Let's Ban Cellphones (But...)

Getting cellphones under control in the classroom is a fabulous idea. But there are a few real obstacles to overcome on that path.

First and foremost will be parental objections. Nobody likes having students carry cellphones more than their parents.

For parents who balk at ever letting their children out of their sight or touch or control, cellphones are just the thing to make sure that contact is maintained and that you can check up in at any moment. In all fairness, it's not just the helicopter parents. Families with three jobs and one car, families with big logistical challenges, families dealing with emergent situations--they all benefit from having the child just a click away.

And nowadays, the specter of various school crises are part of the picture. What if there's a school shooter and my child doesn't have a phone? What if Something Is Going On and the school doesn't contact me quickly enough?

Parents are likely to push back hard--harder than the students--against cellphone restrictions.

At the other end of the issue is the actual specific issue of implementing the policy in the classroom.

There are lots of great ideas out there for collecting and managing all the cellphones, but there is still going to come that moment--

You are teaching class. You see that a student still has their phone. You ask them to hand it in (put it in the box, whatever). They say no. Now what do you do?

Stop class to have a battle of wills? Shrug and let it go? Send the student out of the room? Call the office? Call home later? This is different from a simple classroom management issue of focus, of trying to get the student attention directed at what they are supposed to do rather than what they are not. It's not simply a behavior thing--it's a moment in which you are trying to confiscate (not just put away) an object (a very expensive object) that they have in their possession.

Like so many other policies, this one dies the moment building administration says "Well, what do you want us to do about it?"

There is a huge amount of room, a Grand Canyon's amount, to argue about just how dangerous or destabilizing cellphones actually are for the mental health of young people. But I think you'd find general agreement that teaching would be a bit easier if students were not attached to their phones all day.

But cellphone bans run the risk of being one more of those moments when leaders say, "Well, we will solve this social issue by passing a law or policy and then just let teachers take care of it." Done poorly, it's one more unfunded mandate for education, except instead of sucking up money, it will suck up time and attention. 

Can it be done? Sure. Should it be done? I say yes. By all means, pass the policies/laws/rules/edicts. Just stick around long enough to help the people who are going to have to implement. It's a benefit to teachers to have cellphone restrictions as an institutional policy instead of their own personal preference ("This is not just my rule; this is the school's rule"), but only if the institution caries the weight of making the policy. Otherwise it's just one more damn thing that teachers have to take care of.