'Kids aren't phone zombies now'

Smartphone bans are spreading across the nation.

Texas teachers say students are more engaged in class, now that state law bans cellphones in public schools, reports Nicholas Gutteridge in the Texas Tribune. At a campus in the Abilene school district, students are playing Uno at lunch and talking face to face, said Superintendent John Khun.

In Louisville, Kentucky, which also banned cellphones in school, high school librarians report students are checking out more books, reports WDRB. Discipline problems are down at Waggener High, said the principal. Students now play cornhole, football and ladder toss at lunchtime. "I wouldn't have know these guys if it wasn't for the no phone; I'd probably be somewhere out there on my phone," student Daniel Owandji said. 

"Kids aren't phone zombies now, they are humans," said Laura Clarito, a high school English teacher in Evanston, Wyoming.

Phone bans work, writes Daniel Buck. Banning smartphones in Norwegian schools reduced bullying and psychological problems and improved girls' grades and math scores, according to a recent study. Students from lower-income families gained the most.

Schools with the strictest bans reported the strongest results.

Schools need to restrict access to laptops and tablets to battle distraction, writes Henry Seton, a teacher and instructional coach at a Catholic school. These devices "can connect to the same social media platforms, as well as potent, addictive games, all on a bigger, brighter screen."

"We need to insist that schools tighten access to all electronics, not just cellphones," Seton argues. Devices should be used only when essential.

"To prepare our young people for a future that demands focus, knowledge, and critical thinking, the first steps are simple," he concludes. "Ban the phones, close the laptops, put away the tablets, and let the learning begin."