New York City schools will not be banning cell phones for students after consideration after neurotic parents, all likely slaves to their own cell phone addictions, pushed back against the idea.
Parents, apparently unable to remember a time in the not too distant past where cell phones had nothing to do with schooling, cited struggling to reach their children during a lockdown at two Upper West Side schools last month, Bloomberg wrote this week.
The Bloomberg report states that, as a result, New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks came out and said “now is not the time” to ban cell phones in schools.
“Parents were saying that ‘if an emergency happens, I need to be in touch with my child,’” he told Fox 5. He didn't mention any outraged parents threatening legal action, but if we had to venture an unsupported guess, given what we know about New York City, we wouldn't be surprised if that played a role as well.
Ergo, Banks has reversed his stance on a proposal to limit phone use for over 1.1 million public school students across 1,800 campuses.
Initially pushing for a ban, Banks acknowledged on Wednesday that a balanced approach is needed. Speaking to Fox 5 New York, he noted that while cell phones can be a distraction, they also allow students to stay connected during emergencies.
The shift comes as Banks prepares to leave office earlier than planned, according to Bloomberg. Originally set to retire at the end of the year amid a corruption probe, his departure was moved up to Oct. 16. Deputy Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos will take over.
The change of heart followed a Sept. 12 lockdown at Frank McCourt High School and a nearby elementary school due to a false report of a gunman. Parents were frustrated by the lack of direct communication during the incident.
Recall back in May we published what happened when several schools banned cellphones. Our friends at The Epoch Times found that it resulted in improved academics, reduced bullying, and reduced students’ need for counseling.
Citing a 73-page Norwegian paper, they wrote: “Banning smartphones significantly decreases the health care take-up for psychological symptoms and diseases among girls.”
The paper followed data from recent decades, mainly focusing on 2010 to 2020.
The researcher observed no negative impact from introducing such a policy.
“The phones are an absolute distraction. Even if a kid has the phone in their pocket during class, if the phone is on vibrate every time it vibrates, which is constantly, their mind automatically shifts away from what the teacher is teaching to the phone,” Tom Kersting, a psychotherapist who was a school counselor for 25 years, told The Epoch Times in agreement with the report’s findings.
