I agree, but with one more thing that must be added. The rules should also apply to all faculty and staff as well as students. After all, they wouldn't want to be flaming hypocrites, right?
And they can join thousands of other great laws that have been ignored by law enforcement since they were passed. LEOs should be required to have JDs so they can do their jobs better.
While a step in the right direction, we need to follow other nations like France Belgium Cyprus and Israel, who have banned Wi-Fi in their schools. Otherwise smartwatches will still provide massive distraction and harm via wireless radiation.
Food for thought.
Thank you Deb for laying out the groundwork of what can be done here. Distractions kill creativity.
Great! Patricia knows many people. If you'd like - would you mind sending me an email roman@thepowercouple.ca I can then put you in touch via email - if you're comfortable with that.
I'm proud to see my state of South Carolina in green on this map. When the policy was announced, the kids were upset, but halfway through the school year, it has become the new normal. As someone who also discusses the pitfalls of technology, I'm grateful to Jon Haidt for catalyzing such meaningful change!
Thank you, Deb, for all your efforts to eliminate smart phones from the school day. It’s all so late in coming and too many tragic reports connect smart phones to harmful behaviors, like the loss of your daughter, Becca. Model legislation is a key step to ensure that phone free schools do it well and experience the benefits.
The school I’m with now uses Yondr pouches to lock away phones for the school day. Is it working? I’m not sure. The school is K-8 and the younger ones don’t have phones. It’s mostly the 7-8 graders that have phones. I think the attempt to remove phones from the school day is laudable but I would like to see pouches replaced with phone lockers. That way the student is physically separated from the phone.
Thanks for the map showing the remarkable progress. There is so much to unpack with tech and schools, but one of the most vital is connections between students, and of course to teachers. So much of what we learn is through observation, small communications such as facial cues, micro expressions and body language are essential to having successful relationships throughout our lives. Tech will always have a place but less time on screen is best, especially since the quality of content online becomes ever more suspect and frequently a source of confusion rather than clarity in learning.
I agree, but with one more thing that must be added. The rules should also apply to all faculty and staff as well as students. After all, they wouldn't want to be flaming hypocrites, right?
Perhaps an exception can be carved out for use in the faculty/staff lounges as well as in personal vehicles, provided it is fully out of eyesight and earshot of students. Otherwise, same rules across the board, and "three strikes and you're fired".
Going to rain on your parade here. The whole phone-free project looks like defining a problem as a nail, because we think the only tool we have is a hammer. We ship students off to mass age-uniform environments where there are few prior connections among them and all of them, like all humans, are looking to gain prestige and establish and raise their rank among their peers. CYBERbullying is a problem? When and how are we going to address in-person bullying? (writing as a survivor) Students aren’t learning relationship skills? Where and how do they see them modeled? It’s too easy to blame the technology. Phones. as some people have observed, are a form of escape. What are they escaping from, and why?
I doubt anyone here thinks that banning phones bell-to-bell will solve all of education's woes, but the evidence is mounting that it will help significantly with a good deal of those woes.
I too was bullied in-person as a child, and I understand the harm that such bullying can do. But in-person bullying is made many times worse by cyberbullying.
As for the last point--Many students don't develop the social and emotional skills to operate in the world because they can too easily avoid the world through their screens. That leads to a lack of resilience and maturity.
“Many students don't develop the social and emotional skills to operate in the world because they can too easily avoid the world through their screens” Absent the screens (or other means of avoidance), how would they develop the skills without someone to demonstrate them? The original point is still valid—it’s not the screens that are the problem.
I'm a middle school science teacher. We do a lot of social and emotional learning (SEL) work at my level. Some of this includes explicit lessons. Some of this includes various forms of guided and independent practice. Some of it is correction and reflection.
All of these things become much harder to do when students have immediate access to their phones. The phone is as much a distraction from SEL as it is from academic learning.
While I believe that this is very much needed, I also know that parent and family support is needed. A smartphone, tablet, or other device is not a necessity for any child. These devices are clearly not making children smarter, or keeping them safer. Research indicates the opposite. And, at this point, these devices could be classified as *drugs.* Would you offer your 7 year old alcohol or marijuana? The goal should be to ban usage until a reasonable age. Perhaps 16, as this is when kids can legally get a driver's license. The usage of devices in schools is problematic, but this is a bandaid slapped on a gushing wound. Child development is in a downward spiral. Depression is at an all time high, and directly correlated to these devices. The addiction level is unprecedented. Yes, getting these things out of the school day would be somewhat helpful, and it is a good start, but it is not the solution to the problem.
