Phones face fierce crackdowns

Every year, more and more teachers try some method to prevent phone use in classrooms. With a potential phone ban in schools proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom, a phone-free CVHS might be closer than ever.

Every day, you can look around in class or at lunch, or just walk through the halls, and see one common thing used by every student: phones. It has become so prevalent that it would be difficult to find a student without a phone.

In a 2023 study by Common Sense Media, 97% of teenagers use their phone in school, with 16% of teenagers spending three to four hours on their phone daily.

With this increased phone use in school and out of school, teachers have had to spend more time preventing phone use and less time teaching. 

“It’s a respect thing. Students should be respectful when there is a class discussion or directions are being given,” said teacher Cameron Greenfield.

Teachers have started to use many different methods to prevent phone use: in a survey by The Olympian of 47 teachers, 60% use phone pockets to stop distractions. 

Phone pockets have become a popular tool among teachers this year, with almost every classroom having the blue pockets hanging from the wall. At the start of class, students file over to the phone pockets to stash their phones until the end of class. 

“The pouches are very helpful. I spend less time scolding students about the phones, and they spend more time learning,” said teacher Gerry Cox. Almost all teachers have praised the phone pockets as being very effective in preventing distractions.

However, all of this might be a moot point as Newsom seems set on banning the use of phones in school. In a letter to school districts before the school year, Newsom stated that there is a “pervasive use of smartphones in schools.”

“As I work with the Legislature to further limit student smartphone use on campus, there is no reason for schools to wait… I urge every school district to act now to restrict smartphone use on campus as we begin the new academic year,” continued Newsom.

We have no idea what the legislation he says that he is working on could look like. It could ban phones from school entirely or just from classrooms; we just don’t know. From this letter, we can very clearly see that Newsom believes that phones are a major problem. 

“Seventy-two percent of high schools report cell phone distraction as a major problem,” said Newsom in his letter, painting a grim picture for the future of phones in school. Only time will tell if there will be a ban of phones in schools across California.