New mobile phone policies for 2024/25 school year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And when your kid goes to college???

Yeah not the right answer people, you failed.

Brains develop over time you know
What a 22year old does is different than a 15 year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For HS, is anyone concerned that banning phones fails to teach students the self-discipline they will need around electronics in college?

No, I think less device time and less social media exposure while they are still assembling that executive function is simply better.

This! Can only be a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Bullis banned phones in HS this year during and between classes. There’s still room for improvement but it was a step in the right direction. Makes it much easier on teachers who shouldn’t have to make individual policies.

[Anonymous]

Our CA private is rumored to be making a significant change (ban) in cell phone use age for 2024/2025 but I haven’t heard details yet.

[Anonymous]

I might be one of the few who would not like it if my daughter's high school banned phones. My daughter has had her phone since middle school and it has never been an issue. She has instagram and tiktok on her phone, both which she rarely uses. She doesn't have snap chat. She has never posted on Instagram and doesn't even click on stories. She is a straight A student who basically uses her phone as a tool and for occasional entertainment. During the day I like that she can reach me and vice versa. I think by high school, students need to learn to moderate themselves.

I would add that her middle school did not allow phones past the front desk. She never brought her phone to middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when your kid goes to college???

Yeah not the right answer people, you failed.

Turns out that laptops in college have a detrimental effect on learning.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131521001305

In general laptops being used for off-task activities distract everyone who can see the screen.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131520301007

Think that phones are any different? Colleges have been fighting this battle for over a decade now, which is why some professors started declaring screen free spaces ages ago.

I teach at a t20. I am floored by how increasingly distracted students are in classes by their devices. Even in small seminars where their behavior is so noticeable. The most recent crop of students this year is the most distracted I have ever seen. I wonder why some of them even bother coming to class sometimes. The small handful of engaged students in lecture really stand out now. Many colleagues are considering a screen ban, including closed laptops, during lecture or seminar. Otherwise your tuition dollars are going down the drain while your kid warms a chair in the lecture hall while his or her mind is elsewhere. It’s also demoralizing to teach to such a crowd.

And do we also ban laptops in the workplace? When will it end? People dig their own graves. I like that my kid will be a standout because she is disciplined and has a true love of learning. Maybe some kids just need to take a gap year or not go to college at all.

[Anonymous]

Some kids have been caught cheating with Apple watches at my DC’s high school. Many teachers are banning them. They put the information as a screensaver and can sneak a peek during the tests. I wish the school would ban all devices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when your kid goes to college???

Yeah not the right answer people, you failed.

Turns out that laptops in college have a detrimental effect on learning.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131521001305

In general laptops being used for off-task activities distract everyone who can see the screen.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131520301007

Think that phones are any different? Colleges have been fighting this battle for over a decade now, which is why some professors started declaring screen free spaces ages ago.

I teach at a t20. I am floored by how increasingly distracted students are in classes by their devices. Even in small seminars where their behavior is so noticeable. The most recent crop of students this year is the most distracted I have ever seen. I wonder why some of them even bother coming to class sometimes. The small handful of engaged students in lecture really stand out now. Many colleagues are considering a screen ban, including closed laptops, during lecture or seminar. Otherwise your tuition dollars are going down the drain while your kid warms a chair in the lecture hall while his or her mind is elsewhere. It’s also demoralizing to teach to such a crowd.

And do we also ban laptops in the workplace? When will it end? People dig their own graves. I like that my kid will be a standout because she is disciplined and has a true love of learning. Maybe some kids just need to take a gap year or not go to college at all.

On your own time you’re free to dig your own grave. However during important meetings where people doing other stuff is distracting to the team it’s totally legit to ask everyone to close their laptops and stop their shenanigans. Like I said above I have been teaching for a while but this year is something else. And this is at a school with 7% acceptance rate so presumably these are “good” students. Colleagues at other universities are complaining too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And when your kid goes to college???

Yeah not the right answer people, you failed.

Brains develop over time you know
What a 22year old does is different than a 15 year old.

I worry about the brains of the 22 year olds these days. These are the former kids and teens who have never gotten used to sitting and focusing for long periods of time without distraction, and it is showing in their distracted behavior in college and will eventually show in the workplace. And the distractions are not just affecting their own performance, but also the performance of those who sit near them. Someone else also posted the link to research that shows that people doing off-task things cause those around them to remember less info during lectures. It's like the effect of second-hand smoke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I might be one of the few who would not like it if my daughter's high school banned phones. My daughter has had her phone since middle school and it has never been an issue. She has instagram and tiktok on her phone, both which she rarely uses. She doesn't have snap chat. She has never posted on Instagram and doesn't even click on stories. She is a straight A student who basically uses her phone as a tool and for occasional entertainment. During the day I like that she can reach me and vice versa. I think by high school, students need to learn to moderate themselves.

I would add that her middle school did not allow phones past the front desk. She never brought her phone to middle school.

You know, most of us went to school before cell phones and we could still early contact our parents by using a payphone. Not that those are around anymore, but I'm sure your dc's school has a phone they can use.

[Anonymous]

*easily

[Anonymous]

Our small Christian K-8 allows phones but they have to be in lockers during the school day. If a student is found with a phone it is taken to the office where they call a parent who had to come pick it up.
My 6th grader only takes hers on days she had her sport and travels to field location after school.
I’m happy with this policy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I might be one of the few who would not like it if my daughter's high school banned phones. My daughter has had her phone since middle school and it has never been an issue. She has instagram and tiktok on her phone, both which she rarely uses. She doesn't have snap chat. She has never posted on Instagram and doesn't even click on stories. She is a straight A student who basically uses her phone as a tool and for occasional entertainment. During the day I like that she can reach me and vice versa. I think by high school, students need to learn to moderate themselves.

I would add that her middle school did not allow phones past the front desk. She never brought her phone to middle school.

You know, most of us went to school before cell phones and we could still early contact our parents by using a payphone. Not that those are around anymore, but I'm sure your dc's school has a phone they can use.

Just because your kids can’t control their impulses shouldn’t deny my child of access to a valuable tool during the school day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One issue at our school is online gambling. Kids making bets throughout the day, though we also have some active day traders playing with Robinhood.

That's not an "our school" problem; that is a "your kid" problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I might be one of the few who would not like it if my daughter's high school banned phones. My daughter has had her phone since middle school and it has never been an issue. She has instagram and tiktok on her phone, both which she rarely uses. She doesn't have snap chat. She has never posted on Instagram and doesn't even click on stories. She is a straight A student who basically uses her phone as a tool and for occasional entertainment. During the day I like that she can reach me and vice versa. I think by high school, students need to learn to moderate themselves.

I would add that her middle school did not allow phones past the front desk. She never brought her phone to middle school.

I agree. Our school has a reasonable phone policy, including that in most classes phones are collected in holders before class, but the phones are also useful tools in some classes. They use them to take photos of art projects to submit for class critiques, to record and submit their voices for repertoire checks in choir, to take video of physics experiments to measure time and distance, etc.