The sound of silence

I recently read this mini-article on a Spokane, WA (public?) high school that is testing and exploring the legality of a cell phone blocker in the school. The school tested a blocker for 3 days, turning it off during the passing time between classes. The reason I found this article is that I am one of the school improvement chairs at my school, and recently several teachers and committees have suggested that a similar device be employed in our building (all rooms in our school have dedicated landlines).

In my very limited web research on cell phone blockers, I have found that jamming devices (devices that actually interfere with the radio signals of the phones) are illegal, but blocking devices use a slightly different technology and are considered a “grey area” in the law. The previous article concerning the Spokane school stated that the school district is investigating whether the cell phone blocker that the high school tested is legal.

Let me share a little background. In our building (and district wide, I think), cell phones are not allowed in school during school hours. They can be used before and after school. During school hours, including during passing time and lunch, phones are not allowed and if they are seen or heard by a staff member, they can be confiscated without warning. According to the policy, on the first offense, the student may pick up the phone after school in the attendance/discipline office. On the second offense, a parent must come into school to retrieve the phone. On the third offense, the student will be suspended.

The problem is enforcement. The students know that our administrators will not enforce the policy, so while they complain when their phone is taken away, they know there is no real consequence. Teachers also have come to learn that administrators will not enforce the rules; so slowly but surely, most teachers have stopped taking phones except in the most extreme cases. Consequently, phones are out of control in our building. Most of our 1600 students use their phones regularly in school. While most of the use is innocent, often the use is disturbing to class and disrespectful to teachers. Some students have found ways to cheat on tests, and the latest craze seems to be “sexting” in which kids are sending sexual texts and nude photos of themselves to each other.

I don't want it to sound like I am overly critical of our administrators, nor of the teachers who have chosen to not enforce the policy. With all the cutbacks in our district (like other districts) all of our staff members are stretched very thin. On any given day, there are probably more serious concerns in our building than cell phones.

Technology is also against teachers in this battle. Newer phones can use the school’s wireless network, and therefore still have limited use even if a cell blocker were put into place. Mosquito ringtones allow students to receive calls and texts without teachers hearing the phone ring or vibrate, and students find all kinds of ways to send and receive texts without taking their phones out of their pockets and purses.

I don’t know whether cell phone blockers are legal or ethical. I don’t even know if they will be effective with the wireless network available. What I do know is that our school, like many others, needs to find a way to maintain a learning environment in light of the proliferation of cell phones.