When Raymond Dolphin became assistant principal of a middle school in Connecticut two years ago, it was clear to him that the kids were not all right. The problem was cellphones.
Justin Pistorius, left, is a math teacher at Illing Middle School in Manchester, Conn. Michael Wilson, right, is a student. Wilson's phone, center, is placed in a locked pouch during school.
What unfolded at the school reflects a broader struggle underway in education as some administrators turn to increasingly drastic measures to limit the reach of a technology that is both ubiquitous and endlessly distracting. Those who had cellphones in their hands slipped them into individual gray pouches made of synthetic rubber. They clicked the magnetic lock at the top of their pouches shut, then placed them into their backpacks or held them up to show teachers. The pouches would stay with them, locked, until dismissal at 2:45 p.m.
Teachers who were initially skeptical that the pouches would work say they’ve been transformative. Dan Connolly, an eighth-grade science teacher, said he used to repeat the same reminder at the start of each period, six times a day: Put away your cellphones and take out your headphones.three-quarters of all U.S. schools,” in the words of Jonathan Haidt, a psychologist at New York University who has called for banning phones from schools.
Schools from Manhattan to rural Texas have bought the pouches and distributed them to students. In Providence, R.I., all six of the city’s middle schools and two of its high schools - a total of 4,500 students - are now using them. “I really wasn’t sure if it was going to be career suicide,” said Kruser, 55, who is now an assistant superintendent in Chicopee. “I just thought it was that important.”
The school reminded parents that there is at least one landline phone in every classroom - and in many cases two. Teachers also still have their cellphones in case they need to call 911 . Pistorius, the math teacher, observed that students are even taking shorter restroom breaks because the trip is no longer an opportunity to spend time on their phones.
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