HELENA — Cell phones can be distracting, yet they can also be a helpful tool for everyday problems. MTN News talked with Helena Public Schools about how they’re trying to toe the line between distraction and helpful devices.
“If you have any kind of barrier between you and your student, whether it’s visible or invisible, they can’t learn. And that’s our main job is to teach kids, to teach kids, you know, reading and math, but also how to become better humans for this world,” says Meghan Schulte, Instructional Coach at Helena High School.
Helena Public Schools does not allow cell phones in classrooms or hallways at elementary and middle schools.
High school students at the PAL charter school are required to put phones in a designated locker when they arrive at school. The students then get it back at the end of the day.
Distractions during class is a key reason why these policies are in place.
Wynn Randall was the principal at PAL when he enacted this locker policy for PAL students.
“Once we started the rule of putting the phones in the locker, especially with that orientation group that was staying on campus at lunch, instead of having individuals at different tables looking at their phones, they were actually communicating, laughing, joking, playing games, eating lunch together, and getting to know each other pretty well,” says Randall.
Other issues arise with cellphone use. Cyberbullying is one of the issues that can impact student’s learning and social dynamics.
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“Harassment, intimidation, bullying through a screen of sense has become more prominent,” says Superintendent of Helena Public Schools, Rex Weltz.
Another issue faced by not only students in Helena but students across the country is mental health and phone addiction.
Lisa Cordingley, the director of Helena Education Foundation, says that they are hoping to host book clubs focused around the book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt to bring parents into the conversation surrounding their children’s well-being and to bring a better understanding of the issues facing the district.
“Our focus is to help people understand what the problem is, to make the community have the best opportunity we can provide to get the most information to help with the situation,” says Cordingley.
Superintendent Weltz says this is a discussion that began at the end of last school year. He says it’s important to understand that there exists a balance between the challenges presented by cell phones and their ability to be a tool for learning.
“It’s not all negative, there’s opportunity for enhanced student learning through a cellphone,” says Weltz.
One of those tools is the district’s new Stop It app, which gives students the option to anonymously tip off staff to bullying and other issues utilizing their cell phones.
Weltz says that he wants all impacted parties – teachers, parents, and even students – to weigh in on this issue.
“I think it’s important to get our parents involved, but more importantly I think it’s to get our students involved,” says Weltz.
