Summary
Several states, including Alabama, Maryland, and New Hampshire, are introducing legislation to ban or restrict cellphones in schools.
The measures claim to reduce distractions and address concerns over teen mental health linked to heavy social media use.
Proponents argue such bans help students focus, but opponents, including parents, warn of safety and communication issues.
“If something were to happen in the school, my child should be able to have their cellphone to be able to call for help, to be able to call me,” said parent Jeara Underwood.
Experts emphasize teaching responsible tech use rather than imposing broad bans.
This. Discipline the student for having it out during an inappropriate time. Not punish the group. Is that so hard?
I’d say yes. Teachers have very limited ways to deal with students. There’s no harm in banning phones during school hours, in fact, you could argue that it’s beneficial to the mental development of children to reduce phone times.
When school staffing has one teacher per forty or so students? Yeah.
That said, I still think these measures are stupid and punishing the group for society’s failure to fund and staff our schools appropriately, but I can understand why teachers often support them.