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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NP, I will only say this anonymously because it's such a controversial opinion and I don't enjoy starting conflict, but I actually don't love phone free bell to bell policies in high school, and prefer for high school age students to have access to their phones at lunch/breaks, with strict consequences if use is inappropriate or disruptive to class time. High school students can be juggling a lot, including commitments outside of school such as family, non-school social circles, jobs, and non-school related activities like significant volunteer experiences. I don't see the benefit to such students from being completely unreachable 7-9 hours a day at school, if they can use phones responsibly when they have a few minutes free during the day.

I graduated from high school in 2012 and am currently the guardian of 2 teens in high school (complex family situation, they're not mine biologically) and the biological parent of twins in preschool. [b]When I was in high school we still had "flip phones" aka "dumb phones" and I remember needing to check my voicemail and text messages between classes & at lunch to keep up with everything.[/b] Similarly, my teenagers have a lot going on and their school's recent shift to completely phone free has been a terrible fit for my kids so far. Not a fan, as I personally see few benefits and several drawbacks.

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I think maybe you are too young to remember that it being disconnected all day was the norm for most of our history. I went to high school in the 1990s, and i was a private high school teacher in the 2000s before smartphones. We were all completely fine! No one couldnt "keep up" with their communications. we and my students had full social lives, jobs, volunteer work, etc and we all managed to do it without being tethered to a phone. [/quote]

We didn't even have email. If we had places to be after school, we made a plan beforehand with our parents and stuck to it. If anything changed then we took a quarter out of our pocket and used a pay phone. Somehow we managed.

But now we wonder why kids don't have any executive functioning skills? [/quote]

Agree 100% with this comment. We were able to keep up with communications just fine in the pre-phone, pre-email, pre-computer era. And please do not tell me we weren't as busy then because I assure you I was very busy with academics and sports and a part time job.

I think so often we are focused on the harmful effects of social media (and I agree SM sucks), but I think it's bigger than that; it's the computer in our pocket that is the issue. They've become social and executive function crutches. Learn to navigate from point A to point B without a computer. Learn that a last minute text to a coach when you are expected is not acceptable. Learn how to look friends and adults in the eye. Learn to deal with challenging social situations face to face vs hiding behind a screen. Learn how to remember an upcoming dentist appointment or game without a reminder text. Learn to check your email and manage your assignments without the assistance of your parents. Etc[/quote]

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