Phone Caddies: Keep it on You or Sacrifice to the Caddy?

Phone caddies continue to spark interest and debate at South. We’ve all heard the announcements with someone out there telling us, “Make sure those phones get in the caddies!” I’m sure many of us hope our teachers will forget about it and not enforce it, and it’s no surprise that most of us find the idea rather controversial and possibly even unsafe. What if it gets stolen? What if there is an emergency and I need to text my parents? At the same time, however, there are others who argue that it’s better for learning and ask how phones impact students in the long term, even outside the classroom. Especially since we know the decline of mental health has a scary amount of correlation to phone usage and social media.​For reference, there is a phone caddy in almost every classroom at South; each one has 36 slots, and its primary purpose is to hold your phone. That’s essentially it. BUT. What are the actual pros and cons of this?​

Pros

• Increased focus for students - Without their phones with them, there is no desire or want to check any notifications, leaving them more focused on their work.
• Leads to less stress amongst students - Studies have shown that phone and social media use has led to worse sleep, more social comparisons, and self-harm. Without these thoughts plaguing them with their phones off, it can be healthy for them.
• It can be used to help keep track of students. If students are required to have their phones in the caddies, they can be used as a measure for taking attendance.

Cons

• It leaves phones easy to be stolen - without their being any protection for your phones, people could easily just take them from their spots.
• You would not be able to know if there was a family emergency of some kind. If something happened, like maybe your grandparent is in the hospital, you’d probably want to know and see them if they’re ok.
• If there is a school-related emergency (ie, Lockdown), you would not be able to contact your family - if you’re in a lockdown, like I said. You don’t REALLY know if you’ll get out scot-free, so being able to at least tell your parents you love them would be good.

At the Blackshirt, we were curious about what our staff and students had to say about them. Are they good? Are they bad? Or is it simply a topic that could be steered both ways?​What is your opinion on phone caddies?

Yes

“I love the phone caddies, especially that kids seem to think it’s a national expectation and routine in the classroom, so no one really argues with it because the teachers are consistent with it throughout the building.” - Sra. Boyd, Spanish 1, 3, and 4 Teacher

​“Phones have a time and a place; school is not one of them.” - Mrs. Martin, English 10, Honors English 10, AVID 11 Teacher.

​“I would say I think the phone caddies are fantastic in the sense that we know from research that having a device with access to social media is destructive to learning and social and interpersonal relationships.” - Mr. Propson, Honors Chemistry, AP and Regular Environmental Studies, and AVID 11 Teacher.

​“I would say that I think they’re a wonderful tool for any student who has a difficult time keeping their phone out of the classroom.” - Mrs. Panno, Building Substitute.​

“Phone caddies have been a very positive step for keeping students engaged and letting them socialize with their colleagues. I’ve seen very positive impacts from students using the phone caddies, but there is more work to be done.” - Mr. Ross, AP World History, Social Issues, and Government Teacher.

Neutral

“I mean, I think they’re useful, but for someone who doesn’t use their phone in class anyway, it just becomes an extra task to deal with at the beginning of class. Like I get that there definitely are people that do struggle with it, but for a majority of classes I’m in, it hasn’t been much of a problem.” - Maximo Arcilla, Senior.​

“They don’t really do much because the kids that don’t listen will still not listen, but the underclass men usually seem more against it because they’re usually more addicted to their phones, but it does seem to help more though because the kids who are on their phones actually pay attention sometimes.” - Kiera Johnston and Chloe Obrien, Seniors.

​“I think that phone caddies don’t really bother me, but for some students, it might not be important for them because they don’t use them. It’s a tool that the school uses but a tool that none of the students really want, y’know?” - Erick Meraz, Sophomore.​

“I feel like, to a certain extent, it’s a good thing, but it’s also a bad thing because they could need it for emergencies, but if you’re not being appropriate and not using it for good reasons, they should have it in the caddy.” - AJ, Junior.

​“I think it’s a good idea, they can’t be very distracting in class if it’s in the caddy. It can be very hard to pay attention in class because you can feel your phone buzzing, and you’ll get distracted instead of paying attention, but sometimes students don’t put their phones in there, and you can’t tell if they’re being truthful or not. So I don’t know how well they truly work.” - Ms. Diel, Social Issues, AVID 9, and Regular and AP Human Geography Teacher.

No

“I feel like they are annoying, not because I don’t like the thought of it, but because kids will always have a way around the system. Sometimes kids might forget, or if your teacher is hounding students, then it takes away class time, and no matter what, kids will be on their phones.” - Alexandria Hansen, Junior.

​“Although I understand where they are coming from, you're punishing everyone instead of those who need their phone taken away. Personally, my mom wants me to keep it on me in case of emergency, but when it’s in the caddy, it’s not immediately on me, so yeah, I don’t like it. They should punish the individual, not the whole group.” - Thea Youngs-Pham, Junior.​

“I don’t think that phone caddies are as effective as teachers want them to be because most kids just put them in their pockets, and it’s mostly the kids that are on their phones and get them taken away anyway that don’t put them in the caddies. The only time I’ve actually used the caddies was during tests, so it doesn’t fall out of my pocket, but I also leave my phone in my class's caddy accidentally a lot.” - Angel Perez, Sophomore.​

“No, because the caddy caused more of a distraction than if we just had them in our pockets, lockers, or backpacks and it wastes time.” - Abel Hernandez, Senior​

“I think it is a waste of time. What is the difference between having your phone in the caddy and having your phone in your pocket? If it’s not the phone, it is the iPad; if it’s not the iPad, it is a fidget toy, and so on. The students who are not willing to put in the work are always gonna find a way to distract themselves.” - Cesar Jimenez Fernandez, Junior.​

“I think it’s stupid, because I get anxious when I don’t have it near me, because well, it’s in the caddy right there, and someone could just take it. If I wasn’t paying attention, I wouldn’t even realize someone took it until it was too late. Plus, I don’t even use it in class. So that’s why I think it’s stupid. - Taylor Grochowski, Junior​

Why do kids go on their phones at school?

With this whole phone caddy thing being used to combat the problem of phone use in the classroom, it brings up the question: Why do kids go on their phones so often in class? There are plenty of things that could be probable causes, for example: they could be contacting their parents, searching up answers, playing games, listening to music, or scrolling through social media.​Whatever the case, with the only alternative being putting it into your locker, even further away if there is an emergency. It could prove worrisome in some situations, but it’s also a fact that phones affect the mental health and focus of teens greatly. Now, this story alone isn’t going to run any type of change throughout the entire district, but a different approach could be more effective when it comes to phones. Although there isn’t a clear alternative to caddies for now, perhaps in the future something may change.​So, while believing phone caddies should be completely removed may not be the smartest idea, there could maybe be a different approach to dealing with them because there are some students as well who question the safety of their phones with the vulnerabilities of the caddy, but as we know, it certainly also helps keep them off their phones in the first place.