Photo by Zach Vega via Wikimedia Commons, illustration by The Valley Indy.
A month into a cell phone ban, the students in Seymour High School are actually talking to each other face to face!
That was the gist of an update Seymour High School Principal James Freund gave to the Seymour Board of Education during a meeting Monday (Jan. 22).
The high school banned the use of cell phones in the school as of Dec. 11.
Phones and “personal electronic devices” can’t be used from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
That means no social media, listening to music, or even checking out ValleyIndy.org.
Students who violate the policy are sent to talk to an administrator. Disciplinary action against the student is a possibility, ranging from taking the device away all the way up to an out-of-school suspension.
Unsupervised cell phone use was already prohibited during class time, but last month’s directive banned them from being used “during non-instructional times,” such as lunch and between classes.
At the school board meeting, Freund reviewed research — such as this study showing students’ test scores improved after phones were banned — to drive home the point that high schools and cell phones don’t mix.
As anyone with a smartphone knows, people tend to look at the devices — often.
In classrooms, that’s not good, the principal said.
Freund said that when students glance at their phones during class, they’re not paying attention to what’s being taught. It’s an interference that adds up, robbing students of instructional time even though they’re in the room.
The longtime administrator also referenced some bad behaviors using the phones, though he did not provide details.
Principal Freund
“I was dealing with “mean spirited behavior” through electronic communication,” he told the board, noting cell phone use in the high school was “rampant” prior to the new rule.
Freund said some students were walking the halls wearing earbuds connected to their phones, making it impossible to hear people calling their names.
Prior to last month’s cell phone ban, six students could be sitting at a table in the cafeteria — and three of them would be engrossed with their phones, the principal said.
And then …
“The next day, after we instituted the cell phone ban, board games were coming out. Jenga was being played. There was conversation at the table,” Freund said.
Seymour High School student Sukhman Singh represents students on the school board. He said the cell phone ban has been good for the school community.
But he also pointed out that while a ton of kids were using cell phones for things like Snapchat, cell phones are also useful learning tools.
Example — if Singh had a Spanish test, he used Quizlet, a mobile app, to bolster his studies if he had time during the school day.
He said students are adjusting to being away from their phones during the day.
“Most of the students didn’t (like the policy), but I think people understand now why it happened,” he said.
Student representative Paulina Karwowski also said the new rule has done some good.
“We’ve talked to each other more than we have the last four years, which is kind of sad to say,” she said.
Karwowski said if she needs to access the Internet for a class, she has used her laptop, after getting a teacher’s OK.
School board member Kristen Harmeling, while acknowledging all of Freund’s points, said that in some circumstances it is appropriate for a student to use a cell phone while in school.
She pointed out cell phones can still be used in class for instructional purposes. She suggested that the staff review the new rule, and perhaps, ease up in some cases, such as if a student is sending a quick text to a family member.
A parent who spoke during the school board’s public comment period complained that at least one staffer was being too aggressive in enforcing the new rule. Her child had apparently been accused of attempting to use a cell phone when, in fact, she had not.
Freund acknowledged staff is still adjusting to the new policy.
