Why banning cell phones in schools is not the right call.

When I started seventh grade, my high school banned all cell phones. This was in 2019, right before the Covid pandemic, and the school administration was tired of dealing with teenage TikTokers. It didn’t matter if we brought a flip phone or the latest iPhone – we locked them all in the teacher’s locker at the start of the school day.

We were shocked: in the previous year, our phones were often included in the lesson plan. The teachers told us to take out our phones to look it up or fill out a Google form. We used it like a small computer – for quick tasks when school laptops weren’t available.

nationwide, states and school districts enacts laws and policies that restrict student use of smartphones. Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a national ban on smart devices in schools, and both Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks called for a ban over the summer. Days before she resigned on Oct. 7, Banks told FOX 5 New York that “now is not the time” to implement the ban, saying she had received pushback from parents who worried she would be contacted in an emergency. they can walk with their children.

In 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio lifted the city’s ban on cell phone use in public schools, calling it “a departure from modern parenting.” In practice, the ban led to “uneven enforcement” and penalized students “especially in schools with metal detectors in low-income communities.” press release at that time. “Parents should be able to call or text their kids,” de Blasio said.

Sure, previous generations of teenagers survived without tools and parents never worried, but they also didn’t grow up in a world where frequent school shootings were a reality. Now in my fourth and final year at Stuyvesant High, where our phones are still allowed, I’ve lived through several bomb scares—all hoaxes, but unsettling nonetheless, and evacuations have brought me home hours late. I was able to text my parents which kept them from worrying. Governor Hochul he argues that in an emergency “cell phone use” can distract students and put them in “harm.” But if we can’t guarantee safety in our own classrooms, what’s the wisdom in losing perhaps the only line of communication?

In a school of about 3,400 students, many don’t have time to come to school earlier and leave later, as we would have to do if the phones were collected. The Yondr pouches, which can be closed and opened by school staff at designated locations, are expensive and put an additional strain on already tight school budgets. These magnetic cases are among the cost $25 and $30 for all students. Although a pouch allows me to track my own device, not every school can afford it. In addition, the logistics of opening and closing the pouches for different scenarios such as after school activities or lunch is difficult.

For example, if a student had to leave early during a seventh-grade suspension, he had to find the teacher and disrupt class to get his phone back. Meanwhile, our parents, who bought us the phones so they could track our whereabouts (as many of us went to school unaccompanied for the first time), were upset because they turned off our devices from 8:30. a.m for 3 p.m.

Most importantly, we need phones, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a screen saver. In a school with a large population like mine, phones are used for everyday communication. My classmate and fellow senior Astrid Harrington lamented the logistical problems a ban could impose on competing teams: “Stuyvesant’s debate team uses Messenger to deliver messages throughout the day. The math team sends schedules to members via Discord and email. Last year I used email to spread the word about Spanish tutoring.” Waiting until the end of the day to provide information could mean missing out on a competition or a coveted tutoring session.

At my school, teachers also use phones as part of their lessons, both to enrich the learning experience through online educational games and to teach digital literacy. Almost every day, a teacher asks my class to take out our phones and search for information. While NYC DOE Safety Director Mark Rampersant has suggested that phones be allowed for educational purposes even with the ban, that inclusion seems like an afterthought and doesn’t take into account the flexible ways phones can be used in lesson plans.

Many teachers have a more nuanced view of the usefulness of cell phones. “My students can handle being told when to take out their devices and when not to,” says English teacher Kerry Garfinkel, who pointed out that it depends on the school and that a blanket ban “wouldn’t be a good idea.” He adds: “Using the phone in the classroom is part of the pedagogy.”