Personal Electronic Devices Should Not be Banned in High School Classrooms
Authors: Zion Okano, Clayton Lynch, and The Civil Discourse Program
Personal electronic devices are an integral part of our daily lives. They are also valuable tools. High school students, often on the cutting edge of technology adoption, want to bring their smartphones, tablets, and laptops into the classroom. Concerns about distractions and learning have led some to advocate for banning these devices. We think this is the wrong action to take.
Most arguments for banning personal electronic devices in school are usually justified by saying they are distracting. But is it really a distraction if the student wouldn’t be listening anyway? If someone is so uninterested in a class that they are on their phone, removing the device isn’t going to improve the situation, they’ll find some other distraction or maybe just not show up. The problem in this case isn’t the phone but the education. Students won’t be distracted by their phones or electronic devices if the classroom experience is engaging and something they view as valuable. So if the problem is distracted students, the more useful solution would be for schools and teachers to properly educate rather than take away something that is common and essential in the modern world.
Additionally, emergency contacts are extremely important for children to have. This is something they cannot have without a personal electronic device. What if there is a school shooting or other emergency that traps students in their classroom? Is it really in the best interest of the students to create a situation where they are unable to communicate with the outside world if they’re in trouble? Obviously not. When there was a stabbing at Zion’s high school, he felt much safer and more calm with the ability to contact his parents and friends and receive the information that everyone he knew was okay. Everyone should always have some form of communication on them for emergencies, especially minors.
Finally, electronic devices can often be useful learning tools. With the ever-expanding umbrella of technology, digital literacy has become a crucial skill for students to develop. The implementation of personal electronic devices in the classroom allows teachers to guide and teach their students how to become digitally literate. In our Argument & Critical Discourse class, our teacher regularly had us use our phones and laptops to research arguments and create our debate briefs. This prepared us for the real world because they are the devices we are going to use for consuming and critically analyzing the information we find online. By allowing us to use our personal electronic devices, our instructor created an experience that we can refer to when working on future projects in our professional careers and civic lives.
While concerns about distractions in the classroom are valid, banning personal electronic devices is not a practical solution. Instead, educators can work towards creating more engaging classroom experiences and developing a culture of responsibility. Teaching students to use their devices effectively can empower them to manage their distractions without depriving them of valuable tools.
Personal Electronic Devices Should be Banned in High School Classrooms
Authors: Abby Sutton, Eagle Hunt, and The Civil Discourse Program
Personal electronic devices are part of everyday life, but their place in the classroom remains controversial. While devices can offer numerous educational benefits, they also present significant drawbacks. The presence of personal electronics in the classroom can lead to increased distractions, less self-discipline, and screen addiction. This is why they should not be allowed in high school classrooms.
It’s obvious that electronics, like smartphones, cause people to be distracted. For some students, phones make it nearly impossible to pay attention in class. It is even worse for students who already have problems with concentration. For example, while Abby was in high school, she was regularly on her phone using social media or texting people. Looking back, she didn’t get much out of class. Although she’s gotten better, this behavior has followed her into college. Abby is improving but is still trying to break the bad habit she developed in high school. If personal electronic devices had been forbidden in her high school classrooms, then this would likely not be a major challenge during her college years.
While there are merits to integrating technology in the classroom to enhance learning, allowing students to have access to personal electronic devices while in school has a high chance of disrupting other’s learning. A study at Carnegie Mellon University found that classrooms that allowed students to have smartphones in class hurt performance by 27% compared to classrooms where smartphones were banned. In Eagle’s experience, this is because the negative behaviors of one’s classmates can make it substantially harder to focus on schoolwork. Eagle vividly recalls class periods when students on Snapchat and TikTok caused distractions and shifted his attention away from the academic task at hand. This happened far too often.
Allowing personal electronics in classrooms also undermines students’ self-discipline and fuels screen addiction. Instant gratification from quick access to entertainment and information weakens patience and attention span. Students become conditioned to constantly check their phones for a reassuring dopamine rush, even in a classroom where they are supposed to dedicate their attention to learning. Allowing personal electronics in the classroom not only disrupts learning but also impedes the crucial development of self-discipline, nurturing a cycle of addictive screen dependency among students. The US Surgeon General has commented on the negative mental health effects that social media can have on young people. Banning personal electronic devices in the classroom would provide healthy boundaries that contribute to high schoolers’ well-being and help them develop healthy lifestyle habits.
In conclusion, personal electronics often interfere with learning and disrupt the learning environment for others. The unrestricted use of personal electronics can weaken students’ self-discipline as they submit to the temptation of using their devices. This causes distraction, screen addiction, and harm to mental health. For these reasons, high schools should ban personal electronics in the classroom.
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