Ipswich High School has gone off the grid. Since returning to school, the IHS administration has enforced a phone ban during the school day. Students are expected to put their phones in the phone holders in their first block class, which eventually gets stowed away in a cabinet with a hefty lock to keep the phones safe during the school day. At the end of each school day, there is four minutes before the last bell that is reserved for students to go and collect their phones.
This idea was first announced to students at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. Many opinions were shared from both students and teachers about the ban. The initial reaction of students brought lots of criticism, but over time, students were able to adapt to the new rules.
In most of his years of teaching, Mr. Ames, an IHS history teacher, has always been in a competition for student attention with phones. When asked about his initial reaction to the idea of a phone ban, he was rather very positive. He said, “I actually helped with the phone policy being enforced. I constantly see people on screens and it becomes a battle when I ask students to put their phones away. Students can not learn when they are staring at their phone screen in the middle of class.”
Now that phones have been taken out of the picture, Mr. Ames has seen tremendous growth in students. “Grades are higher; kids talk to each other, and they don’t isolate themselves. Overall, they are able to focus better,” he exclaims. In his opinion, it is a big improvement from last year.
From the student perspective, it feels more complex. Senior Emory Allen has mixed feelings about the phone policy. Emory states, “At first, I was a little upset. I felt like the whole student body was being punished for the actions of a smaller group of students.”
On the other hand, she does acknowledge that it can be very frustrating when students are distracted by their phones during class time. Emory also adds, “Even though the policy is not everybody’s favorite thing, it has had positive impacts in small ways. I have seen an increase in face to face conversations between students and their levels of focus in class has gotten better. Students are forced to listen since there isn’t anything better to do.”
Seniors Ryan Shea and Mia Russo also feel it isn’t as bad as they thought it would be. Ryan states, “Personally, I was never one to use my phone in class. Nothing really changed for me regarding the phone policy.” Similarly, Mia remarks, “The people who were on their phones before are doing better and are more attentive. But my friends who studied and got good grades and didn’t go on their phones during class, it feels the same-our attentiveness.”
Though the policy brings many positives to the school community it also brings a lot of challenges. Emory states, “In the real world, students are going to have their phones. There isn’t going to be anybody to tell them to put their phone away or tell them to do their work. They are accountable for their own work,” High school is all about preparing students as they take the next huge step in their life: becoming independent individuals. She continues, “the school isn’t teaching students how to coexist with phones if they don’t even allow students to have them in their bags.” Emory feels that it is important to have a balance in how much screen time you are exposed to but at the same time, having integrity to get work done.
Another frustration is not having an effective way to communicate with people outside of school. After school, Emory heads off to rowing. She uses an app on her phone to communicate with her coach but the chromebooks don’t support that app. During the day, if something changes, she is not able to get that information until the very end of the school day.
It also makes it hard for siblings to contact each other. Ryan adds, “It is definitely hard to communicate with my brother. We have different schedules. For example, I do a fall sport but my brother doesn’t. I will email my brother if a change in the day comes up but it is a gamble because I’m not sure if he’ll see the email or not. Communicating with parents is relatively the same thing as communicating with my brother. When I send an email to them, it might be missed or just not even read. With the phone, it is more instant and more present whereas emails could just get swept under a rug.”
Overall, there are pros and cons to the policy. Students and teachers are still adjusting as this is the beginning of a new chapter for Ipswich High School as education is prioritized.
