Away for the Day Is the Best Phone Policy for Schools

I think this is one of the most important books of the year for parents and educators, Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation.

It's all about how smartphones and social media have really affected young people, especially in terms of mental illness, but also in terms of education and just the good experiences of childhood that typically happen offline.

and are being replaced by online activities and phones and things like that.

It's just such a good book.

I've already listened to the audio book.

My wife ordered the hard copy from our local independent bookstore here.

Support your independent bookstores.

They are doing important work and they need your support.

But anyway, this is such a good book.

The main thing that I think we need to take away from it in schools is that phones need to be away for the day.

That's my favorite phrase when it comes to phones, away for the day.

Like there's no educational value that is worth the damage that phones cause and especially at like this is something I was undecided on a while ago and it's become clearer over time to me Like, especially during passing period and lunch and if there's a recess, things like that.

That's when kids need to be talking to one another and making friends in person and not on their phones.

And Jonathan Haidt makes a pretty strong argument in the book for not allowing phones outside of class time either.

Because if you do, they will not play with each other.

Students will not talk to each other.

They will simply look at their phones.

And sometimes that leads to drama and fighting and things like that.

So I really love the way he frames the idea of overprotection.

He says, we have been overprotecting kids in the real world and not letting them play outside and do things that are like a little dangerous, but that we all did it as kids.

And really they're not that dangerous statistically.

And we've been underprotecting kids online where there are all kinds of dangers that can get them.

And like most kids have kind of unfettered access to the internet and social media.

and all of the harms that that can bring.

So definitely worth checking out the book.

I think we've got to get the phones out of schools.

I think if you're a parent and your kids have phones or iPads or whatever, our kids just have iPads, they can't go to bed with them.

I think that's another huge takeaway from the book, to protect kids from really the corporate efforts to engage their attention and to kind of draw them in and take them away from childhood.

Let me know what you think about this book.