a student were suddenly locked out of class when they went to the bathroom or had to go to a different classroom for shelter, they would be unable to contact anyone.
Phone bans can also create tension between students and teachers. Many students see phone bans as a form of control or as an attempt by teachers to restrict freedom. This can damage the relationship between students and teachers.
Instead of creating an environment of mutual respect and understanding, phone bans make it so students are constantly searching for ways to bypass the rules, shifting the focus away from teachers’ misguided efforts to boost students’ productivity.
In some cases, it makes sense for the school to bans phones. This school year, taking phones to the bathroom has become against district policy after a student took pictures of another student in the bathroom without permission.
However, this is a behavioral issue rather than a phone issue. Rather than restricting all students from using their phone in the bathroom, students who abuse this privilege should be reprimanded.
But it takes one glance into a school bathroom to see how students are ignoring the policy.
At the beginning of the year, teachers were actively enforcing this policy, now many of them have stopped paying attention to whether a student is taking their phone when leaving class.
Students shouldn’t have phone restrictions as it limits their ability to grow.
