On July 16, 2024, Bellevue Public Schools sent out a newsletter to students and parents about a new ‘Electronic Device Plan’. This new device plan has now been implanted into Bellevue East and other schools in the district. I think we should not have this phone policy because it involves the same effects as other electronic devices do, parents comfortability, it is also taking away headphones, teachers responsibility, and it is taking away the ability to have students earn independence and responsibility.
To begin with, cell phones have the same effect on students that our school issued iPads do. According to Clemson University, a leading public research institution, “students who use their phones, iPads, and computers in class make their academic performance worse.”
In addition, according to the National Library of Medicine, “Research indicates that heavy technology use is associated with lower academic performance among adolescents.” Now, in the newsletter, Bellevue Public Schools addressed this issue. However, they said cell phones instead of including the fact that multiple different devices including iPads and computers still have the same effect.
Electronic devices also pose a threat to students’ psychological and physical health. For example, according to Medical News Today, a web-based outlet for medical information and news, technology can cause isolation, depression/anxiety, eye strain, poor posture, sleep problems, reduced physical activity, and academic problems. While this may seem to advocate for the phone policy, it is also hypocritical. Bellevue Public Schools reasoning is they have “found there are numerous recent studies concluding that excessive cell phone use causes adverse mental health and social-emotional outcomes in addition to a lack of academic engagement.” It also concluded in research that similar defects happen with other electronics. So why do we have them? Why did they just take away phones?
We need some of these devices because most are the modern tools of learning and communication. What is also and can be used for education and communication is phones. For example we have things like Kahoot, GimKit, Blooket, Powerschool, Schoology and Goosechase. Many students on the media team have used their phones for voice memos to record interviews or to hold their questions. On the communication front, students use their phones to communicate with their peers and teachers via email or iMessage.
It is not just the students’ fault. To begin with, some teachers had their own policy, but some teachers did not, therefore those teachers should have implemented things before the phone policy was introduced to avoid this problem. It should also be on teachers to look out for and be direct and firm about phones. Some teachers from my experience don’t check nor pay any mind to students who have their phones out during instruction. Despite a teacher’s ultimate responsibility is helping students succeed. Students also follow the behavior of others. If they see a teacher, dean, or any other staff member go on their phone, what exactly do we expect the students to do? In other words, this is called the ‘behavioral cognition theory’ and it has been proven and seen in many adolescents. Students are also in a classroom for over an hour and the majority of the time involves staring, or using an electronic device.
Parents’ comfortability in this new district policy also plays a big factor on this matter. The National Parents’ Union, is an authentically parent-led organization that works to advocate for policies and initiatives that support families and promote educational equity. After creating a poll, the survey found that the majority of parents want their children to have access to their cell phones during the school day, with reasonable limits on when the devices can be used. The majority of parents do not want schools to lock up students’ phones and to see the value in connectivity for issues such as getting in touch in case of an emergency and to coordinate transportation to and from school. Schools are mostly concerned with social media and cyberbullying issues, but whether they do that in or out of school it will still have the same effect.
Personal headphones have also been taken away as a result of the phone policy. Many students assume it is because we have the ability to connect them to our phones. Unfortunately, that is not something I understand. To begin with, the headphones are poor quality. I enjoy listening to music through my personal headphones because they are better quality and what difference does it make if we are listening to it through our iPads or our headphones? The only obvious difference is that we are spending money that should/could be used to improve our school. According to Encore Data Products, a privately held American supplier of audio accessories. Studies have shown that music can improve cognitive performance, increase motivation and concentration, and reduce stress and anxiety.
This policy is also not allowing students to build independence and responsibility with their teachers involving their phones. Highschool introduces a whole new concept of responsibility. Being allowed to use our cell phones during passing periods hardly involves any time to do something other than school work. Before the phone policy, we also had the tardy policy and using the bathroom and traveling in between passing periods takes most of our five minutes. School staff members express multiple times how they want students to be responsible and get to class on time; hence the tardy policy. There is no room for students to use their phone as an outlet. Independence is also a big issue in taking away phones.
According to Newport Academy, the nation’s leading teen treatment & recovery center, striving for independence is an essential part of human development. Taking away phones is not allowing students to practice independence, it is actually taking it away.
According to the newsletter, the reason for the new cell phone policy was to “ensure a positive, supportive and disruption-free learning environment.” A positive and supportive environment is not what students are seeing in this ban. I think support would include students and parents before making this decision would have been a better way to go about this. I think a supportive environment would be allowing students to play their own music through their own personal headphones. I think we can make the school a positive environment by using the money we have spent on headphones on things to improve our school like better decor or better food. Not to mention many students disagree with the extent of the phone ban.
On November, 30, 2023, the New York Times, an American Daily newspaper, Students from all different schools stated the fact that they disagree with the phone policy, but they accept responsibility for the negative effects that it has. Therefore I think we should acknowledge and make movements about including all opinions of the people being directly affected.
I think solutions to this problem would be having individual strict policies in classrooms that would work out for students. For example calculator holders or phone pockets. During class instruction, students could have the option to keep them out of sight and after instruction, students can be on their phone. Teachers can implement their own strict guidelines. At the end of the day students will do what they want to do and majority of the time will find a way around the rules. Laying off this will allow students to feel more comfortable in their own learning environment.
