NO SERVICE New York State’s ban on phones in schools went into effect this year, but has it improved students’ attentiveness in class or has it simply removed a means of communication? dreamstime.com photo
The hang-up over hanging up phones
By Rachel Zuckerman | Manor Ink
Last year, as Manor Ink readers may recall, I wrote a little opinion piece on the proposed phone ban in New York State. Now, a year after of its passage, I will tell what has or hasn’t changed in school, and how it’s affecting us students.
The ban started with RCS students getting Yondr pouches at the beginning of the year. These are little pockets with locks that only open with a strong magnet (which, by the way, can harm the phone if the magnet accidentally touches it for a while – pretty weird design error for a phone pouch company). At the start of the school day, we were to lock the pouches with our phones inside and not open them until the end of the day with the magnets provided the teachers. That lasted for about a month or so.
“It makes you wonder, why are students using their phones to pass time instead of paying attention in class?”
Eventually, no one used the pouches at all. Here’s why I don’t. Why would I want to put my belongings in an unreachable place, unavailable in case of an emergency? Also, I don’t like the idea of not having my phone next to me, because I like communicating with my parents during the day. This is true for many other students, and is just something to keep in mind.
Also, I recently read an article in Education Week about the phone ban, not only in our state but in 36 others nationwide, that said it was enacted because phones are a distraction during class and are being overused by students. It makes you wonder, why are students using their phones to pass time instead of paying attention in class? Is it the students’ fault, or is the reason really the way classes are taught? Do students find paying attention in class harder because of the subject, or how it’s taught? Also, there’s the concern about cheating on tests or using translation for language classes. But why not just block the school’s wifi so certain websites can’t be reached, while still allowing phone communication to occur?
In my last op/ed on this subject, I noted that the state was going to use $13.5 million to enact this law. That still shocks me, because there are so many ways that money could be spent – like addressing the housing problem, or food insecurity, energy costs and more. It’s crazy to me how some things are seen as a priority over other things that actually matter much more. But what do you, my fellow readers, think about this? Let us know at divadnnad@yahoo.com.