Student cell phone bans: never make a rule you can’t enforce

Almost no one could do their jobs or get an education today without the brain extenders that we use on an all-day, every-day basis—smartphones that can access almost all human knowledge or harness huge computational power with a single tap. It is therefore not an exaggeration to say that our devices have become parts of us. Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity is Nearer

The news lately has been filled with stories about schools banning student-owned smartphones in the classroom. Or attempting to, anyway. A new state law here in Minnesota requires schools to have a student phone “policy” in place by March. 

I am once again glad to be retired from education.

School boards and administrators should be very careful about the content of such policies. One lesson that has held true all during my 43-year career in education is something I learned as a student teacher from my supervisor. She advised, “Never make a rule you can’t enforce.” Not only are such rules worthless, but they give the sense that the authority who made such a rule cannot enforce any rules.

Schools and teachers have been trying to enforce the no-phone rule for some time. Students are asked to place their phones in a basket on the teacher’s desk. They may be required to leave them in their lockers. Lately, a bag (pouch) with a lock only a teacher or administrator can unlock is being supplied to students so they are no longer able to use their phones. Not all bags, however, block the signals to phones so I am guessing they still will make noises if called. 

As one of those sneaky kids who hid comic books behind his textbook and doodled instead of taking notes, I automatically started thinking about ways I could somehow skirt the requirement to give up my electronic buddy were I a student today. Maybe I’d get a dummy phone and put it in the pouch or basket and leave the real one in my pants. Would a small enough phone be able to be hidden in my bookbag? Might my smartwatch allow me to do most of the things I like to do with my phone? When are those glasses coming out that allow me to see a virtual screen? Could I hide my phone behind a book like I hid comic books back in the day?

Banning student phone use during the school day feels like an exercise in futility, much like getting adults to stop looking at their phones when driving. And while restricting phone use may be initially a poor disciplinary move, in the long run it may well be a poor educational choice as well.

As the quote that leads this piece states, our cell phones have become “brain extenders.” I know that my phone gives me access to information that makes me a more informed thinker. I think. Shouldn’t educators with the help of AI now figure out how to make these beloved devices tutors and tools to improve student learning? A long sought but elusive goal of many in education has been the individualization of the learning process, customizing activities to each ability level and learning style. And as far as I could tell, we’ve never really gotten there.

I’ve long asked teachers to reflect on the relevance and engagement of their curriculum and activities. Maybe it is impossible to compete with these evil little bots for kids’ attention. But we have to try.

Even if we cannot figure out how to use phones as instructional tools, I believe we have the obligation to teach their appropriate use during the school day. What constitutes polite cellphone use? When is staring at the screen productive and when is it destructive? How does excessive cellphone use impact human relationships? Another lesson I learned about rules is that they are more accepted when there is constructive rationale behind them. Policy makers, are we paying attention to the “why” of banning phones and clearly communicating the reasons - and letting parents and students know we are doing so in their best interest?

Enough for now - I gotta go look at Facebook.

(Published in the Minnesota Star Tribune opinion section, 9/6/24)

Comments

[Mandy]

I took a class called Cell Phones in the Classroom and came away with many great ideas for using cell phones to learn and participate in class. We also covered acceptable use in this class, and as a school librarian, when I went over technology rules and best practices with my students, I tried to emphasize that these things also applied to their cell phones at home. We talked about manners, online bullying, protecting their privacy, etc.

I was an elementary librarian, so the "policing" of cell phones just wasn't something I dealt with. If the children brought them to school, they were required to deposit them in the office first thing in the morning until the time for dismissal. Some of the kids walked home and the parents wanted a way for them to check in after school. As a classroom teacher, we were also asked to put our phones away to set an example for the kids, so I always kept mine in my desk drawer.

When we did see the no cell phone in the classroom rule broken, the kids were recording classmates for bullying purposes later or going 'live' on Facebook and filming other classmates whose parents may have signed the "do not film my child for any purposes" form at the beginning of the year, and THAT'S where it became a huge problem.

If we could always trust students to do the right thing, using cell phones in the classroom would be great.

[Tim Stahmer]

One of the advantages of having been in this business so long is that it’s easy to recognize when we are repeating ourselves. Not that anyone listens, of course. 😊

I remember in the late 90’s, our high schools tried banning cell phones because kids were texting each other. Teachers said they were using them to cheat on tests but mostly it was trivial stuff. That quickly fell apart after 9/11.

Around 2010 we tried it again with smartphones and that didn’t work. The district was working on yet another just before the pandemic. And here we are again. I’ve been following a pilot program in our middle schools and there are already issues and complaints from parents.

Round and round we go.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Mandy,

Thanks for your thoughtful response. Sorry for my delayed response. Road-tripping to Montana and Alberta for the last 12 days or so.

Yes, I have always thought it to be schools responsibility to teach proper technology use (hence my book Learning Right from Wrong in the Digital Age and lots of articles on the subject). I ask myself how it is possible to teach appropriate use without the ability to practice itd. Were we teaching safe gun use, could we do it with actually practicing with a gun or safe driving without a car?

As I responded to Tim below, I do hope AI makes these ubiquitous devices finally an genuine education tool rather than simply a distraction.

Take care,

Doug

Hi Tim,
My (naive) hope is that somehow AI, if used well, might make smartphone use in schools actually beneficial. Wouldn't it be nice if every child actually had a personal tutor/mentor/guide to help them learn. The point that Kurzweil makes in his latest book is that we are merging more and more with our devices anyway. This piece did get published in the Minnesota Star Tribune and I've been reading a few letters pushing back.

Sorry for the delayed response. Road-tripping to Montana and Alberta for the last 12 days or so.

Doug