Lumpkin County resident and Dawson County educator Jim Guy has had a lot to say recently on the issue of cell phone use in the classroom.
“My goal of … talking to anybody who will listen to me about this is to offer solutions and to get in front of this crisis. It’s not to be somebody who just whines and complains,” Guy recently told The Nugget.
Guy’s firm belief in completely restricting cell phone access to students during class hours has resulted in letters to the editor, one of which was published in the May 29 issue.
He has also passionately delivered his message directly to the Lumpkin County Board of Education during the Community Participation portion of both the June and July meetings.
Currently, there is no system-wide policy regarding cell phone use for Lumpkin County students. Instead, the administration of each school is allowed to set their own guidelines.
The Nugget reached out to each of the five local principals over the summer break to determine exactly what the current policies are; we also asked Superintendent Sharon Head whether there are any plans to review or possibly even revise those rules ahead of the Fall semester.
“This is a topic that I plan to talk about with our district leadership team when we meet next week for our annual leadership retreat. I also plan to start a teacher advisory committee next year, and I would like their input as well. I would like to know from teachers in the classroom how much of an issue this is for them before I weigh in on this topic,” Head responded.
CURRENT POLICIES
New Lumpkin County High School Principal Brian Matthews sent over a screenshot from the code of conduct to explain his school’s cell phone policy.
Under a section titled “Unauthorized use of cell phones, headphones, Beats, iPods, AirPods, etc. in classroom,” the code says that LCHS teachers have the right to confiscate technology if their students have been told not to use them “during instructional time.”
“If the student refuses to give up their phone, they are subject to a referral for insubordination,” the policy states.
Libbie Armstrong, the new principal of Lumpkin County Middle School, sent over an arguably more expansive “Electronic Device Policy” for her school, but cautioned that “it may change once my admin and leadership team meet to prepare for the 2024-2025 school year.”
That policy specifically calls out cell phones and other electronic devices for causing “students to focus less on their academics and more in other areas that are not related to the curriculum.”
“Therefore,” the policy continues, “students are prohibited from using cell phones or any other type of electronic device, including smartwatches, at any time during the instructional day. The instructional day is defined as the time they arrive at school in the morning until after students are dismissed for the day.”
“At LBES students are discouraged from having devices at school. If they are present they must be in bookbags and powered off,” said Long Branch Elementary School Principal Sara Fain.
Cottrell Elementary Principal Stacie Gerrells and Blackburn Elementary School Principal Betsy Green both shared similarly-worded policies.
“We encourage students to leave all electronics at home. If cell phones are brought to school, they should be turned off and in the student's backpack,” Gerrells said.
OPENING SALVO
In his initial letter to the editor, Guy invoked his own personal teaching experience while arguing for a more cohesive cell phone policy.
“As a teacher I have witnessed countless times the negative impact cell phones have on the learning environment,” he wrote. “I believe that through adopting a county-wide policy prohibiting cell phones during instructional time we can create a more focused and productive atmosphere for students.”
Guy elaborated further on this opinion at the June 17 BOE meeting.
“Research has shown again and again that the continued use of smartphones can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and depression among young people,” Guy stated in remarks he shared with The Nugget.
Guy concluded his first presentation by citing an informal poll that he conducted on his own Dawson County students prior to the end of the school year.
When he asked students if they felt that their peers are distracted by smartphone use at school, 116 of 124 polled said ‘yes.’
When he asked students to answer the same question about themselves 72 of 124, or 58 percent, admitted they are distracted by their own phones.
Guy reported that over 50 percent even acknowledged that they “are possibly addicted” to their smartphone and apps.
Following the June meeting, Guy also sent The Nugget links to professional studies showing student cell phone use has negative consequences. He cited a warning listed on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services webpage under the heading “Social Media and Youth Mental Health.”
On the site, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy calls for a warning label for social media platforms. He also wrote an Advisory opinion stating that “we cannot conclude social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents.”
POLICY PRESCRIPTION
Guy was back on the offensive at Monday night’s BOE meeting. Although he was not listed on the agenda as a speaker, Guy requested to make a brief follow-up statement to the board.
Chair Bobby Self agreed, on the condition that Guy limit his remarks to only three minutes.
Guy said since the last meeting he met with Dawson County Schools Superintendent Nicole LeCave about the possibility of tightening her school system's policy on cell phone usage. He said he came away from the meeting “encouraged very much.”
Regarding Lumpkin’s various cell phone policies, Guy said “My feedback is the principals, admin and teachers are growing weary in enforcing [the policies], and I would encourage you from the top to basically say ‘no cell phones allowed during instruction.’ That’s what we need. And what I’m hearing in both counties is teachers and some admin are kind of picking and choosing how they want to enforce that.”
Guy said that he believes that young people are going to view any kind of flexibility in enforcement as a vulnerable point to be exploited.
Board member Mera Turner noted that several counties in Georgia had gone so far as to begin making students store their cell phones in locked pouches.
“They lock it and the kids get it back at the end of the day. So a lot of the schools are beginning to do that,” Turner said.
“This is definitely a wave that’s coming,” Guy responded. “And I’m not saying the pouch is the only way, but getting kids to face their addiction, and that’s what it is … I only see a positive and a win-win for everybody.”
Jim McClure was the last to offer comment on the hot-button issue.
“Since you were here last month, I was surprised how many times on the news, on the national media, where I’ve seen this problem being addressed by different school systems, different states, different jurisdictions, and it seems like a lot of people are facing this problem and I think we need to face it and do something, too,” he said.