Why Phones Don’t Belong in School

[docterfreeze]

That would only cost a few hundred billion or spend a few million on wifi jammer.

I go to a poorly funded school, the concrete walls block my mobile signal just fine.

Schools are built similar to prisons, there is a lot of concrete.

[Heltoray]

it is enough for me to see all those phone zombies during lunch break at work to imagine how it must look at school. I really wish there were wifi blockers everywhere at my workplace. It is so getting out of hand, I find myself surrounded by people who stare at their fking phones almost everywhere I am. Not to mention people looking at their phones during work like every 10 minutes. Seems to me that many people are just so addicted to this crap... and it really isn't just young people doing this.

[Raetary]

it is enough for me to see all those phone zombies during lunch break at work to imagine how it must look at school. I really wish there were wifi blockers everywhere at my workplace. It is so getting out of hand, I find myself surrounded by people who stare at their fking phones almost everywhere I am. Not to mention people looking at their phones during work like every 10 minutes. Seems to me that many people are just so addicted to this crap... and it really isn't just young people doing this.

and you realized that... just now?

[Kaizun]

Honestly there is no reason you need a cell phone in class, NONE. None of these kids are so important that they require a cellphone, and if they parents need the child guess what, they can either show up at school or call and get patched through to the students classroom.

You can say that about just about anything. You don't really need shoes in most classes- and I've had students sit there and play with their shoes, draw on their shoes, etc, rather than pay attention to a lecture. They don't need a lot of things they have in class, doesn't mean we should ban them. It's not an issue of "HAVING NO BENEFITS," it's an issue of teaching students how the distraction is harming them and how to be more responsible with it, as well as having engaging content and showing them how it's going to be useful. Sure, this sounds ideal, and it is an ideal- never really achieved, but always strived for. Pretty much how teaching goes.

Still better than slapping their hand, saying 'NO! Bad student,' and banning them from having the distraction. What are you teaching them then? I'm in charge! Do what I say or fear the consequences!

- - - Updated - - -

B. Give them free reign to be as distracted as they wish by allowing them the largest for of entertainment available.

B is a false option. You never give them free reign- you let them have their device, but you suggest they put it away if they're not using it responsibly. It's an ongoing process.

[kail]

I mean, I brought my Gameboy Micro and Nintendo DS to school almost everyday from late elementary to high school. I obviously wasn't stupid enough to play them during class. The same should apply for smartphones. Confiscation and suspensions for repeated offenses is fine in my book.

Do understand that we live in a time where 3 year olds are getting their own tablet.

[Kathandira]

B is a false option. You never give them free reign- you let them have their device, but you suggest they put it away if they're not using it responsibly. It's an ongoing process.

Sadly though, you can't take their phone away if they don't give it to you. You can tell them to go to the office, and the office can only verbally request the phone. If they still don't give it up, you can give them detention, where they will be sitting in a room, with their phone.

Defiant students, will just continue to defy authority.

[kail]

There is absolutely NO REASON why anyone under 18 should need a smartphone.

Parents are the problem, not the phones themselves.

They don't need video games either. Should they be restricted to 18+?

[Deleted]

In my school ( Ireland ) there is a complete ban on mobile phones, however its only lightly enforced outside of class. In class if you're caught with it, they can take it for up to 2 weeks.

[bledgor]

You can say that about just about anything. You don't really need shoes in most classes- and I've had students sit there and play with their shoes, draw on their shoes, etc, rather than pay attention to a lecture. They don't need a lot of things they have in class, doesn't mean we should ban them. It's not an issue of "HAVING NO BENEFITS," it's an issue of teaching students how the distraction is harming them and how to be more responsible with it, as well as having engaging content and showing them how it's going to be useful. Sure, this sounds ideal, and it is an ideal- never really achieved, but always strived for. Pretty much how teaching goes.

Still better than slapping their hand, saying 'NO! Bad student,' and banning them from having the distraction. What are you teaching them then? I'm in charge! Do what I say or fear the consequences!

Are you being serious? Comparing it to shoes, something that is a clothing, to an item that has no tangible benefits?

By that logic why have laws against drunk driving, instead of slapping drivers hands and telling them "NO! Bad adult!" We can teach them that drinking and driving is bad.

It has to do with the fact that it is a time dump, disruptive, and even if 90% of the kids listen they won't all take the lesson, and the last 10% are going to cost me valuable teaching time to correct that otherwise could have been spent on lessons. The difference between a shoe and a smartphone is one allows you access to the internet, all the games, movies, and information connected to the internet, while the other is an article of clothing meant to protect your feet.

also as I said before, this is the problem with phones, you can't even enforce the rules with them

Sadly though, you can't take their phone away if they don't give it to you. You can tell them to go to the office, and the office can only verbally request the phone. If they still don't give it up, you can give them detention, where they will be sitting in a room, with their phone.

