Dear Anxious Teacher

I’m from the 90s and early 2000s—the birth of the dumb phone. Remember Nextel’s and Nokia’s? Yeah, me too! Fast forward to this new generation of heavily addicted teens who bring devices to school and spend upwards of 4-5 hours on average of screen time. Shockingly, a kid last year told me she averages 10 hours a day—I didn’t believe it until she showed me her phone. Yikes!

A few years ago, phones would really stress me out because of inappropriate videos and images being airdropped or shared. How is that educational? Who can focus nowadays, anyway? Students today will defend and assert they need to text their mom or family members, when in reality, it’s just a fib to text friends and go further down the “rabbit of hole” of distraction and addiction. Whose problem is this now? Do we blame the school or the teacher? Do we blame the tech companies who employ neuroscientists and engineers who purposely target our dopamine receptors? It’s like trying to avoid the calling of that brownie that is yearning to be eaten. Is it the parent’s fault? Should we still allow smartphones in school? Do the benefits outweigh the cons? Students should not bring phones into the classroom. Now that probably doesn’t help if students may bring devices to your class. Technology, in my life, is too much. My Google Classroom, this blog, countless emails, podcasts, Chrome, Safari, and more are just way too much. Brownies anyone?

This problem is not a teacher problem per se, but a bigger problem for your district to solve where you work. We have enough to do in the classroom and fighting this uphill battle is a monster in of itself. Schools should have a phone policy, and from the school policy, you decide your stance and class procedures. If the school prohibits phones, it solves your problem. If your district has a mixed policy, then you will have to create a procedure for handling this in the classroom. When I start my class, I tell students to put their phones and earbuds away. Should students persist in using their phones, I will record the infraction, lower their grade, and perhaps confiscate their phone for the duration of the class. If the student easily hands over their phone, I don’t make a big deal about it and just place it on my desk. If the student becomes defiant and disrespectful, I go to administration about it. Handle this situation with a matter-of-fact attitude and enforce your established consequences.

Phones are terrible additions to the classroom. I get the security and safety piece, but procedures and limitations need to be in place before students take their phones out in your class. The first day of school is the best day to teach your procedures and rules. If you address this issue strongly and hard in the beginning, it will make the rest of the year easier. The first time you take a student’s phone to the office will impart a draconian message to the rest of your students that you mean business!

Feel out the vibe of your school. Talk to fellow teachers about their procedures. Do what makes you feel comfortable. If you are a proponent of phones, maybe you can create guidelines such as 1) Students must pass your class to use their phones 2) Set up a day of the week, like Friday, where students can listen to music and work on an assignment 3) Create games that support phone use 4) Allow phones only when all assignments are completed. Still, this causes a lot of monitoring and oversight. How can we manage all of this when we have upwards of 35 students in a class with smartphones?

To sum it up quickly:

1. Once students arrive in class and settle into their desks (after the bell), tell them to place phones and earbuds away. Say it calmly, without anger.

2. If students continue to play on their phones, give them a verbal warning. The next time I see you on this phone, you’re going to lose points on your participation or the assignment. If I catch you on the phone again, I’ll confiscate it. If the student escalates the situation or becomes disrespectful, take the phone to administration for maybe a parent pickup.

3. Follow-through with what you said above.

Sorry for my negative bias on phones. Yes, I admit it’s way too addictive. My students come to my class with Chromebooks, so why have another piece of technology? Hey—I’m all for dumb phones for students. I think the distraction hurts any phone positives, besides a security pro, but schools should have all these safety procedures in place, anyway. Stay positive and remember, some things are out of your control. Administration needs to establish guidelines and boundaries, and if they don’t, you do the best you can in your class. This is an uphill battle we all experience. Sigh... *Ring Ring*