Students are struggling to stay engaged in class at a time of poor mental health, shortened attention spans, reduced attendance and worsening grades
Isabella Pires first noticed what she calls the “gradual apathy pandemic” in eighth grade. Only a handful of classmates registered for service projects she helped organize at her Massachusetts school. Even fewer actually showed up.
When she got to high school last fall, Isabella found the problem was even worse: a lackluster Spirit Week and classes where students seldom spoke.
In some ways, it’s as if students “just care less and less about what people think, but also somehow care more,” said Isabella, 14. Some teens, she said, no longer care about appearing disengaged, while others are so afraid of ridicule they keep to themselves. She blames social media and the lingering isolation of the post-COVID era.
Educators say their tried and true lesson plans are no longer enough to keep students engaged at a time of struggling mental health, shortened attention spans, reduced attendance and worsening academic performance. At the crux of these challenges? Addiction to cell phones. Now, adults are trying new strategies to reverse the malaise.
Cell phone bans are gaining traction, but many say they’re not enough. They argue for alternative stimulation: steering students outdoors or toward extracurriculars to fill time they might otherwise spend alone online. And students need outlets, they say, to speak about taboo topics without fear of being “ canceled ” on social media.
“To get students engaged now, you have to be very, very creative,” said Wilbur Higgins, lead English teacher at Dartmouth High School, where Isabella will be a sophomore this fall.
Cell phone pouches, lockers and bins have grown in popularity to help enforce device bans.
John Nguyen, a chemistry teacher in California, invented a pouch system because he was so distressed by bullying and fights on phones during class, often without adults interfering. Many teachers are afraid to confront students using phones during lessons, Nguyen said, and others have given up trying to stop it.
At Nguyen’s school, students lock their phones in neoprene pouches during classes or even all day. A teacher or principal’s magnetic key unlocks the pouches.
It doesn’t matter how dynamic the lesson, said Nguyen, who teaches at Marina Valley High School and now markets the pouches to other schools. “There’s nothing that can compete with the cell phone.”
Some schools are locking up smartwatches and wireless headphones, too. But the pouches don’t work once the final bell rings.
