Over the past year, following Jon Haidt’s publication of “The Anxious Generation,” there has been a nationwide, if not international, crackdown on phones and other devices in school. Following legislation signed by Iowa governor Kim Reynolds, the movement is coming to ADM next year.
Mr. Lee Griebel, our principal, outlined the extent of the proposed device ban next year. It would be an outlaw of phones, earbuds, and certain smartwatches in class, the hallways, and lunch. By teacher direction, certain exceptions may be made. At their first offense, students would have detention. From there, it increases in severity and a fourth offense could even mean long-term suspension.
“ At ADM, we really believe that distracted learning takes away from students’ futures,” said principal Griebel. “When we say that every time the phone goes off, our brains are always connecting to it whether we answer it or not. We wanna pull those distractions away and give you guys a great, healthy, safe environment to learn and do what we’re supposed to do here.”
“We already have 40, 50, 60, 70 years of testing that very theory because they [parents] just called the school office,” said principal Griebel. “So that’s what we’ve done for decades and decades, even before cell phones came out.”
Most students have advanced smartphones with social media and constant connectedness, but one such student, Nicodemus Fuller, has a more minimalist approach. His phone only has texting, calling, alarms, and a calendar.
“ You don’t get in information like everybody else. They get information fast. And then everybody ends up talking about it the next day,” he said. “ I don’t figure out about anything until like the day after. Which, it feels weird, but it’s not exactly alienating. It’s just that it goes a little slower for me.”
Fuller originally received the phone as a punishment from his parents. Although he was initially annoyed by the downgrade, he has come around to appreciate the lack of technology. Fuller also mentioned the effects of social media on youth.
“ I feel like it can be good and bad. ‘Cause you know, you see a lot of people that kind of like, social media becomes their whole personality,” Fuller said. “But then I feel like for a lot of people, it’s just a form of entertainment. Phones can be used for good and bad and it’s up to the individual to decide how they use it.”
