Several states, including my home state, passed laws banning smartphones in schools. But a recent shooting is making some question that.
I’m glad smartphones weren’t yet available when I was in school. I’m sure I would have been distracted by the annoying little device. But we have them today and today’s students, research suggests, are definitely distracted by the technology. Several states have passed legislation banning smartphones from the classroom. Some others are at least considering similar measures.
We all know how distracting they can be. There’s no real argument there, right?
Given that today’s students seem to have a lot more to learn and seem to face a steeper hill to climb to compete with their global counterparts, one might wonder why anyone would object to such a ban.
Then, we turn on the news.
Earlier this week, authorities say, a 15-year-old girl, a student at a private Christian school in Wisconsin, opened fire. She killed a student and a substitute teacher before turning the gun on herself.
In the aftermath, we learned something disturbing. The first call — or one of the first — to 911 summoning help came from a student, not the school’s office. It was a student — a second-grader — with his own phone. He was the first one who alerted authorities to the shooting.
Can you imagine a second grader being in a school with an active shooter? Can you imagine being brave enough to take that kind of action when you were in second grade?
To be fair, some sources are reporting now that Madison’s police chief has since clarified to say it was a second-grade teacher, not a student.
That little update doesn’t change one important fact, however. In this day and age, school shootings happen. They happen far more than they should and seemingly more often.
With students having smartphones, there’s a better chance that help can be called faster.
Yes, students should be able to learn in a safe environment. But as we keep seeing, schools are not necessarily safe environments.
If I were a parent, I’d dread seeing my child leave for school every single morning. If I got word from my child’s school that there was some “incident,” the first thing I’d do — the very first thing — would be to reach out to my child via their phone.
I don’t know any parent who wouldn’t do the same.
Banning smartphones in the classroom might eliminate distractions. But until we can find a way to keep guns out, it seems to me it might be costing precious seconds students with those phones could use to summon help in a crisis.