This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

A Brave and Thoughtful Stand

Shoreline Technology Education for Children’s Health (TECH)-Madison supports the new restricted cell-phone policy at Polson Middle School, wherein students must leave their phones in their lockers.

Shoreline TECH is a group of concerned parents helping families and schools make informed decisions about their use of technology and devices. Without the distractions of phones, teachers dive deeper into their lessons and don’t have to repeat themselves, spending less time policing devices and more time teaching and connecting with their students.

Test scores will improve. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, Louisiana State University, and the London School of Economics, in a study following 130,000 students, found that schools that banned smartphones in the classroom saw grades improve by an average of 6.4 percent. Underachieving students benefited even more, with their scores jumping by an average of 14.2 percent without smartphones.

Students can connect face to face with their peers and learn important social skills that can only be learned in person. Humans send many nonverbal cues and reading those signs and recognizing emotional expressions are learned skills that young people aren’t learning when they’re using their phones.

Conversation takes practice, and a dependence on devices can make it that much harder for children who may already be struggling socially.

Without smartphones, anxiety caused by the preoccupation with social media will be reduced. Students feel a relief as they aren’t worrying about what’s happening on social media during the day.

I applaud Madison Public Schools, Superintendent of Schools Tom Scarice, and Polson Principal Frank Henderson for taking this brave and thoughtful stand in installing this policy and invite any interested parents to contact me at shorelinetechmadison@gmail.com.

Ellen van Wees

Madison