“If I ban cellphones outright, I can’t have this conversation about what the future may hold for my students.” – Rob Sterner, “4 Things You’ll Miss by Banning Cellphones in Your Classroom,” @ CTQ – Teachingquality.org (February 24, 2015). https://www.teachingquality.org/4-things-youll-miss-by-banning-cellphones-in-your-classroom
Sterner touches on what I believe to be one of the most important differences between someone who does teaching, and a person who is a teacher. While anyone can hold the moniker of “teacher” and teach someone something, a true teacher is someone who commits themselves to having the maximum amount of positive impact on another human being. A ‘true’ teacher has a responsibility to their students; helping them find their way towards becoming the best version of themselves which they can be. Sure, it is not entirely up to a teacher on whether or not that student meets every single educational or emotional improvement milestone (and believing that it is one’s role as a teacher to do that will inevitably result in emotional burnout), but it is essential that teachers do everything they can to help mold their students into responsible adults. A large part of this is acknowledging the impact of possessing a cellphone. Teenagers may not be aware of just how drastically their brains have been hacked and taken advantage of, and simply telling them that they are “addicted to those gosh darn phones” won’t cut it. Teachers must engage with the socio-emotional problems created by cellphone usage, not from a place of trying to ban them, but from an empathetic place. We are all addicted to our phones, whether we want to admit it or not. It is not enough for teachers to assist students in navigating the physical world, but we must also assist them in navigating the digital one as well.
“By observing how students interact with their cellphones, I can see which students are more mature and who can control their desires and not let those desires control them. With this information I can help my students work to build willpower” – Sterner
The concept of having “strong will” is typically thought of as a character trait; something that someone either has or doesn’t. But it’s really more of a muscle, one which must be flexed and exercised regularly in order to strengthen it. We are living in a digital age that is exponentially degrading our attention spans, and its necessary that students maintain the power over their own brains to curb the constant desire to scroll. Apps like TikTok are quickly destroying our attention spans, to the point where any video of a person simply talking now must also include an additional stimulus (usually in the form of a side video displaying Subway Surfers or Minecraft gameplay). I think the idea of developing willpower in the classroom, especially as it relates to cell phone usage, will be a hugely beneficial practice for teachers to engage in.
“When I walked out of class after discovering Kate’s surreptitious phone scanning, the questions I asked myself were about her, or about my ability to control her behavior: Why can’t she focus in class? How can I keep students away from their distracting devices in class?” – James M. Lang, “The Distracted Classroom,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 13, 2017, http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Distracted-Classroom/239446
The most important things for teachers to keep in mind in regards to cell phone usage is the nature of what a phone provides to a student: infinite engagement. Its no wonder that students feel the need to check their phone at every buzz, or any minute amount of downtime at any point of the day. The phone is a resource for instant gratification and relief from whatever task they may be currently doing. It’s important we keep in mind this concept, as faulting students for constantly checking their phones is not the most effective way to address the issue. We should approach the issue from an empathetic perspective, as students (and truthfully, almost all of us) have grown so accustomed to experiencing an instant dopamine shot from using a phone, to the point where it’s hard to imagine even going a single day without using it.
