Brylee Bodnar walks into class, silences her phone, and turns left to put her phone in her assigned pouch, #1, hanging on the wall. On average, a teenager checks their phone 80 times a day (New York Post). With today’s ever-growing popularity in technology, it can be hard to find cell phones’ role in classrooms. Some schools in the area, such as Jeannette, Penn Hills, and Mount Lebanon, have started cracking down on cell phones. Some have started using phone pouches. Upon entering the phone-free zone, the students will place their phones inside a pouch which is then closed
and automatically locked. They maintain possession of the phones as at all times. If a student needs access to it, they can step out of the phone-less zone and tap the pouch on an unlocking base. Teachers have mixed opinions on cell phones’ roles and usage in school. At Greater Latrobe School District, the faculty is trying to find a happy medium on phone usage.
Mr. Duda, an English teacher for Seniors, feels very strongly that phones do not belong in the classroom. This is his first year collecting phones, but he talks about how he has wanted to do this for a while. “A lot of the readings I have done about social media with teenagers, preteens, and even anyone under 30 indicates its deleterious effect on our collective mental health and attention span,” said Duda.
He talks about some of the research he has done which shows that just phones being in the students’ proximity affects their attention span. Having the phone pouch hang beside the door, he keeps a distance between the students and phones so it’s easier to forget about the devices. This assists his students not to have so much of an attachment to them. Mr. Duda emphasizes that he feels the students are more present and in the moment. Often, in downtime, teens turn directly to their phones to cure their boredom. Without their phones being there, students turn and talk to one another instead.
“Most of the students realize that their phones are a problem,” he said. He knows that the students didn’t like the idea at first but he says that eventually they get used to it and don’t mind it. “I think rules and certain boundaries are good for students because it demonstrates that we care,” said Mr Duda. For the end of the school year, he wants to create a survey and see how it affected them and their performance in their class. Mr. Duda doesn’t think that taking phones away from school altogether isn’t the right move but there’s more of a need to teach people how to use it the right way.
In ceramics, a cell phone is used in almost every class to help the student with brainstorming or inspiration. The ceramics teacher, Mrs. Balko, holds the view that cellphone usage in class should be an “Aid and a resource.” She lets the students use their devices for reference pictures and to listen to music. She also emphasizes that music helps the students focus more. It can also aid the creative process while students flow and sculpt with their music.
Mrs. Balko doesn’t believe she needs to collect phones. She doesn’t see phones being a distraction in her classroom as most of the work is hands-on. She makes sure to set expectations at the start of the semester making sure they know it’s okay to be used as a resource. “I don’t feel like it causes a distraction to the whole class,” says Mrs. Balko. If a student gets lost in their phones she redirects them to stay back on track. She believes that phone usage in her class sparks creativity and pushes their limits to create more.
“Teachers are the judge and jury,” says Dr. Benning, the principal of Greater Latrobe High School. He is aware that cell phones can “enhance lessons” by using them as learning opportunities like Kahoot, for example. He thinks that students should “absolutely use it” as long as they are handling the phones in a “responsible manner.” He knows that the staff can plan accordingly if it doesn’t apply to the lesson.
Dr. Benning accepts that there needs to be a “healthy balance.” He elaborates on this by pointing out that this “healthy balance” isn’t necessarily a “percentage of time when students would have vs. when students would not have [a phone].” It is more along the lines of “How are we using it in a responsible manner?” Using technology can go both ways for staff and students within the building. According to Dr. Benning, staff should be thinking about how they can use technology to relate and enhance their lessons, and students need to make sure they are using it from a “growth and learning standpoint.” He leaves cell phone policies up to the teachers and helps them by showing how technology can be an innovative resource in education.
Technology advances every day and impacts the classroom environment in many different ways. Cell phone usage isn’t one size fits all; it needs to be adapted to assist teachers in their curriculum. Teenagers need to become aware of how they get distracted by their cell phones, and whether they are using them appropriately.
