If you were to ask anyone at school, whether it be a student, teacher, administrator or someone else what’s changed about the school environment this year, you’d most likely hear the tech ban come up quite a bit. But just because everyone can agree that the tech ban has proven to be a change, the consensus of whether or not this change is positive varies greatly.
This year phones, headphones and all other smart devices are required to remain in a student’s backpack from the moment they enter the school to the moment they leave, with an exception for headphones during study hall, or if a teacher gives a student permission to use headphones during class, as confirmed by Dean Chase Franks. If a student is caught failing to follow the policy, their device will be confiscated by an administrator.
While some students might not have appreciated the new policy, a surprising number of kids have been following the rule with ease, putting their phones in their backpacks before they walk in, and refraining from pulling them out in class. This cooperation from students has been a pleasant surprise for both teachers and administrators.
“I think it’s going pretty well,” freshman English teacher Jesse Gardner said. “There have been a few times when students’ parents were calling them during class, but other than that, there haven’t been many issues.”
Gardner also noted that without phones, students appeared more connected than before, an observation similarly voiced by vice principal Keyla Santiago Rodriguez.
“I’m seeing a lot more engagement. In the hallways, a lot more students are making eye contact and saying hello. I’m seeing kids be kids,” Santiago said.
Santiago also shared some mild annoyance, not towards the phone ban itself, but rather towards the process of enforcing it.
“I wish I didn’t have to, but it’s necessary,” she said. “I’ve struggled in the past with students being disconnected.”
According to Santiago, enforcing the rule was difficult at the start of the year, but students are starting to adjust and fewer phones are being confiscated every day.
“It has gone down significantly, and we’re proud,” Santiago said.
Junior Elouise Havran expressed mixed feelings on the issue.
“In theory I don’t think it’s a good idea, but I think the way McDaniel has done it is good. Like if there’s an emergency we still have access to them,” Havran commented.
Not all PPS schools are enforcing the new policy the same way, according to an article by OPB Not all schools are required to use Yondr pouches, which McDaniel isn’t, but that might not be permanent because the tech ban is still new and changing.
In the article, school board chair Eddie Wang explained more.“The policy doesn’t tell the district how to do something,” Wang said, “and it’s up to each school to decide how they want to implement it.”
