Any teacher knows that cellphones interfere with education. The first rule of learning is to watch and listen to someone who knows more about the subject. The child who isn’t paying attention learns nothing.
Of course, there are many ways to ignore teachers besides using cellphones. Pondering the upcoming lunch break, daydreaming, or even gazing out of the window are all potent distractions. However, the cellphone increases the possibilities immensely.
A Dilemma Facing Teachers and Parents
For generations, teachers have practiced methods that relieve boredom—varying vocal pitch and speed, using visual materials and occasional attempts at humor. None of these tools works all the time, but each increases student retention when used skillfully.
However, even the most proficient teacher is largely powerless when struggling against a device with almost unlimited entertainment power. Even students who want to pay attention will be distracted by the device’s vibration in their pockets. Only those with nearly superhuman powers of concentration won’t wonder who sent that message and what they want to say.
In many respects, parents are struggling with the same issues that teachers face. Although Education Week wrote these suggestions with schools and students in mind, most would also apply to home and homeschool situations.
Ignoring Cellphones is Not a Realistic Option
The instinctual reaction to cellphone intrusion is to forbid them. That has proven to be impossible for any number of reasons. Even if some children’s parents don’t allow their children to own a cellphone, they will see—and probably use—devices owned by their friends. These devices are useful, entertaining and, therefore, popular. Even those teachers who are dead-set against cellphones in class often carry one.
Therefore, an outright prohibition is all but impossible. The only option is to take practical steps to eliminate, or at least diminish, their harmful effects.
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On this front, Education Week’s “How to Address the Cellphone Problem: Tips from Teens” is a valuable tool. It contains six suggestions for teachers and administrators dealing with this insoluble problem.
Acknowledge that the cellphone is an integral part of modern life. Much as many wish it were otherwise, the cellphone has become a fixture in many lives. Like all tools, it serves legitimate functions. Social media is a popular target amongst conservatives, but many use it to stay in contact with old friends and relatives that they would not see or talk with otherwise. Likewise, many people use online videos to learn how to make home and auto repairs or to explore new hobbies.
When adults recognize the changes caused by the widespread use of cellphones, they need to help students navigate this unexplored territory successfully.
Communicate clear expectations at the beginning of the school year. While modern society scoffs at limits, everyone works better when they know the rules. Even unpopular rules are more effective when they appear reasonable and are enforced fairly. The same thing is true in the home, and sooner is far better than later.
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Explicit lessons in “cellphone etiquette.” Distractions and cellphones travel together. However, simple instructions for responsible cellphone use can diminish the effects. In many young minds, the machine’s demands are imperative. Simply teaching the kids to ask the teacher’s permission before pulling out their phones can help children understand that the device is not their master.
For instance, suggest that the children tell the teacher if they anticipate receiving an important message. Suppose that Jimmy arrives at school. He tells the teacher that his mom went to the hospital emergency room. Before Jimmy left for school, his dad promised to tell Jimmy how things were going. Under such circumstances, allowing Jimmy to have his phone on his desk is appropriate. His worry will distract him, but that is inescapable. On the other hand, being able to see the phone may give him a mechanism to cope with his legitimate fears. Indeed, explaining to the other students why Jimmy gets this privilege today can help the entire class understand that the phone is their tool, not their commander.
Teach “digital citizenship.” Cellphones give children and adolescents power far beyond that which their parents or grandparents had at the same points in their lives. Responsible use of technology extends far beyond the classroom. Like any tool, cellphones can promote creativity, enhance the quality of life, or do serious mental and moral damage. While these differences may seem obvious to adults, they are often hidden to children whose consciences are still developing.
Teachers and parents should help students understand the harms that lurk on the Internet and give the young ones strategies to avoid those harms. This task requires considerable care. Fortunately, a good deal of information about “Internet Safety” is available. Most schools install filtering software to prevent the worst images from getting through. Parents might consider a similar investment.
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Another vital lesson is that everything that gets posted online is permanent. A photograph or an unguarded comment may appear humorous to twelve-year-olds but do severe damage to the individuals who post it and others in later life. They need guides to help them avoid such situations because there is often no way to retract the information once it is out there.
Try a phone fast. A “phone fast” is a short-term break from phone usage. During this time, all members of the school community, including all faculty and staff, are instructed to turn their phones off—not just to “silent.” Placing the devices in another location facilitates the process.
While this might appear similar to prohibiting the devices altogether, three critical differences exist. First, the “fast’s” duration is some specific period. Second, the fact that everyone in the school participates builds a sense of camaraderie. Third, and perhaps most importantly, there are benefits to disconnecting briefly from the machine that influences too many aspects of daily life. Students learn that it is not necessary to be ceaselessly plugged into the outside world and its pressures. Think of it as a kind of “nap time” for the post-kindergarten set.
Provide phone-free after-school activities. For many people—both adults and children—cellphone use is often a substitute for boredom. Most student-athletes willingly abandon their phones when engaged in the game. The activity of the moment consumes all their attention. This sense need not be limited to physical activity. Craft projects, choirs, and even such low-technology pursuits as “tournaments” in games like checkers, tic-tac-toe and hangman provide opportunities to set the phones aside and focus on interactions with those in the real world.
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No one pretends that six simple rules can end all of the problems associated with cellphone use in modern society. However, confronting these issues is far better than pretending that anyone can “uninvent” the devices.
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