Defiant students, will just continue to defy authority.

[Kaizun]

Sadly though, you can't take their phone away if they don't give it to you. You can tell them to go to the office, and the office can only verbally request the phone. If they still don't give it up, you can give them detention, where they will be sitting in a room, with their phone.

Defiant students, will just continue to defy authority.

You don't want to take it away. What does that teach them? You make your content worthwhile to them, continue to point out that the phone is lowering their grade, distracting them from learning, etc... it won't happen in just one class period. They'll eventually get it, or they won't. And if they won't.... then they wouldn't have been paying attention to you even if the phone was banned in the first place. It would have been some other distraction. Maybe pestering a kid nearby or making a scene.

I get this same problem with laptops in class. Other teachers complain that students are distracted and don't use their laptop for what they were supposed to. So? If you didn't have laptops to start with, and students were doing a worksheet, would the same student have done what they were supposed to? Nope...

[Etrock08]

This. I don't really see the problem with bringing phones to school. If you use them in class and the teacher sees it, they warn you first and if you do it again, you have to hand it in. I don't really see the need to completely ban them.

Thats a very bright eyed view of phones in the classroom. Very rarely will a student give up a phone without a fight. Often it ends in parents being called and the parent siding with their child. An assistant principle was sucker punched in the face at our school for taking a kids phone during a state test, where phones were not even allowed to be on the person.

They will put the phone in their pocket which is out of reach of the teacher, and then take it out when the teacher moves away. If the office is called they still refuse to give up the phone, in the end it causes class wide disruption while the student is removed from class (which should be avoided as much as possible because removing a student from class removes any chance of learning material). issuing detentions or after school disciplin is also futile in many (not all) cases as many parents now days will argue about phones being private property, and that they need their phone for emergencies, and that recieving discipline for a phone related incident is stupid. I have even had fellow teachers be told by parents that their children did not and would not be serving detention or any discplinary actions for disrupting classes. (even though those students would benefit from some after school time to work on missing work)

[bledgor]

You don't want to take it away. What does that teach them? You make your content worthwhile to them, continue to point out that the phone is lowering their grade, distracting them from learning, etc... it won't happen in just one class period. They'll eventually get it, or they won't. And if they won't.... then they wouldn't have been paying attention to you even if the phone was banned in the first place. It would have been some other distraction. Maybe pestering a kid nearby or making a scene.

I do point out, guess what, they don't care, or they know if I really do lower there grades, their parents will complain to the school, and I will be forced by my Principle to change the grade because they don't want to deal with the headache. Also false connection, they are a lot more likely to pay attention without their phone because the phone has millions of things they can distract themselves with they otherwise wouldn't have access too. You have this defeatist attitude were teachers are somehow unable to stop children from using phones but will magically be able to teach them phones are bad and get them to put them away.

I get this same problem with laptops in class. Other teachers complain that students are distracted and don't use their laptop for what they were supposed to. So? If you didn't have laptops to start with, and students were doing a worksheet, would the same student have done what they were supposed to? Nope...

Possible they would, from experience I would say more likely not that they would necessarily. The key here is the laptops are usually school property with limitations on what websites can be accessed, when they are available, and how much time can be spent on them, things I can control. With cellphones I can try hard but I can't control them and students know if push comes to shove the district wont back me up on them because of potential lawsuits (even if the parents wont win, they don't want to waste the time/money dealing with it).

[Kaizun]

Are you being serious? Comparing it to shoes, something that is a clothing, to an item that has no tangible benefits?

By that logic why have laws against drunk driving, instead of slapping drivers hands and telling them "NO! Bad adult!" We can teach them that drinking and driving is bad.

It has to do with the fact that it is a time dump, disruptive, and even if 90% of the kids listen they won't all take the lesson, and the last 10% are going to cost me valuable teaching time to correct that otherwise could have been spent on lessons. The difference between a shoe and a smartphone is one allows you access to the internet, all the games, movies, and information connected to the internet, while the other is an article of clothing meant to protect your feet.

also as I said before, this is the problem with phones, you can't even enforce the rules with them

The specific example wasn't the point, as I stated, and I'm sure you well know- I said the distraction could be almost anything. If the kid wasn't going to pay attention, he or she wasn't going to pay attention. The phone/distraction/example does not matter in that situation. If I'm understanding you, your point is that phones are more of a distraction most other things, and that specific distraction should be removed. I think that just depends on the kid. They would just find a different distraction. Again, in my experience the phone/example/shoe/whatever is a symptom, not the problem. As a teacher, if you think of a specific student, and you take away that student's phone, do you really find they then start paying attention?

