Marin Voice: Teachers, parents forced to face cell phone challenge with adolescents
A mass murderer was engaged in a shootout with police at his home. An enterprising journalist called him on the phone and the shooter couldn’t resist answering it.
The journalist asked, “Why are you killing people?” The criminal replied, “I can’t answer that yet. I’ll have to talk to you later. I’m too busy now.” The story, told by anthropologist Edward Carpenter in the book “They Became What They Beheld” is one of his many stories about how technology shapes our behavior.
The book was published in 1970. The technology, the landline telephone. Shortly after reading it, I had dinner with friends. The hostess picked up the phone during dinner whenever it rang. A psychologist friend noted that, even in the middle of a session when a client’s phone buzzes, the client seems unable to avoid checking who it is even as they turn it off.
“Stimulus control” is a related psychological theory. An unconscious connection takes over and the stimulus controls the behavior.
More than 50 years later, we are faced with technology that dwarfs the landline phone in its power to affect us. The smartphone combines the power of the phone with instantaneous texting – plus most of the functions of a computer.
They’ve become a “must have” piece of technology that can interrupt dinner at home, classes at school and any conversation. They can be an effective means of communication, alert emergency rescue agencies, send important information and be portable encyclopedias. On the other hand, they can also be used to share embarrassing videos, provoke painful conflicts and spread malicious messages.
Blaming the technology is useless. It’s here, it’s pervasive. And, as Carpenter would undoubtedly agree, it is shaping a lot of our behavior.
The focus is frequently on kids in school and how phones are disruptive to learning. Yet that classroom challenge exists because this interruptive device is heavily embedded in our culture. It would be unrealistic to expect this to not intrude into classrooms.
As parents and educators, we have a responsibility to help kids better understand and navigate phone usage, even as we wrestle with our own challenges in using it. Teachers not only have a greater challenge, they have a greater opportunity to educate students about the cell phone’s power and the various challenges it poses. Consider including a unit to better educate kids in how to navigate the cell phone terrain, in and outside school and home, including the impact of malicious messaging.
Adapt to the cell-phone reality rather than fighting about them. Share the challenge with students. And, very importantly, help develop student consciousness and understanding of the impact of phones in adolescent culture. Literacy about social networks, the use of cell phones and other electronic devices, should be part of their education.
Perhaps even begin with the Carpenter story as an excellent attention grabber for kids. Do they respond to their phone every time there is a notification? Can they somehow resist responding to the stimulus?
I highly recommend an article by Christopher Klein on the Edutopia.org website titled “Guiding Students to Develop a Clear Understanding of Their Cell Phone Use.” It provides an excellent foundation for approaching the subject.
Consider showing the excellent documentary film, “The Social Dilemma.” It informs and provokes thinking, opening up multiple topics for class discussion.
As a teacher or parent, please consider reading the book “Behind Their Screens.” It would also make for a great shared reading experience for parents and their adolescent children.
Think about using a hoax with a pseudo letter from the principal, permission granted, informing them that phones are now permanently barred from school. Get their responses. After you tell them it’s a hoax, ask them for their solutions. Would a schoolwide ban work? If not, what would be better?
Beyond this classroom approach, every school should explore the problem with parent and student leaders, working with them to find solutions that fit that educational community. Additionally, parents should discuss appropriate and inappropriate use of the phones with their children, while themselves modeling appropriate use.
The challenge will continue. There are no quick fixes. But these approaches may at least provide partial solutions.
Mark Phillips of Woodacre is a professor emeritus of education at San Francisco State University.