Samo teachers begin to crack down on phones
Dalia Puchalt / The Samohi
Riley Schreier ('25) puts her phone away in Econ class.
Students may have noticed that more of their Samo teachers have implemented cell phone pockets in their classrooms this school year. This practice is one way that teachers can uphold the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s (SMMUSD) electronics policy that students may only use their devices for academic purposes during class.
This stricter policy results from teacher’s concerns about students’ overuse of electronics and subsequent issues. These include students not being mentally present in class, a decline in verbal communication skills, difficulty connecting with peers and declining mental health. 1n 2023, Common Sense Media found: that 97% of students between the ages of 11 and 17 used their cell phones during school hours, that teens in general had a median use time of over four hours and that students picked up their phones a median of 51 times per day.
Along with schools limiting screen time, the state of California is also taking steps. A new law called the Phone-Free School Act is awaiting Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature. If signed, the law would require all school districts, charter schools and county offices of education in California to adopt policies limiting smartphone use by July 1, 2026. These policies may involve placing phones in magnetically sealed pouches or storing them in lockers. Exceptions would be made for medical needs, emergencies or with staff permission. However, not everyone is on board with this approach.
Samo student Youssef Chabbouh (’25) voiced concerns about the potential danger of phone pockets during emergencies,
“[If] an earthquake happened and we need to call someone but we don’t have [our phones] in our pocket at that moment… ceilings start collapsing and our phones now get covered by the [debris],” Chabbouh said. “We’d lose access to call our parents, call for help, call just anyone in general to let them know ‘Hey, I’m here, we’re okay.’ or ‘Hey, I’m here, I’m not okay.’”
Many teachers have embraced the phone pocket system. Nathaniel Munoz Acker (’83) is one such teacher who has implemented the practice and actively witnessed the benefits. By using the phone pockets, teachers have been able to gain more time for academics. Acker explains how, by using the minute at the start of class, teachers have been able to dedicate more time within the classroom to academics,
“I mean, when you think about it, we were losing 10 minutes per day, every day, just telling kids ‘Can you put your phone away?’” Acker said. “That’s an hour, that's a whole class period per week… that we’re wasting policing phones…”
Acker also has noticed that students are less anxious when they do not have immediate access to social media- backed up by many psychological studies. He believes that, by cutting down on social media, there's been increases in self worth and lowering of anxiety. Although the phone pockets have only been recently implemented, Acker has said that students within his classes have been more engaged with both the academics and each other, seen even in this semester so far.
In contrast, some students have found issues with the new pockets. Some students—especially those who are neurodivergent—may have issues with misplacing and forgetting their phones. Oliver Hruby (’25) is one student whose ADHD has left him without a phone many times. With the large campus size and multiple floors he may need to cross, collecting his phone from a previous period takes up time. In fact, it takes considerable time away from his learning—the opposite of the benefits that some say the pockets bring. Hruby explains his experience with leaving his phone in previous classes.
“I don’t like it because after I leave class, I forget my phone,” Hruby said. “Sometimes, it’s not in my pocket. I forget about it and easily lose it that way since I don’t know where it is sometimes… It’s really inconvenient in many ways because sometimes I have to go back or I’m [already] in the next period.”
Hruby also believes that, although the purpose of the pockets is to limit phone usage, it actually promotes student’s to use their phone more. He thinks that students who want to respond to messages or notifications may go on their phones during non-educational time, such as lunch and passing periods, instead of talking to friends or socializing. Some students may begin to doom scroll in hopes of resting or due to the anxiety of being separated from their phones. Chabbouh mentions what he's seen with students using phones and why they may be using it more outside of class,
“I’ve seen an increase [in students using their phones].” Chabbouh said. “You know, people are texting, they’re turning on music, they’re calling someone, setting up a meeting, a plan, for lunch or flex or anything like that.”
In the end, the pockets have been making waves as more and more teachers across campus begin to implement them—even while others are convinced that they don’t help as much as some may believe. As of right now, many teachers claim to have already seen an increase in attention in class. On the other hand, some students have seen an increase in phone usage outside of these learning hours.