Three months ago, the ringing of the school bell triggered the synchronized dance of eager hands reaching into the pockets of their backpacks to retrieve their phones. Today, the shrill of the bell is met with a new symphony of voices, the constant sound of quick fingers against the phone screen absent from the harmony.
Just over three months ago, the Fairfield Public Schools put a ban on cell phone usage in schools, enforcing mandatory phone pouches that must remain locked for the entirety of the school day.
Since the initial announcement, the cell phone ban has been subject to immense controversy from students and parents, but as time has gone on students have begun to settle into this new normal.
FLHS senior, Anya Lowenstein, reported that “At first I couldn’t imagine making such a big adjustment, but I’m honestly surprised with how used to it I’ve become.”
Other students have echoed similar sentiments, asserting that while the ban was initially frustrating, it has gradually become a part of their daily lives.
“Honestly I have felt a lot more productive during the school day without my phone to distract me from my work,” reported FLHS senior, Kaya Jardine.
Similarly, senior Brynn Ellingson shared that she spends “more time focused on in-class assignments, and getting a headstart on homework.”
While phones are no longer a part of the student’s daily routine in school, teachers have begun to notice a different form of technology taking their attention away from class.
Inside the classroom, an FLHS English teacher, Mrs. Seltenreich, noted that “the use of computers throughout class has just taken the place of phones for many students, asserting that she is “now competing with computers every class, all day long.”
Fellow FLHS teacher Mrs. Bourque shared a similar experience, stating that she believes that “a lot of the attention, if computers are up, are still on the computer.”
Despite these distractions, Seltenreich has noticed in her senior homeroom that “without their phones, they are having conversations with each other and laughing during homeroom,” and she notes that “it’s so refreshing to see.”
Teachers and students alike, although they do not have the same experience within this phone ban, are both trying to make adjustments to their daily life.
Even with all the controversy that has surrounded the implementation of the ban, Bourque reported that her students “have complied” with the new policy.
The phone ban has not eliminated distractions entirely, but it has played a role in reshaping the school day, forcing students to strengthen their communicative skills in the school environment, while posing the question of how technology should fit into learning.
