The state of Missouri implemented a statewide ban on personal electronic devices in K-12 public and charter schools this school year. More than halfway through the school year, reactions to this policy remain mixed. This has been a big change for people such as students, teachers, and administrators in the classroom, whether it comes to not having access to digital learning tools or improving students’ focus and productivity.
“I don’t think the phone ban is necessary in high school because they need to let kids figure out how to balance school and personal life on their own before they reach college,” freshman Eleanor Voth said.
Additionally, it is important for students to learn how to manage time ahead of college so that success can come later in life. Developing the ability to avoid distractions, like using a phone and personal electronics, can help teenagers improve focus and reduce procrastination.
“I do think phones can be a distraction,” Assistant Principal Brett Bevill said. “Personally for myself, it can distract me as well. If the decision was up to me, I would keep the phone ban because inside of it, teachers can deem what to use it for.”
Despite the ban’s aim to reduce distractions, many students and staff remain unsure that it makes a true difference in the classroom. Some people, like Erick Webster, a social studies teacher and the head football coach, feel that schools should have the freedom to put their own rules in place, rather than comply with a statewide order.
“I don’t like the phone ban because you can’t dictate what an individual school does,” Webster said. “Now should school be involved? Probably, yes. But from the government? Absolutely not.”
Thinking back to the start of school to now, the phone ban has impacted student’s lives at school in many ways, some more than others. But one thing remains the same, which is the ability to talk to others face-to-face.
“The ban hasn’t helped me at all,” freshman Abi Kumar said. “And even with the ban in place I feel like it doesn’t stop people.”
