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Cell phones are designed to be addictive. How NC schools are handling them

Phone in a hand
Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay
Schools are trying to figure out how to manage student cell phone use.

Teaching a classroom full of young students has never been easy.

Tack on the added friction of being caught in culture wars and the grim reality of school shootings, it can be understandable why so many teachers are leaving the profession.

And that’s before taking into consideration the ever-present challenge of cell phones.

More than 70% of high school teachers in the U.S. say distraction from cell phones is a major problem in the classroom, according to the Pew Research Center, and cell phone restrictions have grown in school districts across North Carolina, including in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

While experts say smartphones are designed to be addicting and can cause serious disruptions in classrooms, advocates believe students should learn healthy ways to incorporate technology into their learning habits.

This hour on Charlotte Talks, we unpack the debate over cell phone use in schools in N.C. and nationwide.

GUESTS:
Mary Alvord, psychologist, founder of Alvord, Baker & Associates and Resilience Across Borders
James Farrell, education reporter for WFAE
Krista Glazewski, executive director of the William and Ida Friday Institute at NC State

Stay Connected
Jesse Steinmetz is a senior producer of Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. Have an idea for the show? Email him at jsteinmetz@wfae.org.