Happy New Year! For many, the start of school is the real new year full of new classes, new teachers, new clothes, new supplies, and maybe even a new school. On January 1 (the other new year) many make resolutions for the upcoming 365 days, but not me. My resolutions get made in August for the upcoming school year.
Resolution #1: Smartphones
On our “Education Word of the Year” episode, Jackie revealed that 2024’s word of the year was actually two words: cellphone ban. In accordance with nationwide trends and my school district’s new policy, I resolve to follow my district’s smartphone policy with fidelity, hope, and trust. I’m not looking for confrontations and battles, but I will be a Warm Demander (10-15-24 episode) who implements consistent expectations, discreet redirection, and clear reasoning for the policy’s relevance and importance. I will be firm and friendly, and when necessary, “no” will be a complete sentence.
In “Cell Phone Bans,” I revealed my plan to make sure all phones are in my students’ backpacks and to not start class until they are. Then after proclaiming my decision on the radio and the internet, I learned that at my school, the expectation has been set that all phones will be in a hanging phone holder, which looks like a hanging shoe organizer with numbers for each pocket. So that’s what I’ll do. Our last episode, “What Emerging Research Says About Cell Phone Bans,” emphasized that bans only seem to go well with consistency, so I will be consistent with my community as I implement my smartphone resolution for this new year.
Resolution #2: Empty Moments
Accordingly, I resolve to help my students navigate the empty moments when they would normally reach for their smartphones. Some students finish a task before their classmates. Sometimes a teacher needs to restart her computer. We will embrace the peace of a quiet moment to just look out the window or at a blank sheet of paper. We will grab opportunities to get to know one another. We will welcome moments to draw or make a list or read a few more pages of a book. We will learn to be okay with empty moments and blank spaces.
The National Institutes of Health, along with many other reputable organizations, has research detailing the harmful physical and mental effects of too much screen time. From eye strain to musculoskeletal problems and from depression to anxiety, too much screentime has proven dangerous. Therefore, I resolve to help my students welcome empty moments.
What are your resolutions for the real new year?
