If you are an educator or a parent, it’s hard to look away from the growing trend of smartphone bans in schools. As of this writing, eight states have passed policies banning or restricting cellphone use in schools, notwithstanding countless actions at the county, district, and school levels to do the same.
These bans come from a place of appropriate and measured concern: Parents and students alike are troubled by well-documented impacts on students’ mental health, their capacity to remain engaged during class, and struggles to focus for long stretches of time without task switching.
As a parent and educator, I deeply understand and share these concerns. I’ve been a student, teacher, and principal in some of the most complex and underresourced schools in the United States. I care deeply about two things—kids learning how to read and kids developing meaningful relationships with adults. Both are powerful predictors of positive outcomes from social stability to economic success, and I have dedicated my career to building classrooms that foster both.
That’s why I believe we cannot look away from the strong relationship between students and their phones. When I was a teacher and later a principal—and as a member of a different generation—it took time for me to understand this fully. Phones felt like a barrier between me and the students I taught. I had 10th graders reading on a 3rd grade level and I needed to understand how to close the gap that I knew could so dramatically change their health and socioeconomic prospects.
Something clicked for me when I recognized that a device could be a tool and a gateway for learning, not just a barrier. The reality of today’s classrooms is that students are accustomed to having their phones around—and they have been conditioned to engage fluently with technology. For many kids, especially in districts that lack resources to provide alternative devices to students, the phone serves as a calculator, translator, mini-computer, and a door to information.
Meanwhile, educators have seen an explosion of powerful digital tools for learning, many of which are app-based. These tools allow students to remain engaged for longer periods of time, progress their learning journeys at an individualized pace, and free up valuable teacher time for small-group instruction and social-emotional learning.
We are turning away from technology at the exact moment when we could and should be leaning into it.
I recently spoke to a teacher who uses a group vocabulary video game in the classroom. Students play the game while she leads instruction with a small group. The small groups have enabled her to build relationships with her students, helping her understand who can handle more instruction and who needs to switch up their learning method and try something different. Each student has their learning and social-emotional needs met, even though their activities are structured in different ways.
Extensive classroom experience and research already suggest that a technology-assisted approach to classroom instruction can help. Many teachers have turned to digital tools to personalize math instruction, and rigorous research has confirmed the positive impacts of some of the programs. Individual districts are enthusiastic about 1-1 computing and digital innovations for instruction, citing greater student engagement and collaboration that boost learning. At the Savannah-Chatham County public schools in Georgia, for instance, voice-recognition technology is credited with lowering the number of students reading below the 25th percentile by 7 percent.
The promise and potential of rapidly evolving generative AI gives us even more opportunity to use technology to maximize the value of the time students spend in the classroom by eliminating barriers that have often plagued underserved communities. In a classroom where students might range widely in reading levels, technology is a powerful tool for customizing the learning experience. Adaptive tools can personalize reading materials by translating content and explaining vocabulary, for instance, allowing teachers to support students across literacy levels, including English-language learners, students with learning disabilities, and advanced readers.
Many will point out that cellphone bans don’t necessarily prohibit the implementation of new learning technology. And they are correct: Providing 1-1, state-of-the-art device access for all students would solve the problem. However, 1-1 technology implementation frequently falls short, with small budgets, outdated devices, and limited home access holding many low-income students back. Meanwhile, according to the Pew Research Center, over 95 percent of teens own or have access to a smartphone—a near-universal reality for youth even of different socioeconomic backgrounds. And according to the National Center for Education Statistics, over half of students who lack access to Wi-Fi at home through a computer retain access through a smartphone.
In short, we are turning away from technology at the exact moment when we could and should be leaning into it. Yes, it requires research, care, and thoughtful implementation, but doesn’t all good instruction?
We must recognize that not all screen time is created equal. Managing appropriate dosage and responsible technology use will be crucial as we move forward, but the consequences of continuing the instructional status quo are dire, especially for the least-advantaged students.
We are in the midst of a literacy crisis. In 2022, 71 percent of 8th grade students in the United States scored below “proficient” in reading, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. We are seeing subpar literacy gains year over year and lagging achievement. Barring the ability to ensure state-of-the-art, 1-1 technology in every school, we need every tool in our toolbox. To take smartphones away under present conditions is nothing short of a fool’s errand.
