Veteran educators from Mishawaka, P-H-M weigh in on new school cell phone ban law

MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- School is back in session, but a new state law is changing students in school cell phone use. Prompting longtime educators to reflect on the bill's necessity and desired outcome.

Josie Kowalewski has taught middle school English for 15 years. As more teens got cell phones over the years, competing with distractions from devices and getting students back on task became increasingly difficult. This is why she supports the cell phone ban. But what does Senate Bill 78 actually look like?

In the words of Dr. Heather Short, Superintendent of P-H-M Schools, "It's bell to bell so students can have it on the bus on the way to and from school, but once they enter the schools the phones need to be powered off and inaccessible." 

In the past schools had to enforce their own personal device rules, which could differ from classroom to classroom as much as it could district to district. 

As jarring as the change may be for some students, policies like Senate Bill 78 are not new to John Young Middle School.

"We implemented that policy before it was state policy," Kowalewski says. "So we are on our fourth year with the expectation that students are not bringing cell phones into the classroom." 

Kowalewski says students comply with the rules almost 100 percent of the time, due to their understanding of the high expectations placed on them. Dr. Short knows her students will uphold the P-H-M culture of excellence; and parents, teachers and students were all briefed on the new policy ahead of the school year. The short-term change might have a learning curve, but Dr. Short thinks this will put teachers back in charge of their classrooms.

"It will be a change," said Dr. Short. "But I do think with the intention of less distractions in the classroom that should be a benefit to our students and our teachers. So, they can focus on delivering the instruction and being there as the resource when students are starting to work through the assignment." 

And Kowalewski has seen it in real time.

"When you remove the distractions, they're forced to socialize. They're forced to turn to their partner, their teacher, and ask questions and talk about whatever they're doing." 

While talking could be considered a distraction, Kowalewski doesn't.

"It's a positive. Even though one might think it's a negative thing. When we can collaborate with our peers and problem solve with our peers; it's a great thing to be happening in the classroom." 

Just because some administrators are against cell phones, doesn't mean they're against technology as a whole. Computers can be used to gather data about students' learning styles and aid in instruction. 

"If we use technology in the right ways, it can really be a bonus," said Dr. Short. "It can help us identify very, very quickly so we can come back in with targeted instructional resources wherever gaps might lie." 

And students at John Young Middle School have Chromebooks assigned to them personally, with some websites blocked. Although Kowalewski says teachers are split on Chromebooks in class, they can be helpful in ways personal cell phones generally aren't.

"We have learning platforms such as Canvas, where assignments can be posted, assignments could be completed," said Kowalewski. "On their computers. There would be absolutely no need for a cell phone to do that. We have lots of other educational platforms that we use that are much more effective on the computer than a cell phone."

From the perspective of seasoned admin, the cell phone ban gets distractions away from students as their brains are still growing and developing.