Tweens and teens, cell phones, and school. This is the new hot debate among parents—myself included. And I know where I stand. For a myriad of reasons (including the fact that I am a former teacher and understand personally the challenges teachers face) I fully support our middle and high school having strict policies that restrict cell phone usage for students.
Our middle school asks students to drop their phones in labeled bins at the beginning of the day and pick them up as they are dismissed. That means no phones all day—including passing periods, lunch, recess, etc.
Our high school, however, asks students to drop their phones into labeled pouches that hang on the wall in class. Students then retrieve their phones as the bell rings, which means they are allowed to use them during passing periods, at lunch, and in study hall without repercussions.
I support both plans and believe they are a good fit for tweens and teens at different developmental ages. Middle schoolers, for example, are more likely to struggle with the temptation to access their devices and might be too young to handle the distractions caused by a phone during their school day. High schoolers, however, are older and likely have had a phone for years. That means that the novelty has probably worn off, and they are more able to handle the responsibility of having a phone intermittently and still doing their job—being a student. (However—full disclosure—if our high school instituted similar restrictions to our middle school, I’d support that too.)
The cell phone battle is 24/7
Pew Research Center reports that 72% of high school teachers say students being distracted by their cellphones in the classroom is a major problem. This might not be surprising to most parents of high schoolers, but what about younger kids?
Related: Dear Parents: It’s Time We Stop Texting Our Teens At School All Day
Even as young as elementary school, cell phones are now causing constant challenges for teachers and administrators. Our superintendent gave a talk last year to parents, imploring them to restrict or monitor cell phone usage and to not allow our young children to have social media on their devices. She explained that apps like SnapChat (which isn’t even legal until age 13) are causing excessive challenges for staff. Kids as young as 4th and 5th grade are asking for help to solve conflicts that occurred on SnapChat outside of school hours. But the drama is then brought into the school, making it a problem for teachers and administrators. Now imagine if those kids had access to their phones during the school day!
Middle schoolers aren’t much older, and the issues are likely quite similar, which means there is no place for cell phones during the school day at a middle school.
We know that smartphones and social media use can have an extremely detrimental impact on the mental health of our young people. So why would we allow them to have these devices in hand at school, of all places?
The issues teachers and administrators are facing at my kids’ schools are not unique, so it’s not surprising to hear that school districts across the country are passing cell phones bans or new policies restricting cell phone usage so that, basically, kids can learn. Take the phone out of their hands and give their minds the opportunity to focus on what they need to focus on like writing skills, math concepts, science experiments, reading comprehension, learning a foreign language, and (my son’s favorite)—P.E.
We are losing good teachers everywhere
The truth is, teachers are leaving the profession in droves, and as a parent, I am terrified for the future when we don’t have enough caring, passionate professionals willing to get up in front of a classroom full of kids and teach them.
Teachers are expected to have bachelor’s (and, in many districts, master’s) degrees, yet they aren’t paid nearly what other professionals with 1-2 degrees are paid.
Also, they aren’t trusted or respected to do their jobs as other professionals are. No one marches into hospitals or law offices to tell doctors and lawyers what to do—we just trust them. Yet teachers’ lessons are micromanaged throughout the school year, and they are disrespected constantly despite having one of the most valuable roles in society.
In addition, our teachers are expected to shield their students from gun violence even though they didn’t sign up to be military personnel or police officers—they are there to teach.
And in today’s society, despite all these challenges, they are battling the constant disruption of cell phones in the classroom, too.
No wonder they’re quitting.
Education Week reports that teachers across the nation state cell phones as one of the greatest challenges—if not THE greatest challenge—today.
“The issue of high schoolers using cell phones during class is massive,” one high school teacher from Washington state stated. “So many are constantly in need of the dopamine rush of checking their phones, texting, watching YouTube, etc., they’ve lost the ability to have any sort of sustained attention to anything.”
Related: Teen Smartphone Addiction: How to Identify the Symptoms and Break Free
“The fight over cellphones is exhausting to teachers,” a high school teacher from Pennsylvania shared.
“Students on cell phones are physically present, but not mentally present. It is the single greatest threat to a quality education in the school at the present time,” said a teacher from Iowa.
So, do cell phone bans work? What are staff members saying once the phones are gone?
Cell phone bans in schools are becoming more and more common, as experts are realizing the negative impact the use of cell phones has on tweens and teens as they try to learn. States like Florida, Indiana, and Connecticut have already passed some sort of ban or cell phone restriction for public schools state-wide. California recently passed the Phone-Free School Act, which requires all schools to develop a policy limiting cell phone usage by 2026. And Virginia’s governor has signed an executive order mandating “cell-phone free” eduction for Virginia’s schools moving forward.
“We recently banned cellphones. Previously, they were allowed during passing time and at lunch. However, they had taken over instructional time. Students would get out their phones without thinking and teachers would have to spend as much time redirecting as they were teaching. That, or have a power struggle over confiscation,” one administrator shared.
And this quote is perhaps the most telling, shared by a high school teacher in Ohio: “We have recently implemented a no cellphone policy in our district and it has been life changing. The kids are working in class, talking to one another, and keeping out of trouble—for the most part.”
What about an active shooter situation?
One reason parents in the U.S. want their tweens and teens to have phone access is in case of an active shooter at the school. This terrifying American reality leads many parents to want the peace of mind of knowing that their son or daughter can contact them if they are in danger.
And as a parent of a 10th grader, 8th grader, and 6th grader, I get it. I live in constant fear of that text or phone call. I, too, like knowing that I can get a hold of my kid. However, it’s more complicated than that.
After the most recent school shooting in Georgia, ABC News highlighted this exact concern, sharing stories of parents receiving texts from their children who were inside that school.
But the question is, if your teen has a phone in their hand, are they more safe?
“What’s even more important to me is their safety,” said Kim Whitman, co-founder of the Phone-Free Schools Movement, a group that advocates for schools to adopt policies keeping cellphones off and away from students. “If my child was on the phone with me and they missed guidance from the teacher because they were distracted by their phone and they weren’t safe, that’s a worse scenario in my mind.”
That’s how I feel. If my kids are in danger, I want them to run, hide, listen to instructions, and be silent (not have a phone making noises or illuminating a dark room) until it’s safe to come out. If their school is on lockdown, texting me doesn’t make them any safer—listening to the authorities and focusing on keeping themselves as safe as possible does.
Also, having hundreds of kids sending out information will contribute to mass confusion, which is the last thing teachers, administrators, and police need as they try to neutralize an active shooting situation. The adults in the building will be communicating necessary info, while the kids’ jobs is to be quiet and safe.
In the end, I fully support any and all rules that get my kids’ phones and their peers’ phones out of reach during the school day, as they 100% do more harm than good. Kids are in school to learn. Teachers are in school to teach.
Let everyone do their jobs.
Looking for an additional resource to help you navigate parenting in the 21st century?
We recommend Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World by Devorah Heitner. Growing Up in Public is the definitive guide to helping tweens and teens set boundaries online when technology and social media prioritize being online 24/7 over privacy.
Parenting teens and tweens is a tough job, but you’re not alone. These posts might help:
My Daughter’s Anxiety Meant We Both Needed New Coping Skills
I Felt Like a Failure When My Daughter Struggled With Depression
The Most Important Reason Teens Should Not Have Their Phones At Night
Five Awesome Reasons to Love the Middle School Years
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