Cellphones don't belong in classrooms

The buzz of a text message or Instagram mention is hard for anyone to ignore. And for students in a classroom, cellphones are omnipresent, whether in a backpack, or on a lap or desk. Their use has become the modern equivalent of students passing a note about lunch plans, a joke about the teacher, or the answer to a test question. They divert students' eyes and minds from what is taught, from being fully present in the room to absorb all they can. 

The effect on learning and classroom management is troublesome. Worse, there's clear evidence that cellphones contribute to children's deteriorating mental health, to the loneliness they feel and social difficulties they experience. Getting them off their cellphones, even for a few hours during the school day, can only help.

Inappropriate use of cellphones in classrooms is not a new issue. But it has worsened in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when students depended on their phones as the only way they could communicate with friends. That has made every teacher's job more difficult as they're looking out onto a sea of screens. And it becomes even trickier in the age of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence options, where students can use their phones to provide more complex responses to teacher inquiries or in-class assignments.

According to a recent Newsday analysis, policies regarding cellphone use are up to each individual school district and enforcement is up to each individual teacher. While it's difficult to come up with a universal policy, school administrators and educators should collaborate on strategies to reduce in-classroom cellphone use. Newsday found that some school districts across Long Island have begun developing cellphone policies. Shelter Island, for instance, is considering banning the devices for grades 6-12. Sag Harbor is looking into locked bags for the phones.

Those are good ideas. Schools across the region could benefit from using locked boxes, baskets or pouches during lectures, labs and other classroom work. The phones could be returned to students when they're doing work that requires their use. It would be wise for teachers to behave similarly, putting their phones away while their students are working.

Already, some concerts and Broadway shows require locking systems. Somehow, everyone adapts. To address parental concerns, schools can provide ways for adults to contact the school if necessary, just as they did before cellphones existed.

Realistically, it's impossible to fully disconnect kids from their cellphones. There's no doubt that the moment the bell rings, they'll be anxious to get their phones back. But if more schools can put cellphone use on pause during the school day, our students can spend less time scrolling and more time learning.