Thank you for your article. The phones are half the problem. We need to get EdTech out of the classroom. Kindergartens don't need iPads. The research is showing that putting kids behind Chromebooks everyday in every class is not helping them learn. AI should not replace reading and writing for kids. We should return to the centuries old proven methods of learning. Every school could have a computer lab for coding skills and typing only. Ditch the 1:1 computers... Finland and Sweden are.
The ability to have a conversation and listen is a far more important skill in my mind. Using tech is important...but we can't ditch all the skills that make us human
It needs the administration to back up teachers. Here in Ontario we have a supposed province-wide bell-to-bell ban, but in Toronto (largest city in Canada) we’ve had kids get violent when the teachers try to enforce the ban. (Of course! The phone is more addictive than a lot of actual drugs)
Teachers won’t mess with an assault charge or a discipline tribunal to wrestle a phone out of a kid’s hands, and once the dam is broken, the entire discipline around it breaks down.
We dealt with the same issue for years. A "bell to bell ban" on phones. We weren't supposed to see them, but kids were allowed to keep them in their pockets. It was useless. If at all possible, try to find a way where kids hand in their phones before they enter the school grounds. It took us years of iteration before we figured out a way to do it.
Our son attended an all boys Catholic High School here in LIttle Rock. Phones were banned. Period. Boys could leave them in their cars or lockers. But if a faculty member heard even a buzz coming from a locker, the phone was confiscated. Parents were required to attend a meeting with their son and pay a fine to receive the phone back. Second infraction was suspension. They weren’t playing. The results were similar to what the author experienced. Boys engaged and interacted with each other and their teachers. They played (yes, even in high school). They talked - a lot. Who knew that would be so welcomed? Like the author said, it’s not a magic pill. It doesn’t stop what happens outside of school. But from bell to bell, focus and priorities shifted. It was so important for us parents to have a school back up what we harped on at home.
Fantastic essay. I really have nothing to add, just wanted to thank the author for writing it and this blog for publishing it.
Teachers get how addictive these things are and how much it is wrecking childhood. They see it every day. I love the descriptions here of how these are the most addictive things ever created, by a large margin, paid for by billions of dollars of the best psychology research into how to make them more addictive.
How can we not get our shit together to ban phones in schools? This isn’t just an American problem — we’re struggling with implementing phone bans with teeth here in my province of Ontario, Canada, too.
Future generations will look back on my generation’s failure to act faster here with significant disdain, I think.
Thanks Geoff! I'd argue its a massive western world problem. Even watching my friends kids at a dinner party is weird. No teenager goes any where without a phone. They're tethered to vibrations. Oddly enough, China seems to be ahead of us on this issue. They lock down phones from teenagers using social media to much...its authoritarian as hell... but yeesh... in this case effective.
It's great that you included airpods on the list, as they use 2.45GHz microwave frequency that scrambles our brain. Are you aware of the work of Dr. Magda Havas on Willow Wood school in Ontario, researching how student performance was improved by reducing dirty electricity?
For so many kids today the phone is their life. This is a good start but so much more needs to be done if we are going to save this generation from a terminal addiction. In Brave New World people went to The Feelies as a substitute for reality. Today kids can carry it around in their pockets.
In China not only is TikTok banned but kids are forbidden to even bring their phones to school. Policy started in 2021.
I am actually fine with "bell-to-bell" phone-free schools as such, on ONE condition: it must apply to EVERYONE, including teachers, staff, and administrators, period. As a safety valve, they may use it briefly in the faculty lounge or (parked) personal vehicles. After all, they wouldn't want to set a bad example and be flaming hypocrites, right?
We actually couldn't do that due to the deal we struck with parents. There were a couple of parents that were against the policy because they wanted to reach their kids. "What if there's a school shooting? What if I need to go to the hospital and tell them about it? What if they're in danger and they need me?" All the what-ifs came out. They way we worked around it was by giving every parent the principal's phone number, the assistant principal's phone number, and a kid's trusted teacher's number as well. That was one of the ways we convinced the parents the kids would be safe. (We have a pretty small school in case you're wondering.)
