It isn’t a secret that cell phones are  problematic. Anyone could walk into a modern high school classroom and easily pick out multiple students disengaged from anything academic, instead completely focused on their phones. Yes, cell phones are distracting. Yes, cell phones can get in the way of learning. A reasonable conclusion to draw is that adolescents should spend less time with their cell phones. However, is it practical to implement a “solution” using inconsistent methods and varying degrees of application?
Each school day, DGN students can attend up to eight classes. With its current open-ended structure, it is possible that the new phone policy could be implemented differently in every one of those classrooms. Consistency is the key to building better habits, which is the explicitly outlined goal of the policy. However, these guidelines lack the structure and regularity to actually activate a change in the ways of high school students. In an effort to grant teachers with the leeway to manage their own classrooms, the flexibility of the policy is counteracting its original objective of limiting phone use.
Students cannot be expected to develop a detachment from their phones if only a few of their 47 minute class periods are enforcing strict rules on them. The only way to “fix” this technology-dependent behavior is to establish standardized policies that won’t differ from class to class. Until then, it is illogical for anyone to expect tangible, long term change.