Schools from New York to Nebraska are trying to ban cell phones in hopes of keeping students focused in class and discouraging the use of phones to set up and record fights.
In Hopewell, Virginia, middle and high schoolers will have to put their phones in a magnetized pouch at the start of the school day, report Elizabeth Holmes and Jacob Phillips of WTVR. The pouches "can only be unlocked by special magnets placed at the entrances of school buildings at the end of the day."
Yondr has built a business providing phone pouches for schools that want to go phone-free.
Parents often see phones as a safety device. In Thorndale, Texas, which is east of Austin, parents are pushing back against a no-phone policy in middle and high schools.
It's certainly a classroom management issue, no doubt. But if the teacher will not be supported by school administration, the policy is useless.
why is it so hard for teachers to say, "no looking at your phones during class"? If teachers can't or aren't given the tools to enforce discipline, then they certainly aren't going to be able to provide a good learning environment. Take away the phones and the kids will find other outlets for their inattention.