NEW YORK (WABC) — As Governor Kathy Hochul considers banning cell phones in New York City schools, some districts across the country are looking for creative ways to get students’ attention back in class.
Educators say their tried-and-tested lesson plans are no longer enough to hold students’ attention as they suffer from mental health issues, shortened attention spans, lower attendance and poorer academic performance. At the heart of these challenges? Cellphone addiction.
Cell phone bans are becoming increasingly popular, but many say they are not enough. They argue for alternative suggestions: directing students outdoors or to extracurricular activities to fill the time they would otherwise spend alone online. And students need opportunities to talk about taboo topics without fear of being “logged out” on social media.
“To motivate students today, you have to be very, very creative,” says Wilbur Higgins, an English teacher at Dartmouth High School, where Isabella will be a sophomore in the fall.
Lock them up
Bags, lockers and containers for mobile phones are becoming increasingly popular and help enforce device bans.
John Nguyen, a chemistry teacher in California, invented a bag system because he was so bothered by bullying and cell phone fights during class, often without adult intervention. Many teachers are afraid to confront students who use cell phones during class, Nguyen says, and others have given up trying to tackle it.
At Nguyen’s school, students lock their phones in neoprene bags during class or even all day, and the bags can be opened with a teacher or principal’s magnetic key.
It doesn’t matter how dynamic the lessons are, says Nguyen, who teaches at Marina Valley High School and now sells the bags to other schools. “There’s nothing that can compete with the cell phone.”
Do something (different)
Some schools also lock away smartwatches and wireless headphones. But once the final school bell rings, the bags no longer work.
In Spokane, Washington, schools are increasing their extracurricular offerings to compete with after-school phone use.
The Engage IRL initiative launches this month and aims to give every student something to look forward to after school, whether it be sports, performing arts or a club.
“Isolating at home with a personal device for hours every day after school has become the norm,” said Superintendent Adam Swinyard.
Students can start clubs around interests such as board games and knitting or participate in neighborhood basketball leagues. Teachers will help students create a plan for how to get involved at back-to-school conferences, the district says.
“From 3 to 5:30 p.m., you’re in a club, you’re playing a sport, you’re participating in an activity,” rather than on the phone, Swinyard said. (The district has enacted a new ban on phones during class, but will allow them after school.)
At a time of high absenteeism rates, he also hopes the activities will be the extra push some students need to go to school. In a Gallup poll conducted last November, only 48% of middle and high school students said they felt motivated to go to school and only 52% felt they were doing something interesting every day. The poll was funded by the Walton Family Foundation, which also supports environmental journalism at AP.
Vivian Mead, a rising 12th grader from Spokane, said more extracurricular activities would help, but wouldn’t work for everyone. “There are definitely still some people who just want to be alone, listen to music, do their own thing, or be on the phone,” said Vivian, 17.
Her 15-year-old sister Alexandra said the morning counseling sessions have improved participation in the drama club that keeps the sisters busy. “It forces everyone to try something, even if they don’t want to join, and then maybe something will click,” she said.
Go out
Thirteen middle schools in the state of Maine took a similar approach, sending their students outdoors for a total of 35,000 hours during a select week in May.
It’s encouraging for students to connect with each other in nature, away from screens, said Tim Pearson, a physical education and health teacher whose students at Dedham School took part in the nationwide “Life Happens Outside” challenge.
Teachers adapted their classes to take place outdoors, and students socialized outside during lunch and recess. In the evening, about half of Dedham’s students camped out, inspired by a pizza party. Several students told Pearson they camped again after the challenge.
“Whether they had cell phones or not, they were lighting fires and setting up tents,” Pearson said. “They were doing things outside that obviously had nothing to do with social media or texting.”
Appeal to parents
Parents also need to change the cell phone culture in their families, say some teachers. At home, for example, Ohio teacher Aaron Taylor locks cell phones when his own children have friends over.
And when their children are at school, parents should not distract them with constant checking text messages throughout the day, he said.
“Students are so tied to their families,” says Taylor, who teaches at Westerville North High School near Columbus. “There’s this fear of not being able to contact them, instead of enjoying the freedom of being alone or with friends for eight hours.”
Fight the fear of being “canceled”
Some say that cell phones only exacerbate other causes of youth lack of engagement. The divisive political climate often means students don’t want to participate in class when everything they say can be broadcast across the school on a messaging app.
Taylor’s high school English students tell him they don’t speak in class because they don’t want to be “canceled” – a term used for public figures who are silenced or boycotted for expressing offensive opinions or speech.
“I thought to myself, ‘Well, who’s telling you what? And why would you be canceled? We’re talking about The Great Gatsby,'” not some controversial political issue, he said.
Students become “very, very quiet” when novels address topics such as sexuality, gender or politics, says Higgins, the English teacher from Massachusetts. “Eight years ago, hands went up everywhere. No one wants to be pushed in a certain direction or ridiculed or called out for their politics anymore.”
That’s why Higgins uses websites like Parlay, which allow students to have anonymous online discussions. The services are expensive, but Higgins believes the classroom engagement is worth it.
“I can see who they are when they answer questions and things like that, but other students can’t see that,” Higgins said. “That can be very, very powerful.”
Isabella, Higgins’ student, was alarmed by the lack of participation of her classmates and wrote an op-ed for the school newspaper.
“It is up to us to prevent future generations from falling into this downward cycle,” she wrote.
A comment on the post highlighted the challenge and the risks involved.
“All in all,” the commentator wrote, “why should we care?”
This report uses information from the Associated Press.
MORE: Hochul brings a listening tour to Yonkers on the smartphone ban in schools
CeFaan Kim has details on Governor Hochul’s statewide wiretapping initiative as she travels to Yonkers.
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