I want to thank the nearly 1,000 of you who took our 1-minute Cell Phone School Policy Survey. We hope to get to 2,000 responses. If you have filled it out, please share this email with friends. If you have not filled it out, would you mind doing so now? Even if you do not know your child’s school policy, please answer what you can. I’m very excited that together we are creating a much needed data set on school cell phone policies in this country along with parent preferences. Thank you all so much!
Now back to our normal TTT. In the past couple of months, I visited schools where the teachers talked to me about concerns over kids and cell phones during field trips. The teachers told me about the upsides and downsides of kids being glued to their phones during the bus rides. They said that one main upside is that it keeps the noise and chaos to a minimum on the bus. However, most of the teachers didn’t want the kids to have the distraction of the phone when they got to the destination and it was a pain to try to enforce a no-cell phone rule while the students were supposed to be engaged in the activity.
I recently heard from a teacher who chaperoned a day trip where the school decided to prohibit cell phones on the bus for the first time in several years. The teacher commented that “it was like the olden days, kids actually sang songs and talked with each other. But, it was harder on the bus driver.” The teacher also talked about push back from parents who were very anxious about being out of touch with their kids all day.
My niece is a Boston elementary school teacher and coach. Her school does not allow cell phones on the bus when traveling to away games because the bus ride is considered school time. She told me “If they were to do something inappropriate it would be on me for not having managed the phone usage. By collecting the phones, there is no chance that something will happen that shouldn't happen.”
For Tech Talk Tuesday this week, let’s talk about cell phones on field trips and how we all feel about this:
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
I want to thank the nearly 1,000 of you who took our 1-minute Cell Phone School Policy Survey. We hope to get to 2,000 responses. If you have filled it out, please share this email with friends. If you have not filled it out, would you mind doing so now? Even if you do not know your child’s school policy, please answer what you can. I’m very excited that together we are creating a much needed data set on school cell phone policies in this country along with parent preferences. Thank you all so much!
Now back to our normal TTT. In the past couple of months, I visited schools where the teachers talked to me about concerns over kids and cell phones during field trips. The teachers told me about the upsides and downsides of kids being glued to their phones during the bus rides. They said that one main upside is that it keeps the noise and chaos to a minimum on the bus. However, most of the teachers didn’t want the kids to have the distraction of the phone when they got to the destination and it was a pain to try to enforce a no-cell phone rule while the students were supposed to be engaged in the activity.
I recently heard from a teacher who chaperoned a day trip where the school decided to prohibit cell phones on the bus for the first time in several years. The teacher commented that “it was like the olden days, kids actually sang songs and talked with each other. But, it was harder on the bus driver.” The teacher also talked about push back from parents who were very anxious about being out of touch with their kids all day.
My niece is a Boston elementary school teacher and coach. Her school does not allow cell phones on the bus when traveling to away games because the bus ride is considered school time. She told me “If they were to do something inappropriate it would be on me for not having managed the phone usage. By collecting the phones, there is no chance that something will happen that shouldn't happen.”
For Tech Talk Tuesday this week, let’s talk about cell phones on field trips and how we all feel about this:
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
Last week, USA Today ran an outstanding article titled: “Schools don’t want kids on cellphones. Is banning them the solution?” Our team launched Away For The Day in December 2017 to provide science and tools to help more schools create policies in which phones are not with students during the school day, and we are pleased the USA Today article mentions the campaign. The moment of change is truly here. Unlike anything we have seen in the past, the rate at which schools and full districts are adopting away-for-the-day policies is outstanding! Read today’s blog for some highlights from the USA Today article.
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Did your kids participate in our anonymous online survey about cellphones in schools? I am thrilled to unveil some fascinating results of our study today. This study is truly unique — we know of no other study in which students have been asked their opinions about cellphone access in schools.
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One thing that is key in our work together is ensuring we include the voices of young people — something that, of course, is present in the Screenagers film trilogy. Their input is crucial, and that is why I have 2 important questions for us to ask them as they transition back to school. As you know, I am particularly focused on improving our kids' mental health, especially in the aftermath of COVID. One major lever is decreasing personal devices in schools. Below are the two top questions
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
