Summary
Florida’s Broward County Public Schools, one of the nation’s largest districts, implemented a cellphone ban across the school day, sparking debate among students, parents, and teachers. The ban affects over 200,000 students.
Proponents, including board member Lori Alhadeff, a Parkland victim’s mother, argue the ban improves focus and safety.
Critics of the ban raise safety concerns, particularly in light of the 2018 Parkland shooting, where cellphones played an important role in communication.
Kids are getting an unhealthy amount of screen time. An unbelievable number of parents are not doing anything about it at home (well, maybe it’s believable; they’re addicted, too). Phones are becoming increasingly more addictive year by year as marketers learn new tricks to capture brain time.
Kids brains are still developing and social interaction plays an important role. As the teacher says in the article, phone bans result in more face to face student interactions and less work avoidance. Many schools that are implementing bans lately also reference a study that demonstrated having a cell phone even in pocket or in reach distracted students thoughts (how many times have you checked time/notifications, then absent mindedly checked again within a minute?)
Safety wise, I don’t buy that kids having their phone in a school shooting situation would help anything. Every classroom has a phone, MOST of which these days have a built-in “lockdown” button that immediately signals police and triggers a school wide lockdown announcement. My bigger fear is how many will make their main character selfie blogs that we’ve seen come from bigger high schools during shootings or crying to their parents on the phone when really they need to be silent and not endangering everyone else. I get that parents want to know right now that their kids haven’t been shot, but that information doesn’t do anything to help the situation.
The only case where this gets iffy is when the building is evacuated and phones are left behind. This is especially problematic as people no longer know each other’s phone numbers and couldn’t simply borrow a phone to contact family.
In the end, the day to day is what really matters. I’m not a fan of the districts that hyper focus on safety structures when building community and a welcoming environment should be the focus of a school.
I mean, how are they gonna call 911 when the school gets attacked?
Using thoughts and prayers. /s
Omg, I totally forgot about Jesus. “Dear Jesus, tell your dad to stop trying to kill me, since everything is his will”
Concepts of thoughts and tariffs.
Am I the only one that thinks those two words are self canceling?
I assume this is like the cell phone “ban” we had in our school when I was a kid. Which is the phones should never be seen during normal day to day. If there’s an emergency then nobody is gonna tell you no.
Obviously kids are going to bring phones in anyways regardless of the ban.
I don’t know how they’re doing it in Florida. My kid’s high school enacted a new phone policy this fall. Every classroom has either one large plastic storage bin, or smaller ones at each group table. When the kids arrive in class, they put their phones in the bins and they don’t come out again until the end of class. Very simple, and from what I’ve heard from the teachers and students, reasonably effective. If there’s an emergency they can be quickly accessed. Meanwhile, the teachers are all reporting a lot more student-to-student interaction, better attention, and less disruptions.
I don’t get why this isn’t just what’s being done instead of confiscating stuff
Don’t take peoples personal stuff, just don’t allow them to be used during a class
Because Florida can’t do anything unless they get to piss people off.
That would be showing too much initiative. GOP types don’t like that. If the teacher can’t call 911, the kids should really just lay down and accept their fate.
Just four years ago:
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who is of the opinion that old people, ie those most at risk, should volunteer to die to save the economy.
But what if the shooter is trans? CHECKMATE!!!
Hi. Am from Florida. Also a senior in HS.
Its Literally 0 difference. Its not enforced. Hell probably a third of my Lemmy comments have been on my phone at school.
Literally last week I took 14 photos. btw here’s how someone with vision issues does geometry homework:
Oh and the ‘sleeves’ are up to the teachers. Some had them before the legal ban but they’re hardly used unless kids act up.
They not only do nothing about school shootings, but give the shooter the advantage
Sounds like the phone stay in the classroom so they can access them if needed. I’m in favor of this. The amount of screen time kids are getting is wildly unhealthy.
At this point they are really copying Hungary, fidesz and orbán. They copied our stupid propaganda about transition surgeries in schools, and a bunch of other stuff and now they are even copying the stupid laws we have. As i said before you gotta give credit where credits due lol. Idk who built the fence first tho
