Students have been told that during second semester, we will have a new ban on phones in the classrooms. But why are we getting a school phone ban in the first place? Well, according to the state, putting a ban on phones in school would help to reduce classroom distractions, combat youth mental health issues linked to social media, and decrease incidents of cyber bullying.
You might think teachers all agree on the new phone ban. While many teachers are in favor of the new phone ban, others have a mixed opinion. The vast majority of Amherst high school teachers, nearly 80 percent, voted in favor of the ban’s implementation next month.
“Phone usage amongst our teens disrupts the learning environment, causes disciplinary actions, and can be an easy route to bullying,” said Mrs. Ludeman, an English teacher at AHS. “I was hoping that students would be able to self-regulate their phone usage. Some can, but it’s obvious that others need a rule in place as they’re incapable of regulating themselves.”
“Today’s teens spend 7 to 9 hours per day on screens, often at the expense of art, literature, music, fitness — mental and physical — and other pursuits,” said Mr. Van Lannen, who also teaches English. “Studies attesting to the harmful effects of so much screen time are legion. It would be educational malpractice on the part of the government to ignore this reality by continuing to leave it solely up to teachers to police cell phone abuses.”
“I think this ban will help to reduce distractions and increase student engagement throughout the school year when it is implemented,” added Mr. Zertler the AHS business teacher.
Some teachers fall somewhere in the middle.
“I think many of us, adults and students, are addicted to our phones and it’s good to have some restrictions,” said Profe Glaze, who teaches upper-level Spanish classes. “In regard to emergencies, I like the idea of students having their phones but stored in containers for this purpose.”
“The cell phone school policy doesn’t really bother me,” said Mr. Lusic, who teaches U.S. History. “If we had it, great. If we don’t, it doesn’t really make a huge difference to me. I don’t have many problems with the cell phones in my room. I understand it…. I think it’s a nationwide or a state-wide [policy]. Also every state and nation actually has [a policy], so I’m not surprised.
“It will work if people enforce it. If people don’t enforce it, it’s not going to work. So will see if everyone is on board. That’s probably the biggest thing,” Lusic added.
But what about the students? Are they all opposed to the new cell phone ban?
“I absolutely hate it,” said sophomore Layla Ramon. “What if there is an emergency and we don’t have our phones?”
“I think it is stupid to an extent,” said junior Breleigh O’Brien. “I think we should be allowed to have phones over break and not have them during instruction time. And the students can choose to slack off or do their work.”
“While I think that having the phones down in school is a good idea, I think having a ban on them completely is not,” said junior Lauren Kenyon. “My only problems with it is what if you have a family member with a physical condition and you need to check in with them regularly? Or what if something happens to them and you have to wait until the end of the day to figure that out?”
You may be surprised to know that some students aren’t that opposed.
“I think that the school phone ban is going to be good since more people will communicate and socialize with others instead of being on their phone,” said freshman Elena Blasquez. “The school phone ban happened at my old school and I think that it had a good impact on everyone. More people would socialize and pay attention in class instead of being on their phones. Some kids would find ways to sneak in their phone who could not spend that much time without it but not that many kids would do that. I honestly liked the school phone ban, and I think it will be good for everyone.”
“I think it’s good and bad,” said freshman Jimena Elizalde. “I think the good side is that kids would probably pay more attention to the teachers. The bad side is that some kids have sports and sometimes the parents want to know when practice ends or when the games are coming or something changes.”
“I think it’s ok,” added sophomore Madison Gough. “It sucks but I guess I understand. I know why they are [banning phones], but on the other hand, some [activities] for class need them. The Chromebooks have so many restrictions…. I wish we could add the ability to add more accounts on the Chromebook.”
“I think the ban will be good for the kids because it will help them focus without any distractions,” said junior Korbin Williams. “People will also probably become more social, talking more to people and learning more about others. I’m not looking forward to it because then I won’t be able to text others, but it will have a bigger positive effect in the end.”
“I don’t like it,” added Emma Henke. “But it also doesn’t bother me because I can handle not being on my phone.”
“Honestly I think they should wait until next year to enforce it so I won’t be here,” said senior Shiloh Lemke. “[But] I can see why it might be helpful.”
What about Amherst administrators?
“Over the past few years, I have been impartial to banning phones in school,” said AHS principal Mr. Klieforth. “I see the educational value in them, but as time has gone on, I see the dependency from our youth to their phones. Having phones in class has created issues on social media as well as some mental health issues. Students are also fixated on their phones when they should be fixated on what the teacher is teaching them.
“I feel students need a break from their phones,” Klieforth continued. “Now that the state has made a law, this makes it easy to change our policy to follow what is written in the law.”
“I am in favor of a policy that supports teen mental health and results in improvement to educational outcomes,” said AMS principal Mr. Katzmarek. “It is essential that we ensure that students in the Tomorrow River School District are set up for academic success, and research has shown that a reduction in cell phone access during the school day improves test scores.”
So even though the state is enforcing a phone ban, according to the people I talked to, some are opposed and some are okay/fine with it, so even though we will have the phone ban soon, most people are neutral to this ban.
