Phone jail is an outdated and invasive strategy to deal with cell phone use in class. As a teacher, you should be setting an example for proper phone use, so it is not fair for you to take away all your student’s phones while you still have access to yours. Teachers should not be allowed to interfere with students’ personal property and in their doing so they are abusing the power they have as the leaders of the classroom and creating a relationship of distrust between them and their students.

Putting trust in your students and holding them accountable creates a more safe and more positive classroom environment. Communicating boundaries and expectations to your students give them the freedom to make responsible decisions. If students continue to abuse their freedom then it could be a discussion of if your lessons are not engaging enough for students or maybe there needs to be a more concrete plan to help those students who struggle with having too much privilege. Phones can be useful when they are used for educational purposes, and trying to incorperate technology into your lessons can help to captivate a young generation made up of many children who’s creative outlets may be related to technology and innovation.

A good way to mitigate phone use in class is to set up a designated window for when it is appropriate to use them. You can also encourage students to have do not disturb turned on while in class and leave the phones in their bag so they are not tempted by notifications but are still comforted by its accessibility. For many students their phone can be their safety blanket and help them feel connected to their loved ones, taking that away also takes away their sense of comfort in the class room making it harder for them to be present and focus.