Earlier quoted context omitted.
With all respect saving an odd one out from boredom of solitude has to give way to saving the vast majority from being stuck to their phones all the time.
Is it common for most students to be on their phone all the time during recess (to not even socialize between themselves, even to show each other stuff on them), and in class? Is there a reason why the no-phone policy can't be scoped to the classroom only? And about me, it wasn't just solitude. It was also nothingness. There was a computer room but it was just used for IT class and locked when not in use for that pur…
Yes. The default state appears to be primary (maybe even sole) interaction via phone. That's not to say that they're not showing each other stuff, but it's phone-to-phone - as in, sending each other social media messages, not passing a physical device back and forth.
I'm not quite so exercised about it as most people seem to be - the historically universal assumption about "the youth" is that everything they do differently is terrible, which has not typically turned out to be the case. As a (former, for now) teacher, however, the distraction-potential for / from phones is extreme. That goes for in-class, out-of-class, at-home, everywhere. I'm in favor of banning them entirely in schools, and (as a parent, who's still a few years away from facing it with my kid) limiting access at home.
Personal anecdote: my time teaching middle-school kids coincided with the brief pre-smartphone era in which they taught themselves to T9 with perfect fluency, without looking at the screen. The first few times I saw that I was so flabbergasted I couldn't even get mad. I don't know the exact age-range of that group, but it was a very precise demographic slice. I still tip my cap to those of you who learned that trick.