You won’t see students staring at their phones at Torrington Middle School in Connecticut. That’s because the school no longer allows students to have smartphones in class. Instead, their mobile devices are locked up in special pouches during the school day. Fiona Cappabianca, the chairperson of the Torrington school board, explained that phones had become too much of a distraction.
“Cell phones are abused by all our students that bring them into the buildings,” she told a local newspaper. She pointed out that students were texting, sharing TikTok videos, and even taking FaceTime calls during class.
Also, some school officials say giving kids access to the internet and social media makes it easier for cyberbullying to occur in school.
But not everyone thinks schools should be phone-free zones for students. Some people say that it’s better to teach kids how to use devices responsibly than to take them away. Plus, some parents say they want to be able to reach their kids during the day.