Cell phones have changed a lot since the hand-held in-car devices in the 1980s to small devices used for calls to today’s Smartphones.
Cellular technology since 2010 has especially changed a great deal, when Instagram became available on cell phones.
But mental health in America’s youth has also changed since 2010.
According to Virginia Superintendent of Public Schools Dr. Lisa Coons, who spoke Wednesday morning at Kate Collins Middle School in Waynesboro to an audience of area school staff and concerned community members, the suicide rate of boys is up 91 percent and, for girls, is up 167 percent.
“Those are actual suicide rates that our Surgeon General called recently upon us and called this a health crisis in our young people,” Coons said.
The health crisis is students are addicted to their cell phones. Cell phones are one of several addictions youth struggle with, including vaping and video games. What to do about cell phones in public school classrooms is a challenge for children and teachers every day.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order No. 33 on July 9, and ordered the Virginia Department of Education to draft guidance for public school systems on how to carry out a ban on cell phones in Virginia public schools. VDOE’s fourth meeting with the public was Wednesday in Waynesboro, and Coons said the most number of public school superintendents were in attendance in Waynesboro.
“That means we need to define cell phone usage in our communities,” Coons said of the purpose of the meetings. She added that micro grants will be available for school systems to hold parent nights focused on youth mental health.
Coons asked that discussion start with what cell-phone free education would look like in high school classrooms. The suggestion was made that cell phones be removed from classrooms so the focus can be on education. A recommendation was that the burden of monitoring cell phones be taken off teachers. Perhaps a drop off cell phones in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon strategy is the best idea, but some parents will fight that strategy because they want access to their children throughout the day. And, if that’s the case then entire school systems are doing something “wrong in the big picture.”
A suggestion was also made that some students will experience FOMO (fear of missing out) without their phones throughout the school day. A member of the School Nurses Association said nurses love the idea of a cell phone ban, but they also see medical issues. Will the cell phone ban include Apple watches? What about when students have medical emergencies at school? What about teachers with cell phones? If students are not permitted to have them, should teachers also abide by the ban?
“I think if you’re going to enforce it, they have to follow the same policy,” said Del. Ellen Campbell.
But, what if an emergency happens in a school or classroom, and teachers do not have cell phones to contact emergency personnel?
As discussion turned toward cell phones in middle school classrooms, Fluvanna middle school teacher Chris Gresham spoke up. She agreed with teachers also not having cell phones in schools.
“I think that we all need to think about the students and what’s best for our students, not what’s best for us,” she said. By high school, carrying a cell phone is a habit for students. Gresham suggested restricting cell phone access at an early age will prepare students for no access during high school.
Coons said that a mental health professional recently informed the VDOE that the mental health field anticipates very soon addiction to cell phones will become an identifiable mental health disease.
At the elementary school level in public schools, cell phones can be an addiction much like eating sugar.
Implementation of a cell phone ban will require collaboration between schools and parents so that students do not feel schools are placing the ban on them. The ban must come from research-based action.
Augusta County School Superintendent Dr. Eric Bond said all addictions need to be removed from schools, including cell phones and vaping, but school systems need resources to make that happen.
Waynesboro Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Cassell said that school systems today have to address everything that children are facing at home and at school: addictions, hunger, homelessness, lack of resources.
The next VDOE discussion of banning cell phones in classrooms will be held at Chesterfield County Public Schools Career and Technical Center in Midlothian on Monday, Aug. 6, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
The VDOE will draft guidance on banning cell phones in Virginia schools and post it online by Aug. 15. Coons encouraged community members to let the VDOE know what resources will be needed.
“It is incredibly important for you to stay engaged and help us in between August 15 and September 15,” Coons said.
A final draft of the ban will be completed by VDOE for the Executive Order by Sept. 15. School boards across Virginia will then be encouraged to review the p0licies and discuss in their communities what works best for their locality. By January 1, 2025, the VDOE will post on a website the policies from all of Virginia’s school systems.
Coons commented again on how many school superintendents attended the Waynesboro meeting.
“[I] really appreciate their ability to come together with us,” she said.
Related stories:
Share
Rebecca Barnabi
