Learning requires focus; cell phones destroy focus.
School cell phone bans and student achievement
111–120 of 221 posts
Re: School cell phone bans and student achievement
#112Some very important context that the researchers don't mention: during the same period that they are claiming test scores improved because of phone bans, Florida changed the way they administer standardised tests. Starting in 2024, they switched from doing one end-of-year assessment and started administering more frequent tests throughout the year in order to better gauge a student's progress and provide a tighter fe…
This is also very closely following the pandemic. I'd imagine that massively pollutes their data. I didn't see a comparison to comparable districts that didn't implement a ban.
Just from anecdata of my own kids, enforcement is nearly impossible. Phones are banned citywide as of this year but it sounds like they are still being used pretty openly.
Re: School cell phone bans and student achievement
#113If phones were totally banned for kids, where would the kid get to know the world? TVs? Newspapers? Magazines? Well those are on-way, with limited feedbacks. What's the better alternative except phones?
For those of us who grew up before 2000, we somehow managed. I think younger people today will as well.
Also it's important to note the topic is during school hours. There's a wealth of knowledge to learn at school, and there's also a wealth to learn outside of school. Knowledge about the world can, and will, happen in both. Many hours outside of school to 'grow your knowledge' through your phone.
Re: School cell phone bans and student achievement
#114I'm not particularly old yet, in my mid-thirties, but I reacted like someone much older when I learned kids are allowed to carry around their phones all day at school. Back in my day (when we walked to school uphill both ways), we weren't allowed to carry around basic flip phones. They had to be in our locker and only used before or after school. When and why did it become acceptable for much more distracting and sti…
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Re: School cell phone bans and student achievement
#115Some very important context that the researchers don't mention: during the same period that they are claiming test scores improved because of phone bans, Florida changed the way they administer standardised tests. Starting in 2024, they switched from doing one end-of-year assessment and started administering more frequent tests throughout the year in order to better gauge a student's progress and provide a tighter fe…
This was controlled for in the study. I swear sometimes people only exist to look for flaws in studies they didn't read.
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Re: School cell phone bans and student achievement
#116The discussion here is so misdirected - It's not the device that's addictive or destructive, it's the exposure of young developing minds to endless, pointless advertising/sponsorship.
Ban advertising to children & youth and the device itself will be harmless
Re: School cell phone bans and student achievement
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was a classroom teacher from 1994-2019, so I watched the transition through the advent of phones until just before Covid. It's not as simple as it seems, for a few reasons. One, there's the very real pressure from parents to be able to contact their kids when they need to. In the US, regular school shootings have made this a complicated issue to navigate. Also, it requires much more consistency from school staff th…
If they need to contact their kids they can call the school to talk to them in the very rare case that is actually necessary. It was quite nice and refreshing to have the umbilical cut to your parents while you were at school in the past. You had to learn how to be on your own. If there is a school shooting, what is texting their kid going to do?
> what is texting their kid going to do?
Those parents don't realize it's going to get their kid shot when the kid is hiding and the gunman hears the ding or buzz of the notification.
Re: School cell phone bans and student achievement
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my first job out of university in the 80s, I spent all one night playing Knight Lore on the Spectrum with friends. I failed to get up the next morning. My boss drove across Leeds and to bang on the door to see if I was alright. I needed that job so I stopped playing computer games. In the 90s a later boss called me out for spending my days attached to the Slashdot firehose. I had sort-of known that it was a wastef…
> I feel that most kids with a supportive backgrounds will tame this beast for themselves eventually, so I hate to make hard "no phones" rules. I would rather they come to terms with this addiction for themselves That approach doesn’t work so well for people with drug and alcohol addictions/dependancies. What makes you think this is different?
Because it is proven that phone usage is not an addiction like drugs or alcohol. People put phones away easily if they have a reason to do so.
Re: School cell phone bans and student achievement
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I feel that most kids with a supportive backgrounds will tame this beast for themselves eventually, so I hate to make hard "no phones" rules. I would rather they come to terms with this addiction for themselves That approach doesn’t work so well for people with drug and alcohol addictions/dependancies. What makes you think this is different?
Because it is proven that phone usage is not an addiction like drugs or alcohol. People put phones away easily if they have a reason to do so.
I have no idea what you are talking about. It walks and quacks exactly like drugs and alcohol.
Thousands of deaths every year are caused by drivers on cell phones. You'd think they'd have a reason to put them away.
Re: School cell phone bans and student achievement
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my first job out of university in the 80s, I spent all one night playing Knight Lore on the Spectrum with friends. I failed to get up the next morning. My boss drove across Leeds and to bang on the door to see if I was alright. I needed that job so I stopped playing computer games. In the 90s a later boss called me out for spending my days attached to the Slashdot firehose. I had sort-of known that it was a wastef…
> I feel that most kids with a supportive backgrounds will tame this beast for themselves eventually, so I hate to make hard "no phones" rules. I would rather they come to terms with this addiction for themselves That approach doesn’t work so well for people with drug and alcohol addictions/dependancies. What makes you think this is different?
I don't have time to search for a credible source, but it is claimed addicts often seek treatment after hitting "rock bottom".
There's obvious reasons why it's not encouraged to wait that long though.