That's a bridge too far I think, and it throws the baby out with the bathwater. And it won't really work, since we see what a miserable failure the 21 drinking age has been in the USA relative to the rest of the free world.
This won't work at 100%. But taking devices out of schools won't solve the problem either. It's a short term solution that should be attempted. The bigger question is, what is the actual goal for our children, and for our society? If we knowingly allow this to continue, we're looking at more unprecedented rates of depression and suicide in kids.
Incredibly powerful! Beautiful job Deb, Jon, and Zach!! This is also a fantastic tool for teachers and school administrators to use to answer any questions parents may have as they push for this legislation. There is such a huge gap between what kids experience every day and what parents and the general public perceive. Thanks guys! Joni Siani
Proud to be a part of this with you Deb! Thank you so much for your tireless efforts to keep kids safe. We would not be this far in MA without all that you've done. <3
Hi, this is awesome. Thinking through all the logistics here. How do schools deal with students who are allowed to go off-campus for lunch? I assume they will be able to access their phones at that point. How do we mitigate every eligible student then leaving the school at lunch mostly just to check their phones?
So clear! The policy, the benefits. This will get a lot of great laws passed!
I agree, but with one more thing that must be added. The rules should also apply to all faculty and staff as well as students. After all, they wouldn't want to be flaming hypocrites, right?
And they can join thousands of other great laws that have been ignored by law enforcement since they were passed. LEOs should be required to have JDs so they can do their jobs better.
While a step in the right direction, we need to follow other nations like France Belgium Cyprus and Israel, who have banned Wi-Fi in their schools. Otherwise smartwatches will still provide massive distraction and harm via wireless radiation.
Food for thought.
Thank you Deb for laying out the groundwork of what can be done here. Distractions kill creativity.
Smartwatches are included in the definition for our MA bill, as are airpods/bluetooth devices etc.
Kids will just use their computer, with a VPN, I think you need to ban wifi.
Amazing! Thank you for letting me know. I just joined your newsletter. Do you know Patricia Burke of Safe Tech Int'l?
I do not but always happy to connect/collaborate!
Hi Jennifer, here’s Patricia’s site: https://patriciaburke.substack.com/
feel free to send me an email as well and I can loop you in roman@thepowercouple.ca
Great! Patricia knows many people. If you'd like - would you mind sending me an email roman@thepowercouple.ca I can then put you in touch via email - if you're comfortable with that.
I'm proud to see my state of South Carolina in green on this map. When the policy was announced, the kids were upset, but halfway through the school year, it has become the new normal. As someone who also discusses the pitfalls of technology, I'm grateful to Jon Haidt for catalyzing such meaningful change!
Thank you, Deb, for all your efforts to eliminate smart phones from the school day. It’s all so late in coming and too many tragic reports connect smart phones to harmful behaviors, like the loss of your daughter, Becca. Model legislation is a key step to ensure that phone free schools do it well and experience the benefits.
The school I’m with now uses Yondr pouches to lock away phones for the school day. Is it working? I’m not sure. The school is K-8 and the younger ones don’t have phones. It’s mostly the 7-8 graders that have phones. I think the attempt to remove phones from the school day is laudable but I would like to see pouches replaced with phone lockers. That way the student is physically separated from the phone.
Hi RJ, would love to hear more about your experience if you were interested to connect and share.
Thanks for the map showing the remarkable progress. There is so much to unpack with tech and schools, but one of the most vital is connections between students, and of course to teachers. So much of what we learn is through observation, small communications such as facial cues, micro expressions and body language are essential to having successful relationships throughout our lives. Tech will always have a place but less time on screen is best, especially since the quality of content online becomes ever more suspect and frequently a source of confusion rather than clarity in learning.
This will fail. Were the people pushing this never kids themselves?
I agree, but with one more thing that must be added. The rules should also apply to all faculty and staff as well as students. After all, they wouldn't want to be flaming hypocrites, right?
