First, let me say that I do not agree with smartphone bans in schools. If there's an emergency, a phone can come in handy whether a student is calling out for help or a parent is calling in to check on their child. However, school administrations and local governments feel that they can be a distraction in the classroom. As a result, when New York City's nearly one million students returned to school this past September, they were forced to leave their phones at home or have them stored in a magnetic bag at school during the school day.
Parents in New York City are mostly in favor of the ban
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who signed the bill banning smartphones in schools, told upset NYC students, "You’re going to be smarter because you’ll be paying attention more in school." While parents were mostly in favor of the ban, some did express concern about not being able to reach their children in case of an emergency. Interestingly, New York City teachers discovered something disturbing about their students once they were no longer allowed to carry their smartphones with them all over school.
Should schools ban students from bringing smartphones to school?
Yes. Students need to focus on their lessons.
40%
No. Students need their phones in case of emergencies.
60%
It all started when teachers were asked constantly by students, "Miss, what time is it?" according to Manhattan high school English teacher Madi Mornhinweg. In other words, once relieved of their smartphones with their digital clocks, NYC high school students could not tell the time using the analog clocks on the wall. Mornhinweg says, "It’s a source of frustration because everyone wants to know how many minutes are left in class. … It finally got to the point where I started saying, 'Where’s the big hand and where’s the little hand?'"
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New York City's Cardozo High School where students can't read the analog wall clocks. | Image credit-Cardozo High School
Tiana Millen, an assistant principal at Queens-based Cardozo High School, said this year's ban on smartphones revealed that many teens struggle to read traditional analog clocks. "That's a major skill that they're not used to at all," she said. The principal says that the NYC school smartphone ban has been a success as it has helped students focus while in class and socialize during lunch.
Without their phones, students are arriving early to class but can't figure out how early
Since students are no longer staring at their phones, traffic in the hall is moving quicker and students are getting to class on time although they don't know this "because they don't know how to read the clocks." The education department says that in New York City, students are taught how to tell the time in the first and second grade. Department spokesperson Isla Gething said, "As our young people are growing up in an increasingly digital world, no traditional time-reading skills should be left behind."
Department Officials said kids are taught to understand terms such as "o’clock," "half-past" and "quarter-to" during their early days in elementary school.
Outside Midwood High School in Brooklyn after school is let out for the day, several students said that they can read wall clocks but admit that they know students that don't. Cheyenne Francis, 14, said, I know how to read a clock,” she added. "The only time I guess I would struggle is if the time is wrong on the clock. Because sometimes they don’t set the proper time."
Sometimes the students help the teachers with something they don't understand
15-year-old Farzona Yakuba says that she can tell time using an analog clock and feels bad for her friends that can't read an analog clock. "I feel like I'm one of those students sometimes because I know how to read the clock if I really need to. But I feel like most students here, they just get lazy and they ask. And I feel like I do that a lot,"` she said.
Ironically, while students turn to teachers to read the clock for them, the teachers often need help from the students. English teacher Mornhinweg had trouble opening a PDF file for a lesson because of new software. Her students showed her how to open the file. "I was freaking out and they were like, 'Miss it’s fine, this is what you do.' I felt really old," she said.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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