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)

When I think of “labor”

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Happy Labor Day - quite possibly my favorite holiday of the year. My family has always taken a few days at the end of August or in early September to get together. For many years this took place at a small resort in northern Minnesota called the Cry of the Loon, but we’ve also gathered in the Wisconsin Dells, Okoboji, Iowa, and various resorts in Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. This year we rented an AirBNB near Itasca State Park here in Minnesota - sort of a return to our original holiday.

For those of us working in education, Labor Day has always felt like a beginning rather than an end. Or at least it has for me. As a classroom teacher it meant classes full of new faces, a chance to try new lessons, the possibility of successful sports and contests that we coached. As a technology director, a new year promised projects and challenges with the breeze of a fresh start pushing one forward.

When I hear the term labor, I still generally think of physical labor. I grew up on a farm. Shoveling manure, hefting bales of hay, walking the beans, driving tractors and grain trucks all required muscle strength. My jobs during college were also physically demanding - stacking sacks of seed corn, working as a hod carrier for a mason, delivering furniture, and washing in a commercial laundry.

Yet as a professional, I soon came to realize that jobs that require mental efforts can be as laborious as those where gloves are needed. In my first two years of teaching, I taught five high school classes with four different preps, coached speech and play contests, sponsored the school newspaper, and directed the class plays. And on weekends I worked at a gas station to make ends meet. I swore at the end of those two years that I wanted a job that did not require me to think - at all.

And I got my wish. During graduate school I worked the 3-11 shift in “central sterilizing” at the university hospital. The eight hour, five day a week job primarily consisted of standing at a table making “three gown packs” used during surgeries. A cloth was placed on the table and then in careful arrangement, three surgical gowns and some towels were placed on the cloth. Wrap and tape the package, label it with a wax crayon, and place it on an autoclave cart. Repeat and repeat and repeat for eight hours. No wonder many of us smoked a little Iowajuana on our breaks.

For the bulk of my career as a school librarian, technology director, writer, speaker and consultant, I found joy in my work. In most cases, the challenges were enough to be engaging but not so tough as to be frustrating. My work was one long sweet spot.

So I would encourage having a very broad view of what can be considered “labor.” Muscles, brain cells, and the human spirit can all be exercised until exhausted - painfully or happily. I need to remember to honor all workers and the jobs they perform. I hope you do too.

Be a good hiking and biking leader

I generally enjoy group hikes and bicycle rides. New places, good conversations, and longer durations. But some are definitely better than others, often times due to the skills of the event leader.

By following a few basic guidelines, you can be a well-regarded organizer and a good role model for those who may lead in the future. These are practices I try to keep in mind.

Provide an accurate description. Most hiking and biking clubs and Meetup groups give the organizer of the event the opportunity to describe the activity. How long is the bike ride? How fast is the hiking pace? What will the surfaces be like and will there be hills? Anything special that one needs to bring? Any other activity (bird watching, stopping for ice cream, etc.)? Anticipated length of activity.

Oh, and then do your best to conduct the activity as described!

Scope out the route. The best organizers hike the trail or ride the route shortly before the group event. No surprises then with closed paths, muddy trails, or large carnivorous plants from which one needs protection. Oh, and it significantly decreases the likelihood of the leader getting lost themselves.

Start on time. One of my major complaints about group activities is that there are often those participants who feel being ten minutes late qualifies for being on time. Here in Minnesota, especially in the winter, keeping people just standing around waiting in the cold is cruel. Being on time means not just being present, but being ready to go - tires filled, boots on, pack adjusted, bathroom visit completed. I make it clear that our event’s starting time is our starting time and that I do not wait for those coming late. Text me and I will let you know the route and perhaps you can catch up. 

Use a sweep. There will always be faster and slower participants in a group hike. There will be those who may wish to stop and take a photo or retie their shoes or just walk/ride slowly. For a group of any more than about half a dozen, a sweep is a good idea. The sweep’s job is to monitor the stragglers and make sure no one gets left behind. If the leader can see the sweep, they know everyone in the group is accounted for. Walkie talkies are a good to use if you have them.

Stop at junctions. Our family has a long standing hiking rule: You can go as fast as you want, but you must wait anytime there is a choice of paths or roads to follow. I like to share a map of the ride or hike I am leading, but stopping before others get lost is even more important. I am proud to say I have a participant survival rate of over 80% as a result.

Remember that people join group activities to socialize and learn new places to recreate. Most of the group activities in which I participate start with introductions - first name, length of time with the club, etc. A little icebreaker is usually a good idea - Where is your favorite place to bike? What are you looking forward to this fall? What is your favorite dessert? (Stay away from religion and politics.) I suggest a place to gather for lunch after the ride or hike if people would like to eat lunch together. 

In planning, I also try to select places that may not be terribly well-known. One of things I’ve liked best about the club and Meetup group activities is learning new bike trails and hiking paths myself. I live in a suburb of Minneapolis/St Paul so while I know parks and trails in the south metro area, I am always happy to try something new in the northern part of the metro (or out state)

Look for training. Good bike clubs offer, and may require, training to those new to leading rides (partly out of  legal responsibility.) Know the rules of the organization (helmets required, for example). Good club rules result in a safer experience for all.

Be a sport and lead a hike or ride. Repay the leadership others have shown you in the past. If you mess up, you will find participants quite forgiving. Do your good deed for the day.