Should New Jersey Schools Ban Smartphones For New School Year?

Gone are the days when you could just focus on the daily lessons while in the classroom. Nowadays, both students are teachers alike are faced with so many distractions that, no doubt, have a negative impact on the learning experience at school as a whole. I'm talking about smartphones.

Smartphones weren't as popular in the early 2000s-mid 2010s as they are today. No child is without either and iPhone or an Android these days. You better believe they're not going to school without them, either.

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It's understandable that parents would want their kids to have their phones on them at all times. Scary situations can (and do) happen. God forbid something terrifying goes down at your kid's school, you want them to be able to call you.

The problem is that students today aren't using their phones in class solely for emergencies. They're on them for the duration of the lesson, often not paying attention to what is being taught or only taking in bits and pieces.

There's a pretty solid argument for not allowing smartphones in class at all.

For one, studies have shown that when students use smartphones during class, their ability to retain information decreases. This is because the brain is constantly shifting between tasks, making it harder to commit all that new information to memory.

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It's not only the students that are impacted, but the teachers too.

Teachers often have to compete with smartphones for students' attention. If students are distracted, the teacher might need to repeat instructions or pause frequently to get everyone back on track, which interrupts the flow of the lesson.

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South Jersey school district bans smartphones for 2024-2025 school year

Managing a classroom where students are on their phones can be challenging. It might lead to more behavioral issues and disrupt the overall learning environment. Teachers spend time addressing these distractions instead of focusing on teaching. Think about it this way: If students are busy with their phones, it’s harder for teachers to gauge understanding and address any issues that arise during the lesson.

Nobody's denying that smartphones can be useful tools, but their presence in the classroom often leads to distractions that hinder both learning and teaching. By keeping them out of classroom, everyone benefits from a more focused, efficient, and effective educational experience. That's what one South Jersey school district has already realized, banning all devices that "send or receive voice or data without wires."

This includes smartwatches, earbuds, and wireless headphones, too.

Tell us what you think! Should all smart devices be banned in NJ schools? Take the poll: