Fight Phones in the Classroom
Are your students struggling to learn in school? The causes may vary with every student. However, all teachers will agree that reading and math cannot compete against the cell phone in the classroom. The cell phone will always win.
Kids seem addicted to their phones and can’t pay attention to the teacher. How are they supposed to learn if they are chatting on Instagram, Snapchat and watching YouTube videos?
“You can see that they’re not listening to you,” says one teacher Tony Patelis. He continues, “They’re looking down, and they tell me they’re checking the time, even though the clock is on the wall.” This is a losing battle.
What can teachers do to keep the attention of their students?
So how do you fight phones in the classroom? Lock’em up! Lol…
Imagine seeing students in line turning over their phones to the teacher as they enter the classroom. The phones are placed in a locked pouch and are not opened again until the school day is over. How do the kids feel about this?
As you can imagine they are not happy at all. In fact, many students report feeling anxious without their phones. This shows you how addictive phones can be.
Are there any benefits to this new program?
What do the teachers say?
They report that the kids are more focused, engaged and are actually listening now. Some brave students have actually admitted that they are less distracted at school. As a side benefit, they find they are less inclined to reach for their phones at home too.
Are there any other benefits?
Yes, because the kids are actually talking to each other again instead of chatting on their phones. Could you have imagined that locking up cell phones can increase school students social skills?
What do you think about this as a parent or teacher? How do you feel about students having their phones taken away during class time?
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