Perhaps an exception can be carved out for use in the faculty/staff lounges as well as in personal vehicles, provided it is fully out of eyesight and earshot of students. Otherwise, same rules across the board, and "three strikes and you're fired".
Going to rain on your parade here. The whole phone-free project looks like defining a problem as a nail, because we think the only tool we have is a hammer. We ship students off to mass age-uniform environments where there are few prior connections among them and all of them, like all humans, are looking to gain prestige and establish and raise their rank among their peers. CYBERbullying is a problem? When and how are we going to address in-person bullying? (writing as a survivor) Students aren’t learning relationship skills? Where and how do they see them modeled? It’s too easy to blame the technology. Phones. as some people have observed, are a form of escape. What are they escaping from, and why?
I doubt anyone here thinks that banning phones bell-to-bell will solve all of education's woes, but the evidence is mounting that it will help significantly with a good deal of those woes.
I too was bullied in-person as a child, and I understand the harm that such bullying can do. But in-person bullying is made many times worse by cyberbullying.
As for the last point--Many students don't develop the social and emotional skills to operate in the world because they can too easily avoid the world through their screens. That leads to a lack of resilience and maturity.
“Many students don't develop the social and emotional skills to operate in the world because they can too easily avoid the world through their screens” Absent the screens (or other means of avoidance), how would they develop the skills without someone to demonstrate them? The original point is still valid—it’s not the screens that are the problem.
I'm a middle school science teacher. We do a lot of social and emotional learning (SEL) work at my level. Some of this includes explicit lessons. Some of this includes various forms of guided and independent practice. Some of it is correction and reflection.
All of these things become much harder to do when students have immediate access to their phones. The phone is as much a distraction from SEL as it is from academic learning.
Tell me more about your SEL work?
Thank you for this well thought out article. I will be sharing it with our schools.
Thank you for this opportunity.
No cell phones in school, except for emergencies.
I like the Wi-Fi banning idea. My school phones are banned, so kids just use their computers, with a VPN. So the net impact is almost zero.
While I believe that this is very much needed, I also know that parent and family support is needed. A smartphone, tablet, or other device is not a necessity for any child. These devices are clearly not making children smarter, or keeping them safer. Research indicates the opposite. And, at this point, these devices could be classified as *drugs.* Would you offer your 7 year old alcohol or marijuana? The goal should be to ban usage until a reasonable age. Perhaps 16, as this is when kids can legally get a driver's license. The usage of devices in schools is problematic, but this is a bandaid slapped on a gushing wound. Child development is in a downward spiral. Depression is at an all time high, and directly correlated to these devices. The addiction level is unprecedented. Yes, getting these things out of the school day would be somewhat helpful, and it is a good start, but it is not the solution to the problem.
That's a bridge too far I think, and it throws the baby out with the bathwater. And it won't really work, since we see what a miserable failure the 21 drinking age has been in the USA relative to the rest of the free world.
This won't work at 100%. But taking devices out of schools won't solve the problem either. It's a short term solution that should be attempted. The bigger question is, what is the actual goal for our children, and for our society? If we knowingly allow this to continue, we're looking at more unprecedented rates of depression and suicide in kids.
How exactly would that be enforced though?
How will any of this be enforced? Exactly. I have no answer for this. Unless it is treated like any illegal substance.
Incredibly powerful! Beautiful job Deb, Jon, and Zach!! This is also a fantastic tool for teachers and school administrators to use to answer any questions parents may have as they push for this legislation. There is such a huge gap between what kids experience every day and what parents and the general public perceive. Thanks guys! Joni Siani
Proud to be a part of this with you Deb! Thank you so much for your tireless efforts to keep kids safe. We would not be this far in MA without all that you've done. <3
If you're in MA we have a Community Support Letter you can sign here bit.ly/MAPhoneFree or visit our website www.MAPhoneFreeSchools.com. Kansas and Vermont have letters too! https://bit.ly/KansasPFS https://bit.ly/VTPhoneFree
Hi, this is awesome. Thinking through all the logistics here. How do schools deal with students who are allowed to go off-campus for lunch? I assume they will be able to access their phones at that point. How do we mitigate every eligible student then leaving the school at lunch mostly just to check their phones?