As phone usage in schools increases, a large number of schools have started wondering if banning the electronic device in the classroom is the only solution. Students are increasingly distracted by their devices, even using websites such as ChatGPT to complete assignments for them. So should phones truly be banned in schools?

A teacher at East, Timothy Ochoa has been trying to teach students how to work with their phones instead of against them, but still notices students getting sidetracked by their devices. 

“There are too many distractions from apps and messages, and especially from games now more than ever,” Ochoa said. “I think many of them can use them responsibly, but a large amount of the population still can’t self-regulate.”

However, even though he believes most of his students to be responsible, Ochoa believes that banning phones in schools is the only solution.

“Banning phones in schools is the way to go,” Ochoa said. “If the temptation to use it is there, then people will use it. There are plenty of schools that have banned phones successfully, and I’d like to see what school is like when everyone is engaged and paying attention again.”

Even students have begun to agree that the issue of phones in schools can no longer be ignored. Some students have noticed themselves veering off course due to their devices, but have also taken notice of their peers getting distracted as well. 

Brandell Brown, a senior at East, has seen many students fall behind on classwork because they are unable to manage distractions.

“I don’t personally use my phone in class unless I’m allowed,” Brown said, “But I’ve noticed most of my peers end up distracted from their work by phones, even when teachers are giving instructions.”

However, Brown doesn’t believe that banning phones is absolutely necessary. 

“I don’t think phones need to be banned overall,” Brown said. “There does need to be some sort of well written description of what you can and can’t do on your phone during the day, but they don’t need to be completely banned.”

It’s not just at school that students are struggling to manage distractions, but at home as well. Parents have begun to notice an increase in time spent on electronic devices as well as a decrease in their children’s attention spans. 

Deborah Lanzara, a mother of two students in the SD308 school district, as noticed the change in her kids attention spansnand sources of entertainment.

“If my daughters don’t have an electronic device, they have a hard time finding something to entertain themselves with,” Lanzara said. “They also have a harder time sitting still for long periods of time to finish one assignment before needing to do something else.”

Lanzara believes that schools need to be more strict on phones to keep students attentive. 

“I think schools need a more strict policy,” Lanzara said. “It shouldn’t be classroom to classroom or teacher to teacher. If there is going to be a no phone policy it should be enforced throughout the entire school, and not different in each classroom.”

While students, parents, and teachers may not be in agreement over whether or not phones should be banned in school buildings, it is clear that more needs to be done to keep students from getting distracted by the device during the school hours.

Written by Senior Payton Lanzara. Edited by staff writers for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl.