I’m a student. I’m in favor of a stronger SPS cellphone ban

Dorothea Kaste, Seattle Times

In response to the May 6 editorial, “Seattle schools have banned cellphones. Can we make it statewide?”:The speed with which Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Ben Shuldiner acted to roll out a districtwide cellphone policy a few weeks ago was refreshing, but, while it’s a step in the right direction, a “class time only” policy is too weak for high schools. My Seattle school has attempted to enforce device guidelines similar to the ones just implemented for two years, but has seen no consistent decrease in cellphone use because there is neither guidance for teachers nor consequences for students who do not comply. I’m sure my school is not alone in this, meaning that it’s unlikely the district’s new policy will change anything.  One teacher at my high school said classrooms “didn’t feel different” after the policy’s supposed implementation on May 4. She also said that there was no advanced warning for teachers, or instruction on how to enforce the policy. They received the same email from Seattle Schools’ Office of Public Affairs outlining the new policy that every student did. “To announce it in May, a month and a half before school gets out, is really hard for teachers to turn around and make sure it’s being implemented,” she said.My experience as a student was equally anticlimactic. The announcement of the policy was met with a little outrage and a lot of laughter from my peers, who (correctly) predicted that, come May 4, there would be no change. They’d still be able to use Kalshi to bet on NBA games during Spanish and scan their math work sheets with ChatGPT.

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