Don, it wasn't a complete smooth ride. Kids have grown so reliant on the tech, that they didn't know how to self-soothe when we took them away. We actually had higher rates of misbehavior in the beginning of the year. Now that the school year is winding down we are going to issue a survey asking the kids what they thought of the school year without the phones. I'll be curious to see what they say.
So did student grades and class participation increase? Behavior in class improve? Parental engagement enhanced? What the article doesn’t say is as interesting as what it says.
Engagement definitely improved. Test scores I'll have to tell you after the June regents tests take place. And we are surveying the students in the next two weeks to give their opinion on the school year. Interestingly, the behavior in the beginning of the year got worse because they didn't know how to self soothe without their phone. They literally forgot how to be bored and would act out. Those numbers fell as the school year went on.
Using God given personalities, talents, and bodily actions speak so much louder than man-made demonic hypnosis…we are truly in a spiritual battle between good and evil, and the evil one(s) coming after our children every way they can, up to us to stop it! Good for your school!!!!! Awesome accomplishment!!!!
Fabulous article! I’m a psychotherapist who does a lot of parent coaching. I make it clear that they, as parents, will have limited success if they try to restrict just their child’s screen time. This risks causing the kid to feel ostracized. But there is power in working with other parents, school boards, teachers and administrators in creating rules that EVERYONE must follow. It’s good to hear the success stories.
Thank you for your article. The phones are half the problem. We need to get EdTech out of the classroom. Kindergartens don't need iPads. The research is showing that putting kids behind Chromebooks everyday in every class is not helping them learn. AI should not replace reading and writing for kids. We should return to the centuries old proven methods of learning. Every school could have a computer lab for coding skills and typing only. Ditch the 1:1 computers... Finland and Sweden are.
The ability to have a conversation and listen is a far more important skill in my mind. Using tech is important...but we can't ditch all the skills that make us human
AI is being deployed for learning without a lot of discussion. I worry that it is with an eye toward cost cutting with less attention on the impact.
Electronic Brain Cocaine - I’m stealing that 🙂👊
Use it everywhere. Its officially the way I think of social media.
“There was some push-back in the beginning, but we teachers stuck to our guns.”
^^^This^^^
It’s the key to everything :-)
Great article, by the way.
It needs the administration to back up teachers. Here in Ontario we have a supposed province-wide bell-to-bell ban, but in Toronto (largest city in Canada) we’ve had kids get violent when the teachers try to enforce the ban. (Of course! The phone is more addictive than a lot of actual drugs)
Teachers won’t mess with an assault charge or a discipline tribunal to wrestle a phone out of a kid’s hands, and once the dam is broken, the entire discipline around it breaks down.
We dealt with the same issue for years. A "bell to bell ban" on phones. We weren't supposed to see them, but kids were allowed to keep them in their pockets. It was useless. If at all possible, try to find a way where kids hand in their phones before they enter the school grounds. It took us years of iteration before we figured out a way to do it.
Pavlovian vibration. Brilliant!
lol. Thank you. Also, that's definitely what it is.
Our son attended an all boys Catholic High School here in LIttle Rock. Phones were banned. Period. Boys could leave them in their cars or lockers. But if a faculty member heard even a buzz coming from a locker, the phone was confiscated. Parents were required to attend a meeting with their son and pay a fine to receive the phone back. Second infraction was suspension. They weren’t playing. The results were similar to what the author experienced. Boys engaged and interacted with each other and their teachers. They played (yes, even in high school). They talked - a lot. Who knew that would be so welcomed? Like the author said, it’s not a magic pill. It doesn’t stop what happens outside of school. But from bell to bell, focus and priorities shifted. It was so important for us parents to have a school back up what we harped on at home.
It's been a blessing not having to say "put your phone away" for a full year.
