Trying to remove phones from the classroom entirely is just reinforcing that phones are for entertainment. It is a tool and needs to be handled like a tool: we should be teaching responsible use, and limiting it from those who have proved they can’t be responsible on a per-case basis.
When students use their phones responsibly, they can be powerful learning aids. And I have zero issues calling out individual students who refuse to use them responsibly and treating their actions like any other misdemeanor.
Thank you for wording this so tactfully. So many people fail to realize that a large portion of cell phone use is as a tool. As someone who has grown up with a phone, most of my use has been as a tool. People like to say “kids these days never talk to each other, everyone is always on their phones!” but my experience has been the opposite. Having my phone gives me and my friends something to talk about. We can pull up the video we’re referencing in 10 seconds. We can look something up immediately if we aren’t sure of it. We can look for places to go eat or activities to go do. We can easily research current events and find out what the actual facts are, instead of just going “I heard x” without anything to back it up.
All of this stems from the way we were taught to use technology. Our technology use in classrooms for research taught us how to look things up, how to find reputable sources, when it’s appropriate to use our devices, and how to use them with others. Most schools (at least where I am) are now one-to-one, which means every student has a computer in every class. People are quick to ban phones, but then turn around and say computers are fine. This makes no sense to me. They can both be used in nearly identical ways. If we’re removing phones from classrooms, then we better remove the computers too. And then we’re going to have people complaining because “this generation doesn’t know how to use a computer!” Well, guess what, it’s because you said they shouldn’t have them in the classroom.
Secondary teacher here.
Trying to remove phones from the classroom entirely is just reinforcing that phones are for entertainment. It is a tool and needs to be handled like a tool: we should be teaching responsible use, and limiting it from those who have proved they can’t be responsible on a per-case basis.
When students use their phones responsibly, they can be powerful learning aids. And I have zero issues calling out individual students who refuse to use them responsibly and treating their actions like any other misdemeanor.
Thank you for wording this so tactfully. So many people fail to realize that a large portion of cell phone use is as a tool. As someone who has grown up with a phone, most of my use has been as a tool. People like to say “kids these days never talk to each other, everyone is always on their phones!” but my experience has been the opposite. Having my phone gives me and my friends something to talk about. We can pull up the video we’re referencing in 10 seconds. We can look something up immediately if we aren’t sure of it. We can look for places to go eat or activities to go do. We can easily research current events and find out what the actual facts are, instead of just going “I heard x” without anything to back it up.
All of this stems from the way we were taught to use technology. Our technology use in classrooms for research taught us how to look things up, how to find reputable sources, when it’s appropriate to use our devices, and how to use them with others. Most schools (at least where I am) are now one-to-one, which means every student has a computer in every class. People are quick to ban phones, but then turn around and say computers are fine. This makes no sense to me. They can both be used in nearly identical ways. If we’re removing phones from classrooms, then we better remove the computers too. And then we’re going to have people complaining because “this generation doesn’t know how to use a computer!” Well, guess what, it’s because you said they shouldn’t have them in the classroom.