At this point most people have an attention span of a goldfish.
Zeddicus11 on
My son is 6, and I’m pretty terrified of what his schools (and classroom experience) will look like in 5-10 years. Phones and AI combined seem diametrically opposed to any kind of learning, memorizing or critical skill acquisition.
I’ve been teaching the same 4-level college class since 2019 and holy shit, student quality (both during class interactions and exams) has dramatically decreased in the past 2 years, it’s scary. I’m talking a 50% decline in the median class grade on virtually the same in-person, classroom exam between Fall 2019 and Fall 2025 (I’m lazy so I barely change my exam questions). Senior college students sitting like zombies in class, not participating even when prompted (apart from a select few, fewer every year). And that’s with ~50% of class not even attending most lectures. Fucking scary.
So yeah, my wife and I both strongly feel that our son doesn’t even need a (smart)phone until at least age 16, or at best just a dumb flip phone. If enough classmates (and their parents) are similar, we might be able to swing it without too much opposition and/or feeling left out, but I’m scared there won’t be a critical mass. This article gives me some hope, at least.
teh_trout on
When did phones even become allowed in schools? In the flip-phone days I don’t think you could have them out during the school day (most places).
MightyAustini on
The gap between the two questions is the interesting part: 77% support a ban during class but only 48% support bell-to-bell, so the actual disagreement is about breaks and lunch, not the classroom. The trend stands out though, all-day support went 36% -> 44% -> 48% across three yearly waves and this is the first time supporters outnumber opponents. Europe is a bit ahead on this experiment. The Netherlands introduced a nationwide ban in January 2024 and the government-commissioned evaluation found 75% of secondary schools reporting better concentration and 59% a better social climate (school leaders‘ reports, so perception data, but directionally consistent). In Germany several states are introducing or debating the same thing right now and the arguments are basically identical, down to the „but what about emergencies“ one.
LG193 on
Where is the dataisbeautiful part? I see two line graphs and one bar graph lol
kombiwombi on
Well that’s just simply the wrong sample population. Like most people have any knowledge of classroom teaching which is not a decade old.
Let’s have a sample of educators.
Cloud13181 on
I’m a teacher and a parent and my state implemented a „bell to bell no cell“ law last year. It has gone SURPRISINGLY well. The most surprising part is the majority of the KIDS have liked it. They say things like „we actually talk to each other now.“
asisoid on
A high school near me ( wife’s cousin teaches there), currently allows students to have ONE ear bud in during class.
It blows my mind.
I find it hysterical that two ear buds is obviously too much, but one is just fine..
ortcutt on
What kind of lunatic thinks kids should have cell phones in class?
platinum_toilet on
It used to be that no one had cell phones and things in school were better.
smackythefrog on
In the early 2000s, if your phone went off and a teacher heard it, they’d confiscate it, send it to the dean’s office, and you picked it up at the end of the day. I think you got some sort of ticket too which involved our school’s liaison officer, too. I don’t know, I never got caught.
Ten years later and I was hearing that students were allowed to text in class openly. Same high school I went to. That was nuts to hear, especially since the flagship during my time was the LG Chocolate which had far less capabilities than the first few gens of smartphones.
Leptonshavenocolor on
I left HS just before cell phones were a thing. I don’t understand how they were ever allowed to begin with (other than that we don’t do anything to support teachers or help the broke ass educational system).
kg467 on
I was surprised yeas ago when I heard they were allowed at all. I would have assumed that there would have been a hard rule against any use at any time during the day because it would just seem like cacophonic chaos of sound, a constant distraction, bullying, pranks, pizza orders, cheating, etc. What teacher wants to put up with that crap? So I was surprised when I learned there was any use at all, much less a lot of use. Seems like a mess to me. I would think the rule would be airplane mode and in your bag or locker all day.
HumanSlaveToCats on
When did they start allowing them? In the early 2000s they weren’t allowed in school, you’d get written up for having using them in class.
jackyllhyde on
so unthinkable to me that phones are allowed during the class.
