AKRON, Ohio — Perhaps you’re reading this on your phone right now. More than likely, it’s at least within arm’s reach. In an increasingly connected world, schools are tasked with keeping students focused on their studies. Growing distractions, bullying and safety concerns are fueling a debate about whether cell phones have a place in school.
“You have the social media, then there’s obviously the texting and the videos and even the way you’re able to share information with airdrop and things like that,” said John Hafford, II.
The Akron father is preparing to send his three children and one godson back to Akron Public Schools. This year, a new policy in the district will require all secondary students to keep their cell phones in magnetically locking “Yondr” bags.
“Extreme situations call for extreme measures, right? I think the cell phone use, as a district, had gotten to be such a huge concern for staff and even for some of the students, to be honest with you. I think that’s the decision that was made,” Hafford said.
He also teaches 6th grade English Language Arts at one of the APS schools that piloted the Yondr program at the end of last school year. He said it garnered results in limiting distractions and encouraging real-life interactions.
“There was a girl who had been sitting with another group of girls for weeks, maybe months,” Hafford recalled. “And when she didn’t have her phone, she said, ‘What am I supposed to do?’ And I said, ‘Well, talk to the people at your table.’ And she was like, ‘I don’t know them.’”
Akron’s approach is on one end of the spectrum of steps that schools are taking to ensure students are using their phones responsibly.
“We would love to say, ‘No cell phones, period.’ But the reality is… in the cafeteria (we have) 400 students and hallways as people are passing through during class changes, it’s very difficult to patrol,” said Charles Smialek, the superintendent of Parma City Schools.
The district and many other schools have found a middle ground in their cell phone policies. Students are allowed to use their phones in the lunchroom and between classes but must silence and stow them away.
“They’re learning,” said Gerry Rardin, the assistant vice principal of discipline and safety at Walsh Jesuit High School. “There’s times where it’s fully acceptable, and there’s times when you better curtail that natural desire to take that phone out and look because it’s flat-out rude or disrespectful or what have you.”
Private, all-girls school Our Lady of the Elms in Akron is taking the learning opportunity a step further by having all students participate in a “Virtues, Values and Etiquette” course. The school will roll out a full-year lesson plan for the first time, teaching students about proper cell phone use and general etiquette, ranging from phone call decorum to dining in a professional setting.
“Everything is a teachable moment, and I think cell phones are one of them,” said Kevin Kelly, the school’s Academic Dean. “I think it’s a maturity. I think instead of looking at it short-sighted by saying, ‘Hey, I’m shooting a video; I’m trying to locate my friends.’ They’re able to utilize this stuff - whether that’s educationally or whether that’s actually learning when it’s appropriate and when it’s not.”
Most educators and parents agree cell phones are here to stay, and they expect the rules to regulate them will evolve with the technology itself.
“The goal is to have the students in a situation where not only do they feel safe - mentally, physically and socially and all those things – but also have the ability to focus on what they’re there for,” Hafford said.
