United States | News & Politics

I’m a teaching assistant at an elementary school where phones are banned until the final bell rings. The kids are completely used to it now, and as a result, they pay much more attention in class. The middle school nearby recently adopted the same policy, and while there was a lot of drama at first, people have adapted, and things are running more smoothly. Since the current elementary students are already familiar with the no-phone rule, I expect that when they move up to middle school, they’ll adjust easily.

In a few years, this policy will likely be widely accepted, but it probably won’t feel totally smooth until these students reach high school.

I've seen this again and again, but haven't cell phones been banned in classrooms for as long as there have been (mainstream affordable) phones?

I have lots of memories of "blind texting" on a T9 because I had to hide it from the teacher lol.

Also, I generally support bans in the classroom, but just let them have their phones during lunch, there's no instruction during lunch ffs

I think the old etiquette rules are the same as they were when our grandparents were in school.

Making a phone call during class is extremely rude, but students have a legitimate need to make phone calls outside of class, which is why high schools used to have pay phones.

That wont work. Kids are not going to stop using their phone if they have it on them. They need to remove nearly all the screens from the classroom and let these kids learn how to pay attention. Its even worse for those of us who have executive dysfunctions.

Phones are the way a lot of students learn and focus nowadays.

They shouldn't be taken away, lest their ability to do those things drop.

This is the rule at my kids school. It looks fine on paper, but in practice there is no respect for sometimes rules for many adoledcents.