School districts should make their own decisions about students and cellphones
Many news reports about the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last month noted that many students called 911 from phones they carried with them. From this, a conclusion could be drawn that cellphones in classrooms are a good thing, at least when
The whole picture, however, is much, much more complicated. In fact, experts in protecting schools believe that having a surfeit of cellphones in use within a building could heighten the threat, due to switchboards being flooded with calls, phones making unintended noise during an incident or social media posts that could offer clues to shooters about where individuals are hiding.
School shootings are, thankfully, rare occurrences. But educators have faced a more enduring dilemma in whether to allow students to have their cellphones with them in the classroom. Some say they are a learning tool. Others argue that they are a distraction, can facilitate cheating and cyberbullying, and hinder the social growth of children who are not interacting with one another when they are glued to their devices.
France has prohibited cellphone use by students in the classroom, as has Ontario, Canada’s largest province. New York City had a ban on cellphone use that came to an end in 2015. No states in America have managed to put a sweeping ban against cellphones in classrooms on the books, although a few have considered it.
This has not deterred state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, a Democrat from Penn Hills, from introducing legislation that would bar their use in classrooms across the commonwealth. According to the Tribune-Review, DeLuca was encouraged to put the proposal forward as a result of a decision by the Penn Hills School District to have students stash their phones away during the school day.
According to DeLuca, “I think this is a good opportunity for everyone to do it because students would be able to communicate and learn better.”
DeLuca’s proposal is well-intended. To be sure, he and others who would like to see cellphones jettisoned from the classrooms for all but supervised learning experiences have some compelling arguments on their side. We all know many adults are held captive by their phones, even when they are engaged in activities that should demand their whole attention, like driving, crossing the street, watching a movie or play or attending a concert. A classroom would be an ideal place for young people to learn that there is value in separating themselves from their phones, even if only for a relatively short time, and giving their all to the tasks before them.
But we feel uncomfortable with a statewide, one-size-fits-all mandate barring cellphones from the classroom. This is a decision best left to school boards and administrators in individual districts. Let them decide how best to use cellphones, and whether, in their classrooms, they disrupt learning or enhance it.
Who knows? Perhaps since cellphones have been a part of their lives since day one, the generations in primary and secondary grades right now will learn to use their phones much more responsibly than many of their elders.
Who knows? Perhaps since cellphones have been a part of their lives since day one, the generations in primary and secondary grades right now will learn to use their phones much more responsibly than many of their elders.