Fantastic essay. I really have nothing to add, just wanted to thank the author for writing it and this blog for publishing it.
Teachers get how addictive these things are and how much it is wrecking childhood. They see it every day. I love the descriptions here of how these are the most addictive things ever created, by a large margin, paid for by billions of dollars of the best psychology research into how to make them more addictive.
How can we not get our shit together to ban phones in schools? This isn’t just an American problem — we’re struggling with implementing phone bans with teeth here in my province of Ontario, Canada, too.
Future generations will look back on my generation’s failure to act faster here with significant disdain, I think.
Thanks Geoff! I'd argue its a massive western world problem. Even watching my friends kids at a dinner party is weird. No teenager goes any where without a phone. They're tethered to vibrations. Oddly enough, China seems to be ahead of us on this issue. They lock down phones from teenagers using social media to much...its authoritarian as hell... but yeesh... in this case effective.
It's great that you included airpods on the list, as they use 2.45GHz microwave frequency that scrambles our brain. Are you aware of the work of Dr. Magda Havas on Willow Wood school in Ontario, researching how student performance was improved by reducing dirty electricity?
Not a clue. Sounds terrifying though lol.
I hope more parents and teachers read this!!! Great narrative of your experience!
Appreciate it!
For so many kids today the phone is their life. This is a good start but so much more needs to be done if we are going to save this generation from a terminal addiction. In Brave New World people went to The Feelies as a substitute for reality. Today kids can carry it around in their pockets.
In China not only is TikTok banned but kids are forbidden to even bring their phones to school. Policy started in 2021.
Wish I could get off the internet myself.
Heard that.
I am actually fine with "bell-to-bell" phone-free schools as such, on ONE condition: it must apply to EVERYONE, including teachers, staff, and administrators, period. As a safety valve, they may use it briefly in the faculty lounge or (parked) personal vehicles. After all, they wouldn't want to set a bad example and be flaming hypocrites, right?
We actually couldn't do that due to the deal we struck with parents. There were a couple of parents that were against the policy because they wanted to reach their kids. "What if there's a school shooting? What if I need to go to the hospital and tell them about it? What if they're in danger and they need me?" All the what-ifs came out. They way we worked around it was by giving every parent the principal's phone number, the assistant principal's phone number, and a kid's trusted teacher's number as well. That was one of the ways we convinced the parents the kids would be safe. (We have a pretty small school in case you're wondering.)
Great article. How were the grades? Higher, I expect.
Don, it wasn't a complete smooth ride. Kids have grown so reliant on the tech, that they didn't know how to self-soothe when we took them away. We actually had higher rates of misbehavior in the beginning of the year. Now that the school year is winding down we are going to issue a survey asking the kids what they thought of the school year without the phones. I'll be curious to see what they say.
So did student grades and class participation increase? Behavior in class improve? Parental engagement enhanced? What the article doesn’t say is as interesting as what it says.
Engagement definitely improved. Test scores I'll have to tell you after the June regents tests take place. And we are surveying the students in the next two weeks to give their opinion on the school year. Interestingly, the behavior in the beginning of the year got worse because they didn't know how to self soothe without their phone. They literally forgot how to be bored and would act out. Those numbers fell as the school year went on.
Using God given personalities, talents, and bodily actions speak so much louder than man-made demonic hypnosis…we are truly in a spiritual battle between good and evil, and the evil one(s) coming after our children every way they can, up to us to stop it! Good for your school!!!!! Awesome accomplishment!!!!
Don't know if the phone evil incarnate...but it was nice seeing kids personalities in the hallways without tech addiction.
Fabulous article! I’m a psychotherapist who does a lot of parent coaching. I make it clear that they, as parents, will have limited success if they try to restrict just their child’s screen time. This risks causing the kid to feel ostracized. But there is power in working with other parents, school boards, teachers and administrators in creating rules that EVERYONE must follow. It’s good to hear the success stories.
Strong as a community rule, weak as an individual one. Couldn't agree more.
Make it worldwide.