Some Broward parents, teachers applaud district's tougher new rules for cellphones
COCONUT CREEK - Portia Facen is gearing up for the start of a new school year at a Broward County school. The district school bookkeeper has a son who is entering middle school and supports the new tougher rules for cellphones on campus. She has seen kids on their cellphones every day and she believes it is a brain drain.
"It has hurt academics tremendously," she said. "It takes the focus off of teachers and education. Electronics have changed us."
Some researchers agree. Recent data from the Program for International Assessment, or PISA, which tracks student achievement globally found students who spent over an hour playing video games, surfing the internet or browsing social networks, scored lower in Math.
Starting this school year, cellphones are off-limits for Broward public school students. Students are banned from using phones, headphones and earbuds from the beginning to the end of the school day. They can bring phones, but they must be in airplane mode or turned off.
Since the iPhone debuted in 2007, there have been tremendous changes in the world of education. Smartphones give students access to a trove of information allowing them to quickly search and find answers. While it can increase efficiency, some educators argue excessive use of technology can affect academic performance
"By 2008 is when we noticed a head down, a cell phone in the lap," said longtime Broward teacher Phillip Shaver.
He remembers what it was like before and after the iPhone hit the market.
"I didn't see a big difference in academic achievement so if I had a kid who was an "A" student they stayed "A." It's the kids who had difficulty where it became an issue," said Shaver.
That's no surprise to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Brian LeDuc.
"Technology allows things to be delivered instantly and a child's ability to have patience and persistence is difficult," he said. "Introducing a young child to technology can lead to distraction and that's the problem. It's not so much can they use the iPad and iPhone to focus, but whether they can get it done," he says.
LeDuc said restrictions work, especially for young children, but the older a child, the more challenging it becomes.
"You are asking kids to do something adults find challenging. Their brains are still developing. They don't have the brain power to self-regulate and control. I always recommend technology be stored outside a room. They won't feel the need to answer a phone in the middle of the night," he said.
Alexander Rodriguez, 16, isn't answering his phone in the middle of the night.
He got his first smartphone at the age of 11. He said that lately he's been spending an average of 7 hours a day on his cellphone. But, he added, he has learned to put his phone on 'do not disturb' more often.
"Technology in itself isn't bad. It's when you use it for not-so-good reasons, it's bad," he said.
It's a lesson Portia Facen is teaching her son after a summer of nonstop texting and phoning.
"During the week, he's not allowed to use his cellphone because it will interfere with his education," she said.