On the first day of classes, I noticed two freshmen on their phones standing behind a wall just outside the high school. Their eyes were glued to the devices — not looking up when students and teachers passed them. However, they were clearly trying to hide their phones by facing away from the building and cupping their hands around the cases.
This summer, Principal Yom Fox and Head of School Russell Shaw sent an email announcing that cell phones would be banned on campus from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. In the email, Fox and Shaw emphasized cell phones’ negative effects on student’s anxiety and depression — claiming that banning phones on campus will help students’ mental health. However, no matter what the administration claims the phone policy does for students’ well-being, the policy contradicts GDS’ values as an institution.
The GDS website welcome page reads, “Children are capable of acting on their own behalf.” However, instating a phone ban undermines the belief that students are capable of making their own decisions; we cannot decide whether to use our phones on campus if we face disciplinary action for using them during school hours. The page also says, “We refrain from extinguishing students’ independence by solving problems for them.” The administration is actively trying to solve the students’ problem with phones when they claim to let students solve their problems independently.
On the 10th-grade overnight, I saw a student greeting their teacher, yet the teacher was too consumed by their screen to notice the interaction.
On the second day of school, I was walking down the hallway and said hello to one of my teachers. Her eyes were glued to her phone, and she didn’t say anything in response to my friendly greeting.
I came to GDS last year, and since then, I have recognized the truly special and interconnected community the school is. A big part of that environment is that students of all grades interact consistently at school — whether that be on a sports team, during transitions between classes or eating lunch togethers.
However, since the phone ban, more and more students have been leaving campus to use their phones. Students will leave campus more often than last year in order to use their phones, which will cause a greater disconnect among the GDS communities. Instead of interacting with each other during breaks from class, students hide in classrooms or go outside to use their phones.
I have observed GDS to be a community where teachers and students actively engage and treat each other with respect. However, teachers are not held to the same no-phone standards as students are. Although Fox and Shaw claim phones are a distraction, I have seen many teachers and administrators use their phones during times when they should not.
Although I understand that teachers may need to use a phone for safety reasons (it is important that someone can contact other people in emergencies), Tenth Grade Dean Greg Dallinger mentioned during the overnight that each teacher has a landline in their offices specifically for emergencies. Therefore, they would not need to use their phones in class. Moreover, I doubt that the teachers checking their phones as they walk down the hallway or set up for class are doing that because of an emergency.
If GDS administrators and teachers truly want to create a welcoming environment, as they so often claim they do, why are the faculty — the leading influences in students’ lives at school — allowed to be distracted and not present for the students? A phone ban that only applies to students undermines the inclusive and welcoming environment GDS claims to foster.
I understand that phones can be extremely detrimental to students’ mental health and that they may distract students from things happening in their real lives. I propose that phones not be banned for students during the day. Instead, teachers should either require students to put their phones away during class or have a box to put them in. Teachers should also try to limit their phone use — at least during class and in the hallway. I see the reason for limiting phone use at school; however, a complete phone ban is not in line with GDS’ core values, and the administration should not implement it in our community.