Two decades ago, no one could have predicted that a device small enough to fit in a student鈥檚 back pocket could upend K-12 education. But in recent years, cellphones have emerged as educators鈥� No. 1 nemesis.
Teachers cite them as a near-constant source of distraction in the classroom. They鈥檙e blamed as a culprit in the mental health crisis pervading our nation鈥檚 youth. Teachers say trying to compete with cellphones for students鈥� attention contributes heavily to stress and burnout.
Mitchell Rutherford knows this all too well. The Tucson, Ariz.-based educator, who just completed his 11th year as a biology teacher at Sahuaro High School, will not be returning to the classroom next year, in part because of how students鈥� cellphone use has transformed the nature of the job.
Rutherford said he felt the 鈥渁ll-consuming鈥� nature of the job was unsustainable, especially once he and his wife prepared to have their first child (she arrived just last week). Much of what consumed Rutherford as a high school teacher, especially recently, were his attempts to understand kids鈥� attachment to their cellphones, and to get his students to see the addictive nature of their personal devices鈥攁s well as the rewards in putting them down in favor of live, real-time connections.
Rutherford spoke to Education Week about his teaching trajectory, and how it went from 鈥渁wesome鈥� to exhausting as cellphones became an ever-more prominent part of students鈥� lives. His story has been edited for length and clarity.
In the beginning of my career, I thought: This is awesome; I鈥檒l do this as long as it鈥檚 still awesome. I started referring to teaching as my calling, rather than my career.
When I started teaching, I wanted my students to use their phones鈥攖o do research, to check their grades, to listen to podcasts鈥攏ot necessarily in class, but in general. Then, I didn鈥檛 see it as a big problem in class or in general. There were kids who wanted to check out, who didn鈥檛 care about school or their futures. Those kids would go on their phones. But it was a very small percentage.
Observing students鈥� growing fixation with cellphones
What I鈥檝e seen more recently is that even the kids who are the most motivated and want to learn and have dreams and aspirations for their futures鈥攅ven those kids really struggled, especially this year, with getting off their phones in class and, they told me, outside of class and in between class and at lunch.
Outside of schools, I鈥檝e been noticing this for at least a few years. Everywhere you go, everyone鈥檚 on their phones. Any spare minute: Waiting in line anywhere, taking public transportation, driving鈥攑eople are looking at their phones. And that鈥檚 what I started seeing in the classroom, too. I鈥檇 be teaching a lesson and students would look up, and then they鈥檇 look down. It was just so clear that there were some very addictive tendencies coming out that just wasn鈥檛 the deal before.
Something shifted to kind of pull people more deeply into it. It鈥檚 kind of like the frog in the boiling water. I guess it鈥檚 always been increasing as an issue. And then finally, I was like: Oh, we鈥檙e boiling now.
I work primarily with sophomores. When the pandemic hit, these students were 12 and 13. I have a theory about why cellphone use might have affected this group more than most. This age is the sweet spot for puberty. It鈥檚 also the time when you start to feel awkward and uncomfortable and when socialization gets weird and difficult. Add to that the pandemic when, all of a sudden, society was completely upended. As this was happening, it was easier for kids to self-isolate and sit on their phones, to retreat to their phones as a kind of safety from social interaction. Then it became a habit.
Teaching how to connect in real-time
Interestingly enough, in 2023, the longest-running study on human happiness since the Great Depression came out of , and it found that the No. 1 determining factor of health and well-being is relationships, connections. I started observing more, and it became very obvious that my students were not connecting with each other. They weren鈥檛 connecting with me either, which is normally the most fun part of teaching.
Everywhere you go, everyone's on their phones. Any spare minute. ... And that's what I started seeing in the classroom, too. I'd be teaching a lesson and students would look up, and then they'd look down.
So I decided right after the pandemic that I would no longer just teach biology. I would teach students to connect, to contemplate, and to be creative. I had kids do lab reports, and in them I would ask them to track things like their habits, and their sleep routines. We talked about why sleep is so important, and why phones prevent them from sleeping well, and I鈥檇 have them reflect on it to get to that contemplation piece.
And then I shifted a lot of the stuff to the connection piece. We would take nature walks and at first it was just silent contemplation with no phones. Then I was like, 鈥淟et鈥檚 hang out with each other.鈥� I would take them out to a grassy field with trees. And the only rule was that you could not have your phone.
Some kids would sit in silence, but then others would congregate, and they would just chat and laugh and talk about whatever. Then the kids would write reflections. We did a [cellphone] detox challenge and we鈥檇 do mini-reflections where I鈥檇 ask them things like, 鈥淗ow did it feel to be without your phone?鈥�
Recognizing the magnitude of the problem
When I had my students track their cellphone use, almost every kid was either shocked or embarrassed by the amount of time they spent on their phones. I would tell my students, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not your fault.鈥� Almost all of them wanted to find a way out, or reduce the time they spent on it. I鈥檝e seen kids change their addictions. I鈥檝e seen kids prefer to talk to each other. I know kids want that. Social connection is the strongest drug of all.
Teachers everywhere recognize that this is a massive problem that鈥檚 way bigger than our school, way bigger than school policies and small-scale enforcement. Our school has policies, our district has policies, but I think the approach to addressing cellphone use has to come from all angles, including at a much higher level鈥攂y holding tech companies accountable for making the most addictive apps and products that the world has ever seen, intentionally.
In the end, I knew I had to leave teaching because of the toll it was taking on my mental health. I wasn鈥檛 emotionally available for myself or my wife because I was pouring my heart into my students that I saw struggling with socializing, anxiety, and focus, which in my opinion is largely caused and certainly exacerbated by intentionally designed addictive cellphone apps.
I have recently applied to jobs at [a network of charter schools that originated in Arizona], the local state and federal correctional complex, and a tutoring company. I鈥檓 also completing my yoga teacher training this summer.
My daughter arrived last Monday, so I鈥檓 enjoying the unemployed time with her very much. But I鈥檇 really like to earn enough to help my wife go part-time.
As my daughter grows up, I鈥檒l be the strictest dad ever. I will not put a phone or iPad in her visual field for years. My plan is to never have my infant daughter see me on my phone, ever.
Explore our coverage around students鈥� use of cellphones in schools:
> Guide to setting a policy: Here鈥檚 a decisionmaking tool for educators to map out the different potential outcomes when putting cellphone policies in play.
> Cellphone bans and restrictions: See which states are requiring cellphone restrictions or bans in schools in our tracker. Explore our tracker.
> Nuisance or teaching tool? How teachers are turning an ubiquitous and growing class nuisance鈥攖he smartphone鈥攊nto a tool for learning.
> Cellphone policies, explained: Education Week breaks down the different ways schools are addressing cellphone use, and the factors to weigh before adopting or changing the rules. Check out our explainer.
> Tips from teens & teachers: Teenagers offer 6 tips on how schools should manage students鈥� cellphone use, and educators share their tips on policing cellphone use in classrooms.
> Then & now: How the 鈥渟exting鈥� panic previewed today鈥檚 debate about kids鈥� cellphone use.
