Cell Phones Have No Place in Our Children’s Classrooms

Jonathan Haidt says the benefits aren't worth the costs

The education of our nation’s youth tops the list of important things to be concerned about. In real time, many kids are not receiving the necessary information or skill sets to go forward into the world and thrive as adults. This poses serious threats to society as a whole, barring the implementation of necessary changes. 

Part of this has to do with the poor quality of public schools. In these tumultuous environments, children are all too often subjected to DEI curricula that does nothing but sow division and animosity. Worse yet, there’s an ongoing effort by many public schools to isolate parents from the education of their kids. 

Though believe it or not, these are far from the only threats to children’s learning. Cell phones, as it turns out, also aren’t doing young people any favors when they’re in classrooms. 

The Case For Keeping Cell Phones Out of Classrooms

At Bentonville West High School in Arkansas, removing cell phones led to remarkable improvements for students. Among these improvements are an over 50% decline in verbal and physical infractions and even more situational awareness among students while they’re walking in the hallways. 

The rates of drug abuse also dropped by over 50%, while over 80% of teachers cited positive results from doing away with cell phone use when students are learning. Further review of young people at Bentonville West High School even showed that kids are more likely to interact with one another in school when they’re not glued to their phones. 

This matters as much as their learning in classrooms. One of the major upsides of sending children to school is their social development among peers. Naturally, this becomes more challenging if nearly every kid is focused on a cell phone screen, rather than interacting with one another. 

What if Parents Need to Reach Their Kids?

The notion of keeping cell phones away from children in schools hasn’t been without pushback in certain cases. Some folks have raised questions about potentially needing to reach their kids. In a situation like this, parents can contact the school, which will then notify the student accordingly. 

There’s also the option of having cell phones turned off and left in a student’s backpack from the moment they enter the school building. From here, the backpack, along with the cell phone, can remain in each child’s locker until the end of the school day when they’ve left the school premises.

There’s no denying the fact that cell phone usage in classrooms and schools is proven to do more harm than good. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon both parents and educators to come up with solutions that facilitate a healthy, effective learning environment. 

Schools Across the Nation Should Pay Attention to This

Bentonville West High School’s success with creating a phone-free educational environment should be heeded by other facilities. While certain schools already took the initiative to curtail cell phone use, others have yet to catch up.

Children who remain glued to their cell phones are less likely to pay attention in classrooms, connect with their fellow peers, or look where they’re going while navigating the hallways. Then, there’s also the high possibility of kids coming across online content that they’re not equipped to handle. 

Over the past several years, there’s been a notable surge in predators and other unsavory characters using the internet to prey on young people. In some of the most tragic cases, this even ended with kids taking their own lives. The risk factor of this can be further compounded by children using their cell phones when they’re miles away from their parents, especially if these phones don’t have certain filters or controls. 

Investing in Our Children’s Education Has Never Been More Imperative

For better or for worse, today’s kids will become tomorrow’s adults, leaders, and shot callers. The quality of children’s education is also going to impact how they make decisions, handle challenges, and deal with their fellow peers in the real world. 

Study after study has documented that young people who do well in school are more likely to become well-adjusted adults. This means they’ll have a stronger capacity to hold down a job, start a business, and even create employment opportunities for those in their communities. 

However, the education they receive as kids is what ultimately plants the seed. If schools across the nation are serious about setting kids up for success, they’ll begin implementing policies that crack down on cell phone use in classrooms and schools. 

This is a tried and true way to not just encourage higher levels of learning, but it will also protect young people from the many dangers that lurk online. It wasn’t too long ago that most parents worried about a stranger grabbing their child at a mall. Now, having the wrong person make contact with their kids via the internet is an equally valid fear.