How hopeful are you that cellphone bans during school hours would significantly improve student engagement and performance?

For context: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/31/technology/florida-school-cellphone-tiktok-ban.html?unlocked_article_code=1.e00.87bT.6PbPZwqHrhZ-&smid=url-share

I thought this illuminating news story about a Florida school district enacting a strictly enforced cellphone ban during the entire school day showed potentially promising initial results for improving student behavior and academic engagement. It seems like a potentially very valuable social experiment worth scaling up.

A lot has been written in recent years on the deleterious effects of constant cellphone access and usage on students' mental development and academic performance. So I'm more surprised that such bans hadn't been enacted years earlier in most school districts.

So I wanted to hear the perspectives of other educators here if they notice momentum for or feel optimistic about stricter, more comprehensive cellphone ban policies in more school districts in light of the news story above to help meaningfully address the various trends in academic and behavioral deficiencies among students that have stood out in recent years.

Submitted March 23, 2024 at 08:10AM by eddytony96 https://ift.tt/0wP98qy