Since 2023, state laws restricting or banning the use of cell phones in schools have become widespread across the nation. Across 14 states, these policies have taken different forms, all intended to help students improve their education and mental health.
The spread of similar policies within the D.C. area has garnered the attention of the WIS administration. On Sept. 19, the Teaching and Learning Committee and the Tregaron Admin Committee discussed the implications of implementing a change to WIS’s phone policy while looking at the effects of policies at nearby schools.
“We were trying to figure out exactly, how do we approach the cell phone policy?” Associate Head of School Natasha Bhalla said.
Although there will be no immediate modifications to WIS’ cell phone policy within the near future, there are still several uncertainties about the situation.
“If we don’t allow students to have phones right now and teach [them] how to use [them] responsibly, then where are they going to learn these skills,” Bhalla said. “But also, there’s a lot around [phones] that is very distracting, and can cause significant mental health issues.”
On that note, if the administration were to revise the current free phone-use status at WIS, the first target would be to ensure that the existing regulations are being carried out reasonably so that students feel that they are in a safe space to use their devices.
“I don’t want [the school] to turn into a place where [the faculty are] trying to manage the cell phones because then that becomes awful,” Bhalla said.
With this in mind, the administration is assessing the perspectives of the WIS community regarding phone usage at school, an important factor in determining any future decision.
From the student perspective, Junior Anna Kumar believes that phone use during school hours should not be restricted, arguing that banning phones would not create a distraction-free environment.
“I personally don’t think that [the administration] should take away phones because I think it’s not [going to] necessarily motivate people to do their work if they don’t have their phones,” Kumar said.
Freshman Stella Dybczakova agrees with Kumar as she has heard stories of students from schools in the D.C. area with strict phone-use regulations finding ways to bypass the rules.
“[The students] usually try to sneak their phones in class or in school,” Dybczakova said. “Since the school pressures the students into not using their phones, the students feel more tempted to use their phones.”
In Kumar’s opinion, students must learn to take responsibility on their own and learn to prioritize their duties.
“It’s also unrealistic, just because, in the real world, when we have jobs, they’re not going to be taking our phones,” Kumar said. “You’re going to have to take responsibility and do your own work, with your phone.”
Nonetheless, she does acknowledge that there was a reason behind the development of the policy.
“I’m sure phones are a big distraction, and people spend excessive time on them,” Kumar said. “So yes, I would see how taking away phones would take away a big distraction.”
Dybczakova thinks it makes sense for middle school students to be forbidden from using their phones as they are more prone to getting preoccupied with them.
“Since they’re at a younger age, sometimes they cannot control [the] usage of their phones and they aren’t able to recognize the dangers of the interest and how to deal with it,” Dybczakova said.
At the same time, she sees that having access to phones during school hours for high school students is beneficial beyond learning.
“I believe WIS shouldn’t implement this rule in the high school because it helps my peers and I socialize and organize, but also helps with school work,” Dybczakova said.
On the other hand, according to Kumar, the cons of students not having access to their phones are hard to ignore as they have become a crucial method of communication with parents and among people within the school.
Upper School History teacher Nora Brennan believes that having access to the phone during school hours harms students academically and socially.
“I think there’s enough research that shows that the impact of the phone on our brains is detrimental,” Brennan said. “And then if you’re [using the phone] in the passing periods between classes, then you have to reorient [back to school].”
Brennan expresses the general issue of being exposed to social media, which can take a toll on students’ mental health.
“On top of which we see a ton of bullying that happens through the phone, the internet, and social spaces,” Brennan said.
Upper School Math teacher Randa Mudarris’ opinion on phone use during school hours has changed over time.
“I used to like the phones because when we teach math and we teach statistics, sometimes we need some data,” Mudarris said. “[Now,] I’m collecting phones from kids, I’m giving seven different directions to the same kid to put the phone away, and the kids are unable to sit without looking at the phone.”
According to Brennan, the IB History curriculum feels more rigorous for students than when she started teaching it in 2013. Back then, the students were less stressed and annoyed by the syllabus’ academic expectations.
“I think phones drain your time, [and] they create these dopamine rushes in your brain that then create, when your brain settles after, a lot of anxiety, depression and angst,” Brennan said.
Mudarris emphasizes a similar point as she thinks that students’ attention spans have declined due to social media exposure.
“I think it has to do with the attention span because when you’re on the phone, the kids are watching 10-second [videos], [so] they’re unable to focus for [a longer] period of time,” she said.
To enforce a new restrictive phone policy, Brennan believes that clear communication is key for the students to develop a healthy relationship with their devices.
“I think the school will have to be clear about how they’ll enforce it so that there’s a clear guideline that we can all adhere to,” she said. “ I think we’ve crossed a line where they are now becoming too much of our interaction with the world.”
Therefore, Brennan believes if WIS were to have a stricter phone-use policy students would be incentivized and motivated to improve the way they approach school life.
“I think we’ll use our time more efficiently, [students] could be more creative, [and] you engage with one another more,” Brennan said.
Regardless, Mudarris believes that adjusting to changes in the phone regulations will be easy, as she has experienced it before at her previous school.
“I was surprised how well it worked, because we thought we were [going to] be fighting the kids, and the kids accepted it and did it,” she said.
Mudarris sees it as impractical for a policy adjustment to occur in the middle of the school year.
“[WIS needs] to announce it before the school begins,” she said. “[The school needs] to send emails two [or] three weeks before the school starts, put it in the handbook that every parent signs.”
Not only would it be more effective for students, but she also believes that it would receive fewer objections if the school demonstrated its preparation for such a transformation.
“If [the parents] know this ahead of time, I don’t think you’ll have any objection, but you don’t come in the middle of the year and implement it,” Mudarris said.
At the same time, both teachers acknowledge the importance of students needing their phones in emergencies.
Mudarris believes that students should be allowed to have their phones during lunchtime so that they can contact their parents regarding an emergency from either end.
“So if the parents send a message, or the kid needs to contact their parents, they have a whole hour of lunch to do it,” Mudarris said.
Overall, dealing with this circumstance is not as easy as it seems.
“I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer to this,” Bhalla said. “I think it’s a really complex situation, and I think school leaders are making decisions that [they] feel [are] the best for their community.”
In Bhalla’s opinion, the focus should not be on changing the school’s policy, but rather emphasizing proper education about the impact phones have on students’ daily lives.
“I believe that schools should be as close to a real-life experience [as possible],” she said. “It’s only in that experience that you can really try and make mistakes.”
Although there will be no changes to the phone policy as of now, the overall objective of modifying the school’s phone policy is to help the students learn.
“There are so many different perspectives on it,” Bhalla said. “But I think the one thing I hope we all agree on is that we want to create a learning environment that is conducive to a student’s academic, social, emotional well-being, health and success.”
By Selena Said
