Cellphones made students into zombies. Missouri’s ban is already working | Opinion
I have been a teacher in Kansas City Public Schools for the past 39 years. Many changes have occurred in education and society during this time. Some of those shifts have been positive, and some have been negative.
Banning students from using their cellphones during the school day has been an overwhelming good. Kansas City Public Schools did an outstanding job of communicating the new Missouri law to parents in their own language. Most students (surprisingly) have been compliant. Only a few issues have occurred at our school with students being on their phones during the day.
As cellphones became more prominent, I noticed what zombies our students became. They stopped talking to one another. They stopped looking people in the eyes, and their critical thinking was impaired. Violence became the substitute for problem-solving. They were literally walking into one another because they were looking down at their phones.
Most of all, no one had the focus and attention long enough to retain new knowledge. Research suggests smartphone usage has an adverse effect on brain function — and this even occurs in adults. Young people are suffering from sleep deprivation because so many of them are allowed to have their phones at night. (Parents, please take them away at bedtime.)
And every notification from their phones wakes our students up. Middle school students need eight or more hours of uninterrupted sleep every night.
Research studies indicate that smartphone use among young people, especially those under 13, can lead to an increase in anxiety, psychological issues and low self-worth. Many prominent tech gurus in Silicon Valley restrict their own kids’ use of cellphones — some until the age of 16 — because they understand the damage they can cause to young brains.
Limiting cellphones in Kansas City Public Schools has been great. Students’ focus is improving. They are reading books again. They are talking to one another. What was once a battle to get students’ attention is no longer a fight. Now, if we could get parents to limit phone usage at home and not allow children to sleep with their phones.
Thank you, Jefferson City, for having the gumption to make this research-based decision. In general, our schools are much better places without cellphones.
Paula York is a librarian at Northeast Middle School in Kansas City.