YONDR Pouches: Are They Really the Best Option?
By Seiji Jasper
East Side's new solution to phone overuse: phones locked during school hours in YONDR Pouches. Over the last few years, there have been multiple attempted solutions to stop kids from using their phones during class. Teachers started by asking politely, but as kids started to abuse the privilege of having their phones in school DOE phone policies ramped up, it was time for a much-needed change.
Many teachers have expressed their frustration with phones in classrooms. Roger, the 10th grade science teacher and a new addition to East Sides science team, compares East Side to his old school. “Cell phones were definitely a distraction at my old school. There were students playing games during class and checking their social media and not paying attention to what was happening in classes.” This understandably made it incredibly challenging to teach a class since students' attention was elsewhere.
At the start of this year, students received the dreaded email that informed them that they would be forced to lock their phones up at the start of each day.
A couple of days into the year, students finally received their individual YONDR Pouches that would hold their phones all day except for a break during lunch.
The choice to move to YONDR Pouches was incredibly thought out. Giselle George, the 8th and 9th grade Assistant Principal went into detail about the issue with phones, “Throughout last year a lot of issues came up among students with social media use like posting derogatory things, this ultimately comes back to the school.” This raises some issues because East Side ends up bearing the consequences from students posting negative comments on social media. Another thing that led to the selection was the issues with other options. On the topic of teachers taking students' phones Gisellestates, “The responsibility of holding a $1400 phone falls on the teacher and we can’t have that pressure on the teacher since it is not fair to the family if something were to happen to the device while in the teacher's possession.” Administrators needed to find a way to stop students from going on their phones during class without having the teachers be responsible for them. This is what ultimately led to the decision of incorporating YONDR Pouches into the phone policy.
Soni, the 12th-grade math teacher, asserted some benefits to the Yondr policy “Students are less distracted in classes because they can't actually have their phones out anymore.” She feels YONDR Pouches are a good solution to East Side's phone issue. Emphasizing how students were very often distracted by their phones in class before the change, she adds, “Students are more focused.” Less distractions lead to students being more engaged and thoughtful with their work.
Surprisingly, many students agree that YONDR Pouches are a good idea. Wylie Kaloty-Nemec, an 11th grader, said that YONDR Pouches “Are a good thing because they have helped everyone in class to focus.” He then compared this to his 8th-grade experience, where he recalls, “Everyone was yelling and on their phones [before], but now it is calm, and people are listening to teachers.”
However, there have been many negative testaments against YONDR pouches as well. Baya Ait, a 12th-grade student, remarks, “There are also many ways to get around it, so they also aren’t that helpful. Although I don’t use them because I don’t take my phone to school, I do hear that people find them annoying.” Distaste for these pouches has become widespread within East Side as people are reluctant to surrender their phones for the day. Ait shared how many students have found their ways around these pouches, whether by putting burner phones in place of their phones, covering the locking mechanism, and, most popularly, claiming not to have brought their phones to school that day.
Kalotay-Nemec believes that “It has helped the experience of learning a lot.” By removing phones from classrooms, students can better focus on their work. Edison Lin, an 11th-grade student, said something similar: “YONDR Pouches are helpful, a lot fewer people have been using their phones.” Lin sees the benefits of removing phones from classrooms, mentioning their helpfulness in keeping students engaged in their work. George gave a good visualization of this remarking how, “When you walk into a class you can see that the kids are checked into the work and they are paying attention.”
11th grader Finn Winch, in contrast, joked about his fondness for the pouches, saying, “[They] have helped me a lot as I have not lost my phone yet this year.” Although not very serious, it does show a benefit to having the pouches in school. Ait and Winch are high school students at East Side, the only difference being that Ait is a senior and is graduating later this year. It is likely that there is more of a use for juniors and younger students to have these pouches since they still have something to work towards within East Side.
Joanna, an 11th and 12th grade English teacher, states, “I do think it is helpful,” but “I would prefer if students could learn to manage their phone use instead.” In agreement, Lin claimed that it should only be active phone users “Who should have to lock their phones up if they get caught.” However, the agreement between the two is that the pouches may be the best option for stopping phone overuse in the classroom.
The majority consensus around YONDR Pouches is that they are incredibly helpful for stopping phone overuse in classrooms. The absence of phones in an academic environment has helped to keep students engaged with their work and remove distractions from a teacher's lesson. Despite the inconveniences that come with having YONDR Pouches, they seem to be the best balance between effectiveness and fairness when it comes to removing phones from classrooms at East Side. Roger had some wholesome insight into the success around YONDR Pouches expressing his happiness around “East Sides good school culture where students listen to and respect the rules put in place.”