Chapea12 on
It’s weird that it isn’t. I was in high school during the early smartphone era and they were banned in every class. In middle school, they were banned in the hallways too
austinvf82 on
It was hard enough to pass notes in school back in my day without getting caught 😂. My 3rd grade teacher slapped my hand with a ruler because i was left handed and curved my wrist when writing. „Straighten up your hand!“ Whack! 😂 these kids can go without their phones in school
cherobics on
Im more interested in them banning all the dang „learning tools“ that are basically just games that take up half my kids dang days. No thanks iReady
OSRS_Rising on
Maybe I’m extreme but I’m team kids don’t need a smartphone until they’re 15-16. Same goes for social media.
TrueInDueTime on
I’m a teacher in Illinois, and yesterday Governor Pritzker signed into law a public school cell phone ban.
It will start in 2027-28, which gives school districts time to fine-tune their policies.
K-8 will be a bell-to-bell ban, while high school will be a ban during instructional time. High schools will have to decide what to do during passing periods and lunch. There are some Illinois school districts, whether public or private, that already have cell phone bans.
majeric on
Prohibition is never a substitute for education.
cricket9818 on
My high school took the NYS cell phone ban very seriously this year
The difference was amazing. Kids more attentive than ever. They found little work arounds (emailing each other, games). But that’s what teens do. I’d rather that than trying to compete with TikTok
Potassium_Doom on
No earbuds or phones in class is not a big ask
Duchess0612 on
I know how painful it would be, but I support this as well. It does nothing to help the students to pay attention and learn, when they have that much of distraction so close to hand.
So while very painful, you can get used to it within a couple of weeks. I would approve of this.
Kerbidiah on
I don’t support a ban. Kids need to learn how to manage themselves and their impulses on their own. Better to let them do that in grade school where the consequences of failing aren’t as severe as in college or their careers
panaceaXgrace on
They’re regulated in my state and districts can determine how strictly. At the school my son was at they had a place up front by the teacher’s desk they dropped off. There were still issues with fights being recorded in hallways and sex in the bathrooms and one time some dumbass kid filmed his friend destroying the bathroom with a pipe.
The next district over they had to drop them at the front door of the school.
They don’t need to be in school. Hell at ours they have Ipads from pre-k and laptops from third grade on. They don’t need phones. I know the number one complaint is parents worried about a school shooting. Maybe we should fix that so parents aren’t so scared because I went to school 13 years and never needed a phone or an earbud to get decent grades.
God I hate being one of those ‚back in my day“ oldsters but here I am.
Leave A Reply
Du musst angemeldet sein, um einen Kommentar abzugeben.
26 Kommentare
Right about time.
At this point most people have an attention span of a goldfish.
My son is 6, and I’m pretty terrified of what his schools (and classroom experience) will look like in 5-10 years. Phones and AI combined seem diametrically opposed to any kind of learning, memorizing or critical skill acquisition.
I’ve been teaching the same 4-level college class since 2019 and holy shit, student quality (both during class interactions and exams) has dramatically decreased in the past 2 years, it’s scary. I’m talking a 50% decline in the median class grade on virtually the same in-person, classroom exam between Fall 2019 and Fall 2025 (I’m lazy so I barely change my exam questions). Senior college students sitting like zombies in class, not participating even when prompted (apart from a select few, fewer every year). And that’s with ~50% of class not even attending most lectures. Fucking scary.
So yeah, my wife and I both strongly feel that our son doesn’t even need a (smart)phone until at least age 16, or at best just a dumb flip phone. If enough classmates (and their parents) are similar, we might be able to swing it without too much opposition and/or feeling left out, but I’m scared there won’t be a critical mass. This article gives me some hope, at least.
When did phones even become allowed in schools? In the flip-phone days I don’t think you could have them out during the school day (most places).
The gap between the two questions is the interesting part: 77% support a ban during class but only 48% support bell-to-bell, so the actual disagreement is about breaks and lunch, not the classroom. The trend stands out though, all-day support went 36% -> 44% -> 48% across three yearly waves and this is the first time supporters outnumber opponents. Europe is a bit ahead on this experiment. The Netherlands introduced a nationwide ban in January 2024 and the government-commissioned evaluation found 75% of secondary schools reporting better concentration and 59% a better social climate (school leaders‘ reports, so perception data, but directionally consistent). In Germany several states are introducing or debating the same thing right now and the arguments are basically identical, down to the „but what about emergencies“ one.
