Seven years ago, the former New York City Schools Chancellor said the city’s decision to lift a ban on cell phones in schools was “common sense.”
Last week, the Philadelphia Board of Education approved a contract of up to $5 million with a company that makes locking phone pouches that allow educators to make classrooms phone-free.
The two decisions and the years between highlight the ongoing debate about the proper place for phones in school in the digital era.
Schools across the country continue to struggle with the devices more than 15 years after the release of the first iPhone. Concerns about distractions in class, fights in hallways and other behavior issues have prompted bans in some schools along with statewide legislation to address the issues….