Opinion
Classroom Technology Letter to the Editor

Personal Electronics Should Be Banned From Schools

January 05, 2016 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

With the recent arrest of a student because she did not put her cellphone away fast enough in South Carolina, the conversation about electronics in the classroom is growing.

There really is a very simple, common-sense solution to the use of electronic communication by school students during school: Ban it.

I was a teacher years ago, before such phones existed, and frankly I could not imagine them in the hands of students while I was teaching.

But what I really am confused about is why parents even allow their children to take phones with them to school, and why teachers permit students to have phones in their classrooms. Despite all my son’s whining, I made sure he never had a cellphone of his own until he left high school, which did not hurt him at all. If I were still teaching, all my students would have to leave their phones in a separate location upon entering the classroom, or be absolutely required to have them turned off.

There is one simple certainty. No phones equals no problems of this type.

Problem solved.

James Steamer

State College, Pa.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the January 06, 2016 edition of Education Week as Personal Electronics Should Be Banned From Schools

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Classroom Technology Reports Technology and Student Well-Being: 10 Charts
The EdWeek Research Center surveyed educators to learn about their views and experiences regarding the impact of technology on students.
Classroom Technology From Our Research Center Kids Turn to TikTok for Mental Health Diagnoses. What Should Schools Know?
Nearly two-thirds of educators say students “sometimes” or “frequently” use social media to diagnose their own mental health conditions.
8 min read
Brightly colored custom illustration of a young depressed female sitting inside of a chat bubble and looking at a laptop with her head in her hand while there is another chat bubble with the ellipsis as if someone is typing something to her. Digital and techie textures applied to the background.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Classroom Technology From Our Research Center Most Teens Think AI Won't Hurt Their Mental Health. Teachers Disagree
Teens and educators have wildly different perspectives on what AI will mean for young people’s mental health.
7 min read
Brightly colored custom illustration showing a young male looking at a phone. His mind is being completely distorted in the process with a pixelated digital texture.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Classroom Technology 'The Backlash on AI Is Coming': 3 Early Lessons for K-12 Education
State education chiefs must figure out how to make the most of AI’s potential while steering around its problems.
3 min read
USmap ai states 535889663 02
Laura Baker/Education Week with iStock/Getty