Isabella Pires first noticed what she calls a “pandemic of gradual apathy” in eighth grade. Only a handful of classmates signed up for the service projects she helped organize at her school in Massachusetts. And even fewer actually showed up.
When Isabella entered high school last fall, she found the problem was even worse: a lackluster spirit week and classes where students barely spoke to each other.
In a way, it is as if students are “caring less and less about what people think, but also somehow care more”, said Isabella, 14. Some teenagers, she said, no longer care about appearing disinterested, while others are so afraid of ridicule that they keep to themselves. She gives Social Media and the ongoing isolation of the post-COVID era.
Educators say their tried-and-tested lesson plans are no longer enough to hold students’ attention in a time of Mental health problemsshortened attention span, reduced number of participants And Deterioration of academic performance. At the heart of these challenges? Cell phone addiction. Now adults are trying new strategies to overcome the discomfort.
Mobile phone bans are gaining importance, but many say they are not enough. They are calling for alternative incentives: taking students outside or into extracurricular activities to fill the time they would otherwise spend alone online. And students need opportunities to talk about taboo topics without fear of ” cancelled “ on social media.
“To motivate students today, you have to be very, very creative,” says Wilbur Higgins, an English teacher at Dartmouth High School, where Isabella will be a sophomore in the fall.
Lock them up
Cell phone cases, lockers and containers are becoming increasingly popular. Help enforce device bans.
John Nguyen, a chemistry teacher in California, invented a bag system because he was so bothered by bullying and cell phone fights during class, often without adult intervention. Many teachers are afraid to confront students who use cell phones during class, Nguyen says, and others have given up trying to tackle it.
At Nguyen’s school, students lock their phones in neoprene bags during class or even all day, and the bags can be opened with a teacher or principal’s magnetic key.
It doesn’t matter how dynamic the lessons are, says Nguyen, who teaches at Marina Valley High School and now sells the bags to other schools. “There’s nothing that can compete with the cell phone.”
Do something (different)
Some schools also lock away smartwatches and wireless headphones. But once the final school bell rings, the bags no longer work.
In Spokane, Washington, schools are increasing their extracurricular offerings to compete with after-school phone use.
An initiative that starts this month: “ Get involved in real life “ – in real life – aims to give every student something to look forward to after school, be it sport, performing arts or a club.
“Isolating at home with a personal device for hours every day after school has become the norm,” said Superintendent Adam Swinyard.
Students can start clubs around interests such as board games and knitting or participate in neighborhood basketball leagues. Teachers will help students create a plan for how to get involved at back-to-school conferences, the district says.
“From 3 to 5:30 p.m., you’re in a club, you’re playing a sport, you’re participating in an activity,” rather than on the phone, Swinyard said. (The district has enacted a new ban on phones during class, but will allow them after school.)
In a time of high absenteeismHe also hopes that the activities will be the extra push some students need to go to school. According to a Gallup poll Opinion poll Last November, only 48% of middle and high school students said they felt motivated to go to school and only 52% felt they had something interesting to do every day. The survey was funded by the Walton Family Foundation, which also supports Environmental journalism at AP.
Vivian Mead, a rising senior from Spokane, said that while more extracurricular activities would be helpful, they wouldn’t work for everyone. “There are definitely still people who just want to be alone, listen to music, do their own thing, or be on the phone,” said 17-year-old Vivian.
Her 15-year-old sister Alexandra said the morning counseling sessions have improved participation in the drama club that keeps the sisters busy. “It forces everyone to try something, even if they don’t want to join, and then maybe something will click,” she said.
Go out
Thirteen middle schools in the state of Maine took a similar approach, sending their students outdoors for a total of 35,000 hours during a select week in May.
It’s encouraging for students to connect with each other in nature, away from screens, said Tim Pearson, a physical education and health teacher whose students at Dedham School took part in the nationwide “Life Happens Outside” challenge.
Teachers adapted their classes to take place outdoors, and students socialized outside during lunch and recess. In the evening, about half of Dedham’s students camped out, inspired by a pizza party. Several students told Pearson they camped again after the challenge.
“Whether they had phones or not, they were lighting fires and setting up tents,” Pearson said. “They’re out doing things that obviously have nothing to do with social media or texting.”
Appeal to parents
Parents also need to change the cell phone culture in their families, say some teachers. At home, for example, Ohio teacher Aaron Taylor locks cell phones when his own children have friends over.
And when the children are at school, Parents should not distract them with check-in texts throughout the day, he said.
“Students are so tied to their families,” says Taylor, who teaches at Westerville North High School near Columbus. “There’s this fear of not being able to contact them, instead of enjoying the freedom of being alone or with friends for eight hours.”
Fight the fear of being “canceled”
Some say that cell phones only exacerbate other causes of youth lack of engagement. The divisive political climate often means students don’t want to participate in class when everything they say can be broadcast across the school on a messaging app.
Taylor’s English students at high school tell him that they don’t talk in class because they don’t “ cancelled “ – a term applied to public figures who are silenced or boycotted after making offensive opinions or speeches.
“I thought to myself, ‘Well, who’s telling you what? And why would you be canceled? We’re talking about ‘The Great Gatsby,'” not a controversial political issue, he said.
Students “get very, very quiet” when topics like sexuality, gender or politics are addressed in novels, says Higgins, the Massachusetts English teacher. “Eight years ago, hands went up everywhere. Nobody wants to be pushed in a certain direction or ridiculed or called out for their politics anymore.”
That’s why Higgins uses websites like Parlay, which allow students to have anonymous online discussions. The services are expensive, but Higgins believes the classroom engagement is worth it.
“I can see who they are when they answer questions and things like that, but other students can’t see that,” Higgins said. “That can be very, very powerful.”
Isabella, Higgins’ student, was alarmed by the lack of participation of her classmates and wrote an op-ed for the school newspaper.
“It is up to us to prevent future generations from falling into the same downward cycle,” she wrote.
A comment on the post highlighted the challenge and the risks involved.
“All in all,” the commentator wrote, “why should we care?”
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