As the school year begins, an evident change has been implemented in many classrooms: the bond students have with their phones has been broken by phone jails, pockets or baskets.

High school students nationwide are known for being distracted by their cell phones, with over 70% of teachers claiming cell phones are a major problem in classrooms, according to Pew Research Center. While Portola High has left the phone decision to individual teachers in past years, administration is now recommending teachers preserve instructional time by removing the phone distraction, according to principal John Pehrson. 

“We’re trying to preserve instructional time to be instructional time and to encourage meaningful discussions and social interactions between all of our learners,” Pehrson said. “So by taking the phones out, we’re removing [a] distraction. Now students have undivided attention to whatever’s going on in the class.”

To ensure that students are in an optimal learning environment, all teachers should enforce the new cell phone practice. Students should also comply with the new practice as it will ultimately benefit their learning. Learners who keep their phones with them during lessons have worse recall of the content taught compared to those who do not have their phones with them, according to ScienceDirect. Many teachers who have not prohibited phones during class in the past but have started to this year — including physics teacher Ryan Johnson — are noticing positive changes. 

“Because of [the] removal of the distraction, I’m seeing more people are focusing only on doing the work and listening during class,” Johnson said. “More people are asking questions and completing classwork.”

However, many students also believe the phone practice is unfair to those who responsibly use their phones and feel that phones are a crucial part of their learning due to convenience, according to sophomore Jasmine Khaligov.

“​​When I first found out about the phone practice, I was mad because I never use my phone in class, and I thought they were punishing us for something only a couple of kids did,” Khaligov said. “Teachers usually give us QR codes and links in class, and when my chromebook is dead I have to use my phone, so when they make me put [my phone] away, what am I supposed to do?” 

But ultimately — whether they notice it or not — students are learning more actively without their phones, asking better questions and scoring higher on quizzes as a result of their heightened focus in class, according to Johnson. In place of phones, many teachers, like Johnson, allocate breaks away from instructional time when students can use their phones as a mental break. 

“People are more focused because they don’t have the distraction [of] opening their phones the whole time,” junior Grace Li said. “When it wasn’t required for us to put our phones away, sometimes students would use them in class, and then they would miss out. They would have more questions at the end of class, which took up time and also made learning for them more difficult.”

The enactment of the phone practice benefits not only individuals but the whole class, according to Li. Enforcing the confiscation of phones during instruction will benefit both students and teachers, creating a better learning environment.