[kail]

Thats a very bright eyed view of phones in the classroom. Very rarely will a student give up a phone without a fight. Often it ends in parents being called and the parent siding with their child. An assistant principle was sucker punched in the face at our school for taking a kids phone during a state test, where phones were not even allowed to be on the person.

They will put the phone in their pocket which is out of reach of the teacher, and then take it out when the teacher moves away. If the office is called they still refuse to give up the phone, in the end it causes class wide disruption while the student is removed from class (which should be avoided as much as possible because removing a student from class removes any chance of learning material). issuing detentions or after school disciplin is also futile in many (not all) cases as many parents now days will argue about phones being private property, and that they need their phone for emergencies, and that recieving discipline for a phone related incident is stupid. I have even had fellow teachers be told by parents that their children did not and would not be serving detention or any discplinary actions for disrupting classes. (even though those students would benefit from some after school time to work on missing work)

Suspend them and lower their conduct grade. It's not like phones invented distractions for disobedient kids.

[Nfinitii]

Lol, it ultamitely comes down to the parents, they need to be active in their children's education. If the parents aren't willing to enforce discipline and rules then it doesn't matter what the school does.

90% of problems now a days is because parents are not active in their children's discipline and education.

[bledgor]

The specific example wasn't the point, as I stated, and I'm sure you well know- I said the distraction could be almost anything. If the kid wasn't going to pay attention, he or she wasn't going to pay attention. The phone/distraction/example does not matter in that situation. If I'm understanding you, your point is that phones are more of a distraction most other things, and that specific distraction should be removed. I think that just depends on the kid. They would just find a different distraction. Again, in my experience the phone/example/shoe/whatever is a symptom, not the problem. As a teacher, if you think of a specific student, and you take away that student's phone, do you really find they then start paying attention?

The phone really does matter, that is like saying food is food, it doesn't matter if you are eating a sugar filled cake or a meal containing every nutrition. Also phones don't depend on the kids because no matter what interest the kids have they can access it with a phone, something they really can't do with their shoe, a book, etc (again with laptops like I said in my previous post since the school will supply them they have A LOT more control/regulations on them).

I believe they are more likely too, as the stories being taught are more interesting than playing with their shoe, or at least will help the time pass faster for them. In addition they know if they behave and focus since they can't do anything they really want to I am more prone to showing the movies of the stories we have read, or having fun projects instead of writing essays.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

Cell phones should be banned in the classroom, I absolutely agree.

And if you under 15 years old, why the hell do you need a cell phone?

I personally didn't get one until I was 17.

"Back in my day...we didn't have any new fangled smart phones...if we wanted to use the phone we had to use the phone booths at the quickee mart that the homeless slept in."

Thanks for putting it all into perspective for us, gramps

[Kathandira]

Suspend them and lower their conduct grade. It's not like phones invented distractions for disobedient kids.

I'd be curious to see how many children are held back a grade these days. I remember a time when if you failed a grade, you had to repeat it. But it seemed to me, like people were getting pushed through school, even with failing grades (because low graduation rates look real bad for the school).

If you suspend a child enough times, there is no way they will keep up with the curriculum, essentially dooming them to fail. I would not be against this at all. But i'm certain 'helicopter parents' who think their little demon can do no wrong, would put up quite a fight.

[Gheld]

Teacher who is unable to actively keep his students engaged blames technology.

I used to draw, or write short stories while the teacher was talking if I didn't give a fuck.

Nothing has changed. There have always been students talking in class, or doodling, or secretly listening to their "Walkman".

Texting is probably better because it's quieter so it is non disruptive to students who would rather pay attention to the teacher. Well It's non disruptive unless the teacher makes a circus out of it.

[Kaizun]

The phone really does matter, that is like saying food is food, it doesn't matter if you are eating a sugar filled cake or a meal containing every nutrition. Also phones don't depend on the kids because no matter what interest the kids have they can access it with a phone, something they really can't do with their shoe, a book, etc (again with laptops like I said in my previous post since the school will supply them they have A LOT more control/regulations on them).

I believe they are more likely too, as the stories being taught are more interesting than playing with their shoe, or at least will help the time pass faster for them. In addition they know if they behave and focus since they can't do anything they really want to I am more prone to showing the movies of the stories we have read, or having fun projects instead of writing essays.

I see your point, and I understand. When it comes down to it, though, I would rather attempt to teach them responsibility than ban them and try to prove I'm the boss. I've done it, it's never worked out for me. You may not feel that is your responsibility to teach, and you're probably right. I'm a bit of an idealist. I know that the student who sits in class and would rather be on the phone than listen to what I have to say, will probably forget anything I say after the next test and not use it anyway. I would rather try and make a difference for them, help them see how their phone use is hurting them and how to be more responsible with it, and when I have done so in the past- they see me in a new light, and are more interested in what I have to say academically.