On Jan. 13, the De Pere High School school board approved a phone ban for the 2025-2026 school year.
This means that starting next year, students will be required to put their phones in “phone hotels”, which will be provided by the school, before the start of every class.
Personally, I don’t think this is going to work out very well.
As a student, I understand how attached people are to their phones. And yes, for some people this can pose a problem. However, I think that for the majority of students, cell phones aren’t really a problem.
Sometimes I see kids with their phones in class, but usually it only takes 1-2 reminders for them to stop. There are cases when it takes more than that, but usually one reminder is enough. Unfortunately, because of this new rule, I feel as though students will be more tempted to sneak phones in class.
According to the slideshow that was presented at the school board meeting, putting phones away in class will increase focus. I think that this may work for the first few weeks, but once people get tired of it, it’s going to fall apart.
Taking a school full of teenagers, and taking away their phones is a bad idea. Teenagers will find a way to get around the rule. Whether it be bringing other hand held devices, setting alarms for inconvenient times, or simply sneaking their phones without permission, students WILL find ways to rebel.
They will find ways to get around it. And when they do, it’s probably going to be in the most annoying and inconvenient way possible.
Instead of forcing all of the students to give up their phones during class, teachers should watch certain students. Usually when kids are caught using their phones, it’s the same few students.
By watching or keeping a record of which students are always on their phones, teachers could make sure to watch certain students to make sure phone usage in class goes down. It won’t be perfect, but at least we won’t have to deal with angry, phone-less teenagers anymore.
