Pa. lawmakers pushing bills to have students' cell phones locked away during school hours
Among lawmakers, recognition of the problem is bipartisan.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette link: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2024/05/06/pennsylvania-legislature-students-cell-phone-education/stories/202405030061
The concept embraced by both is having students put their phones in a locked container during the school day, and it would be unlocked when classes are over. Mr. Aument also plans to propose a pilot program in which some schools would get state money for “lockable phone bags” and data would be collected to track the program’s effectiveness.
But it’s not the logistics that may trigger an uproar. It’s the mere notion of school students being without access to their phones. A recent study published by the nonprofit Common Sense called getting a cell phone a “rite of passage” for children and adolescents. It found 97% of study participants used their phones for a median of 43 minutes during school hours. Social media use took up 32% of that time.
Mr. Aument cited the recent steep decline in the mental health in children. He pointed out that suicide rates for girls aged 10-14 increased 131% in a recent ten-year period.
Parents and teachers cannot monitor these children during the day and the students can't be trusted to monitor themselves. It makes sense to lock up the phones during class time, at least during the pilot study. If grades and other issues such as class participation and social behavior improve, then we have a win.
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Let's see what the results are before deciding whether to roll it out to the entire state. Yes there are safety issues, some schools have bullies and other behavior problems. But cellphones are definitely a source of distraction for many students. The teachers still have their cellphones to report problems, intruders, fights breaking out, etc.
If the pilot program (locking up the phones during class hours) shows that it's more problems than solutions, then OK try something else. But I don't think that's what they'll find.
Any time these kids can sneak something past their parents, it's a win. Teachers can't do their job while dealing with this kind of behavior. I completely sympathize.
It's the kids who have shown that they can't behave when a cellphone is available.