Where is the dataisbeautiful part? I see two line graphs and one bar graph lol
Well that’s just simply the wrong sample population. Like most people have any knowledge of classroom teaching which is not a decade old.
Let’s have a sample of educators.
I’m a teacher and a parent and my state implemented a „bell to bell no cell“ law last year. It has gone SURPRISINGLY well. The most surprising part is the majority of the KIDS have liked it. They say things like „we actually talk to each other now.“
A high school near me ( wife’s cousin teaches there), currently allows students to have ONE ear bud in during class.
It blows my mind.
I find it hysterical that two ear buds is obviously too much, but one is just fine..
What kind of lunatic thinks kids should have cell phones in class?
It used to be that no one had cell phones and things in school were better.
In the early 2000s, if your phone went off and a teacher heard it, they’d confiscate it, send it to the dean’s office, and you picked it up at the end of the day. I think you got some sort of ticket too which involved our school’s liaison officer, too. I don’t know, I never got caught.
Ten years later and I was hearing that students were allowed to text in class openly. Same high school I went to. That was nuts to hear, especially since the flagship during my time was the LG Chocolate which had far less capabilities than the first few gens of smartphones.
I left HS just before cell phones were a thing. I don’t understand how they were ever allowed to begin with (other than that we don’t do anything to support teachers or help the broke ass educational system).
I was surprised yeas ago when I heard they were allowed at all. I would have assumed that there would have been a hard rule against any use at any time during the day because it would just seem like cacophonic chaos of sound, a constant distraction, bullying, pranks, pizza orders, cheating, etc. What teacher wants to put up with that crap? So I was surprised when I learned there was any use at all, much less a lot of use. Seems like a mess to me. I would think the rule would be airplane mode and in your bag or locker all day.
When did they start allowing them? In the early 2000s they weren’t allowed in school, you’d get written up for having using them in class.
so unthinkable to me that phones are allowed during the class.
It’s weird that it isn’t. I was in high school during the early smartphone era and they were banned in every class. In middle school, they were banned in the hallways too
It was hard enough to pass notes in school back in my day without getting caught 😂. My 3rd grade teacher slapped my hand with a ruler because i was left handed and curved my wrist when writing. „Straighten up your hand!“ Whack! 😂 these kids can go without their phones in school
Im more interested in them banning all the dang „learning tools“ that are basically just games that take up half my kids dang days. No thanks iReady
Maybe I’m extreme but I’m team kids don’t need a smartphone until they’re 15-16. Same goes for social media.
I’m a teacher in Illinois, and yesterday Governor Pritzker signed into law a public school cell phone ban.
It will start in 2027-28, which gives school districts time to fine-tune their policies.
K-8 will be a bell-to-bell ban, while high school will be a ban during instructional time. High schools will have to decide what to do during passing periods and lunch. There are some Illinois school districts, whether public or private, that already have cell phone bans.
Prohibition is never a substitute for education.
My high school took the NYS cell phone ban very seriously this year
The difference was amazing. Kids more attentive than ever. They found little work arounds (emailing each other, games). But that’s what teens do. I’d rather that than trying to compete with TikTok
No earbuds or phones in class is not a big ask
I know how painful it would be, but I support this as well. It does nothing to help the students to pay attention and learn, when they have that much of distraction so close to hand.
So while very painful, you can get used to it within a couple of weeks. I would approve of this.
I don’t support a ban. Kids need to learn how to manage themselves and their impulses on their own. Better to let them do that in grade school where the consequences of failing aren’t as severe as in college or their careers
They’re regulated in my state and districts can determine how strictly. At the school my son was at they had a place up front by the teacher’s desk they dropped off. There were still issues with fights being recorded in hallways and sex in the bathrooms and one time some dumbass kid filmed his friend destroying the bathroom with a pipe.
The next district over they had to drop them at the front door of the school.
They don’t need to be in school. Hell at ours they have Ipads from pre-k and laptops from third grade on. They don’t need phones. I know the number one complaint is parents worried about a school shooting. Maybe we should fix that so parents aren’t so scared because I went to school 13 years and never needed a phone or an earbud to get decent grades.
God I hate being one of those ‚back in my day“ oldsters but here I am.