Focusing in school can be hard. Having notifications tempting you to be on your phone is even harder. However, this school year, the Missouri Senate passed a bill that requires Missouri public schools to create policies to restrict and/or ban cellphone usage. Naturally, as students have had to adjust to this change, there are many mixed feelings.
Numerous students have negative opinions about this new act put in place. However, if we take a step back, you will see that there are many positives to this as well. In the bill, the wording is vague, and it seems to be intentional. Per the bill, the wording states that all public school districts must make a written policy that regards students’ possession and use of cellular devices during instructional time. This leaves the bill up for interpretation for the school to decide what works best for them, which allows for exceptions to be made by individual districts. These exceptions could include reasons like medical conditions and emergencies. So with this vagueness in the bill, the policy addresses people’s best interests.
In the US, 77% of public schools prohibit students from using cellphones during any class according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This is a major change in society and will naturally have effects on people due to the fact that in the past, cellphones have not been banned but even encouraged. In my personal experience as a student journalist, the transition period has been an adjustment. We used to use our phones to do interviews and transcribe the interviews. However, with the phone ban, we are having to use different technology and make a different class structure. Even with this, we were able to create a solution, and in the end are still benefiting from the restriction. I truly believe that other classes that require use of phones can find ways to work around it.
OHS students have expressed that not having phones helps them connect with one another. Instead of spending time scrolling, they have been talking more often. Many teachers at OHS also said that not having phones in the classroom has increased engagement, which in return arguably helps the students learn more actively. The NCES reported that 53% of school faculty believe that there is a negative impact on academics with the presence of cellphones, so this shows that there is a chance that the absence of phones could benefit academics. This is important because if they are learning more actively and connecting with one another, mental health may be overall improved. Sometimes, a break from your phone might not be what you want, but what you need.
High school generally causes a large amount of stress. Worrying about social media and the entire online world is unnecessary added tension on students’ shoulders. Focusing on academics while physically in class seems to be beneficial. Allowing for the restriction of cellphones would likely decrease cyberbullying drastically, which would help because according to the Pew Research Center, almost half of American teens from ages 13 to 17 had experienced at least one form of cyberbullying. Overall, it seems to be clear that going forward, students and faculty should be open minded throughout this trial period of banning phones.
Many students tend to complain that they are not able to be on there devices during lunch and passing period. While it is your own time and I believe you should have that freedom, talking face to face is never a bad thing.
In the end, being open to the idea of connecting to peers, learning actively and being more engaged may be beneficial. Give it a try, it might not be so bad. You could even be a fan of the ban.
