It's Been a Minute Should we all start locking up our phones?
Nov 5, 2025
David Figlio, a professor of economics, and Kathy Do, an education research scientist from UCLA, dive into the implications of school cell phone bans. They discuss how phones, while integral to student connection and learning, can also distract and create inequities. The guests present a fascinating study showing that banning phones improved test scores and attendance but raised disciplinary issues, particularly for Black students. They explore the tension between the need for parental contact during crises and the benefits of phone-free classrooms for engagement and focus.
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Host's First Phone Was A Simple Nokia
- Brittany describes getting her first basic Nokia in high school that barely texted and only had Snake.
- The contrast highlights how drastically phones changed classroom dynamics since her school days.
Phones As Educational Tools
- Phones are deeply integrated into classrooms and sometimes serve as instructional tools.
- Teachers use built-in phone features for experiments and group learning, especially in lower-resource schools.
Academic Gains Appear After Adjustment
- Banning phones produced modest test score gains and better attendance after initial hiccups.
- The academic benefits emerged more clearly in year two, suggesting adaptation time matters.