Bethlehem to ‘lock’ student phones during school day

Decision made to spur more in-person social interaction at school

By KATHLEEN MOORE

BETHLEHEM — The knowledge of the world and the power of a super computer is in most teens’ pockets, but school officials are desperate to keep them out of students’ hands.

Cellphones have become a scourge in most schools: Social media can be abused to bully people or cheer on destructive acts, and watching videos or playing games is far more common than using the device to learn.

Most schools started with hard bans on having smart-phones out during the day, but some districts have gradually eased up over the years. For example, students were delighted in Schenectady city schools when their request to use their phones during lunch was granted in 2011.

teraction. In Bethlehem, school officials recently decided to ban phones for the entirety of the school day starting in the fall, believing it will lead to students socializing more.

While many schools allow cellphones at lunch and often during study halls, Bethlehem officials are specifically aiming at restricting them during non-instructional time as well.

“This is when we want our students to be social and interact with one another,” Superintendent Dave Hurst told the school board at a meeting last week.

Teachers had been asking students during class to put away their phones or put them in pouches hanging on a wall of the classroom. That “to some extent has curtailed phone use in classrooms, but not entirely,” Hurst said.

So to solve both problems, the school board is planning to spend $26,773 on Yondr, lockable bags that will be issued to every student this fall. They have magnetic locks that open when tapped against an unlocking base; there will be several at the high school for students to use when they leave the building.

Hurst said his push to be more restrictive with phones was fueled by studies that have shown a national increase in students feeling lonely and isolated, leading to much higher depression and suicide rates.

“Humans are wired for social connection,” he said. “You see students sitting (at lunch) three, four to a table and they’re all on their phones and they’re not interacting whatsoever. They’ve lost that social connection.”

“Everyone’s going to become a natural extrovert and talk to everyone in the cafeteria? The kids I know… avoid the cafeteria,” said parent Cara Brousseau during the school board meeting about the proposal.

“I wish they would socialize, but you can’t just expect that to happen spontaneously by locking up their cellphone. There needs to be a path to get there.”

Natasha Ruiz, whose son is a freshman, said it’s not necessarily unhealthy to watch videos on a phone during lunch.

“He goes to the library and he decompresses on the phone for 10 minutes, watching videos, putting a smile on his face,” she told the school board.

In interviews the Times Union did after school one day this past week, several groups of Bethlehem High School students weighed in on the proposal.

One teenager said it would be a relief to not have to keep up with everything on his phone. “A weight off your shoulders,” he said.

But a friend of his vehemently disagreed, saying he needs his phone because school is boring. “What am I going to do in my free periods?” he said. “It would make my life suck.”

But now some school officials worry that games and videos have replaced in-person in-

However, parents, students and some mental health counselors aren’t sure that removing cellphones at school will make a difference.