Teachers are keen to get students’ cellphones out of their classes. Their own phones? Not so much.
Cellphones have become an essential tool for teachers to get basic administrative tasks done. Teachers often rely on their personal devices to take attendance, communicate with each other, and even call for help during emergencies.
Without access to an authenticator app on their phones, some teachers said they can’t even log into their work emails, in a robust social media discussion in response to an informal poll by Education Week.
The poll asked if teachers should be included in their school’s cellphone policies. More than half the 1,668 respondents said teachers don’t need any rules to govern their cellphone use, while 31% believed that such restrictions should exist. Fifteen percent said “it depends.”
Meanwhile, nearly 350 readers of the Savvy Principal newsletter weighed in on whether they have rules for how teachers can use their phones during the school day. Forty-nine percent said yes.
Over the past few years, cellphones have disrupted school life in a major way. Constantly buzzing phones have been a distraction, and students would often text and scroll through social media in class, or take inappropriate pictures of each other or their teachers to post online.
Schools have tried a variety of measures to separate students from their phones, and their efforts have been buoyed now by laws in at least 33 states that require districts to restrict students’ cellphone use in school, either for the entire school day or at least during instructional time.
Researchers have collected preliminary evidence showing that cellphone bans lead to more focused classrooms and lively cafeterias and may improve student test scores. School leaders say disciplinary infractions are rarer, too, although some early research shows that cellphone bans may lead to a significant increase in student suspensions, particularly among Black students, at least in the short term.
Teachers appreciate cellphone restrictions when they’re implemented well by their administrators.
But when it comes to their own cellphone use in class, teachers believe they’ve earned the right to keep their phones close—especially when the school has asked them to download several work-related apps, including ones that allow parents to directly text their kids’ teachers for updates.
Teachers don’t want to be treated like their students
The common theme among most of the social media poll responses was that teachers don’t want to be subject to the same rules as their students. Several respondents quoted their “fully developed frontal lobe” as the reason behind why they have more self-control around their phones than their students.
These responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length:
Students and teachers are NOT equals!
Teachers should not be treated as children. I work as an EA, and my phone is on me. The only time I am ever on it is when the teacher I support with texts me and it’s usually a heads up on some student behavior.
Does a stock broker, doctor, engineer, or psychologist have a cellphone policy? Like each of those positions, I, too, have a master’s degree.
As if I even have a fraction of a second to check my phone during the workday.
I lead by example 95% of the time. The other 5% of the time, my phone is used to communicate with my coworkers. I teach high school. But I’m not in high school.
I’m not running into the bathroom to film a fight to post on Snapchat. I’m not shopping on Amazon while my students work on their Chromebooks. If I have my cellphone on me at school it’s because we use the phones as a tool in the building.
Schools compel teachers to have their phones on them
Cellphones have become integral to their jobs, teachers argue, and they can’t lock up their phones even if they want to.
If only people knew how much we have to use our own personal devices as tools in the classroom. Timers, quick searches when we are away from a computer, contacting other teachers/admin/parents.
My phone has all my music on it. I'm a music teacher! I uploaded a TON of CDs to it years ago. If my phone was taken from me during the day, I'd be done teaching.
As staff I need it to communicate with coworkers and administrators. If I need help but am in the middle of the hall or out at recess, how exactly am I supposed to get help? Yes, I need to use it as a TOOL and not be ‘glued’ to it all day, but I need it with me at all times.
I use my personal phone and data plan for school-related tasks. DEXcom app for child with Type 1 diabetes, texting for admin. support for behaviors, emergency communication app for lockdown/shelter in place, and documentation (pictures and videos) to post to parents, just to name a few. I wonder what would happen if I didn't purchase my own phone for my job? It is just assumed teachers have phones. Maybe some compensation would be nice.
Some administrators say teachers can keep their phones, but need to lead by example
Some administrators, though, suggest there need to be policy guardrails in place to prevent teachers from using their phones for personal use during school hours.
The cellphone policy in the Sheridan County, Wyo., school district applies to students, administrators, and any visitor, said Superintendent Chase Christensen. The policy, adopted last August, prohibits students from having their phones out during the school day.
While teachers can keep their phones with them, or place them on their desks during class, their phones need to be on the “do not disturb” setting, Christensen said. Staff are only allowed to use their phones during an emergency, or when they have no other way to access a lesson or communicate with their colleagues.
To help mitigate the need for teachers to be on their phones, Christensen said he’s tried to reduce the number of times teachers need two-factor authentication to log into official apps or work email.
“I firmly believe that we’re trying to go away from phones for kids because they are distracting, and that’s the same for professionals,” said Christensen. “I think for the most part, phones should be gone from our workplaces entirely.”
If teachers need to use their phones to check in on a sick family member, or address a medical issue, they can pick up their phones in class. So far, Christensen said he hasn’t heard any complaints from students who may think this policy is “hypocritical.”
“I think we’ve built enough trust with our students,” he added.
Like Christensen, some respondents to Education Week’s social media poll said they like to model the behavior they expect from their students.
Teachers should set an example of responsible cellphone use. For years I have turned my phone off and put it in my bag to show students you can survive without your phone.
I model our policy with my own cellphone. I also let them know that as an adult sometimes I need to use it… and I’m honest to them about what is going on. When they need to, I allow them to go to the office to either call [or text] home from there. I teach middle schoolers so modeling expectations is key!
Not during class teaching periods. On prep periods. Lunches. Duties. In between changing classes. Sure. I tell my kids, 'Don’t see a phone in my hand? I don’t wanna see one in yours.' Model the actions you want.
We have phones in classrooms (and laptops!) so there should be no need for phones. We need to set an example for students—one can survive without a phone.
I’ve seen staff on their cellphones, texting, watching YouTube videos of the game during team meetings and in class. We should be modeling professional cellphone use and not practice self-indulgence of our own media addictions.
