Superintendent sees benefits to less distraction
Technology changes, but students don’t.
A new bill, House Bill 1009, would extend Georgia’s smartphone ban in school to include high school students.
According to Gilmer County Schools Superintendent Dr. Brian Ridley, the bill is likely a good idea. But it will depend on the final product.
“The devil’s always in the details on any legislation,” he said. “I just hope they leave us enough flexibility to implement it as school districts see fit.”
In school, phones do two things.
The first is to provide a constant barrage of distraction.
Between social media notifications, texts, app notifications and more, some students can get 100 notifications every hour.
“When you have kids who are active on multiple social media platforms, the notifications can really pile up,” Ridley said.
It’s hard for anyone to reach the deep concentration required to learn when under constant attention bombardment.
For the developing minds of teenagers, this problem is especially difficult.
The second problem is that phones take away the sense of school as a separate space.
When phones connect school and home, it’s impossible for students to get a break from one or the other.
It’s well-documented that when students have phones, they take school social problems home with them.
And the same goes in reverse. For some students, school is a refuge from difficult family situations. There’s no way to be “away” from an abusive family environment if people can keep yelling at you via notification.
It doesn’t hurt to learn some information later too, he said.
For instance, if a student’s father is arrested or family is evicted, it will ruin their day when they find out. But they don’t have to find out during a math test that will affect their future.
“You can imagine how stressful it would be for a student,” Ridley said. “A lot of stress on kids is not necessary.”
In the past, schools worked fine when parents and teens weren’t in constant communication with each other. But families have come to view this situation as normal.
“It’s just basic,” Ridley said.
Already, Gilmer High School doesn’t allow cell phone use in classrooms. High schoolers can use their phones during lunch and between classes, however.
There’s one downside to a statewide phone ban, he said.
State laws make it harder for local schools to be flexible. Although most schools will benefit from a phone ban, local circumstances for some might make the bill a hindrance.
“If the bill comes out and says they can’t be on campus at all, that becomes a logistical issue we have to deal with,” he said. “But if it makes sense for us, that’s a big win.”