The West Ada School District is considering implementing a no-cell phone policy in classrooms. The idea was created by David Binetti, Trustee of the West Ada School District. Binetti detailed what he hopes to accomplish with this ban and what he considers to be the drawbacks of cell phones in the classroom.
Binetti believes cell phones are one of the “biggest distractions that there is” and that a cell phone ban will ensure that the West Ada School District continues to rank number one in both reading and math in Idaho.
Binetti addressed the concern that if a ban is implemented, students won’t have the opportunity to self-regulate their relationship with technology.
“I think [students] will have plenty of opportunity for self-regulation outside of the classroom, there’ll be no shortage of that,” Binetti said. “Let’s be clear, the app designers and developers designed their applications to be addictive, that is a feature, not a bug.”
Binetti went on to explain that while cell phones can be a valuable tool, they also pull focus from learning in a classroom space.
“To a certain degree, when you have really brilliant minds, who are putting all of their effort and energy and billions of dollars of investment, to creating a product that is impossible to resist, it’s not terribly surprising when the targets have kind of a difficult time resisting…” Binetti said. “Cell phones are not going away and they do wonderful, valuable things. It’s just something that’s not appropriate for a learning environment where the attention really needs to be focused on the goal of education.”
Another major concern for the ban has come from parents who worry about not having access to their children at all times. Binetti explained that they could simply call the school and someone would pass along the information.
“They can call the school like people have been able to call schools for 50 years,” Binetti said. “If it’s not an emergency then it might need to wait until the class period is over — and the teachers and administrators have good judgment on that.”
Binetti explained that there are exceptions to this ban including Individual Education Plans, medical exemptions or if a teacher believes students should have access to their phones for a given activity.
As the judgment of instructors and administrators seems to be at the forefront of this ban, assistant principal of Owyhee High School Melissa Hampton shared her thoughts on a cell phone-free classroom.
“I think there are absolutely times that cell phones can be a valuable tool in a classroom, there’s just a slippery slope there between using it for Kahoots, which is a perfect example, or before everybody had a one-to-one device and they could do research on their phones,” Hampton said. “Having the one-to-one devices is extremely helpful, except for the kids who kind of get lost trying to get on Minecraft, so teachers have safeguards so to speak to eliminate those distractions it can be a super valuable thing … but [phones] can also be extremely detrimental in the classroom and we’re already really doing this [implementing cell phone free classrooms] at Owyhee — it’s not going to be anything new for us.”
Hampton feels that the word “ban” doesn’t illustrate the fact that cell phones can be used if regulated by an instructor or administrator.
“I really hate to say it’s ‘banned,’ it sounds a lot more black and white than it actually is,” Hampton said. “If I walk in and I see someone doing a Kahoot, I know they’re all going to have their phones and that’s okay. When it becomes a problem is when it’s replacing what they’re supposed to be doing or they’re completely checked out, they’re not hearing classroom discussions.”
Hampton shared that most of the student responses she has received have been positive.
“I actually had a senior come up to me and say, ‘Gosh, you know … I hated this, but I’m actually learning a lot more now,’” Hampton said. “And coming from a senior kid that means more than anything I could say.”
Kiana Mohammadi — an incoming senior at Capitol High School — shared her experience with technology in the classroom throughout her academic career, as well as what she believes are the benefits and drawbacks of the cell phone ban.
Mohammadi noted the convenience of cell phones for classroom activities such as Kahoot and as far as designated cell phone use goes, Mohammadi has not witnessed students taking advantage of the privilege.
However, during moments of downtime, Mohammadi said she has seen her classmates go on social media while in the classroom.
“I think people would find ways to still use them,” Mohammadi said. “I don’t know how effective a ban is going to be.”
For students who struggle with self-discipline regarding technology, Mohammadi believes the ban may alleviate some of that pressure.
“…I think maybe it could help a student if they’re so addicted to their phone, they can’t take their eyes off it,” Mohammadi said. “To just have that [policy] you’re gonna get in trouble if you don’t put it away, that’s gonna help them be more disconnected to their phone.”
The no-cell phone policy has not been officially implemented in the West Ada school district.
