Science teacher and community members lobby NCSD for strict phone ban policy

Two parents and a science teacher from Newton High School urged school board members to consider the findings outlined in the book “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt when deciding on a cellphone policy for the next school year, saying the devices are negatively impacting student learning.

Jodi Morgan-Peters, who has taught at the high school for the past 20 years, was joined by community members and parents Lisa Abuka and Mitch Lane during the open forum portion of the June 9 school board meeting. They put together a presentation for officials urging them to study the book’s findings.

“The Anxious Generation” was originally published in March 2024, but the book continues be discussed by other publications, celebrities and influencers. It has sold more than a million copies and has been on New York Times’ bestseller list for an entire year. It has been described as a “must-read” for all parents.

Abuka said the book delves into the decline in play-based childhood and the rise of the phone-based childhood and the collective action to reverse the trends. The studies and accompanying data in the book point to a collapse in youth mental health in the era of social media and smartphones and big tech.

“Children are overprotected in the real world but underprotected in the virtual world,” Abuka said to school board members during the presentation. “…Gen X would always drink out of a hose and we came home when the lights came on. We should return to that is basically what we’re saying here.”

The book, she added, links the rise of social media use to increased depression, anxiety and self-harm in kids and young adults. Smartphones and screentime have become an addiction and leading to social degradation. Lane calls it “digital dopamine,” which is why they are lobbying for a strict phone ban at school.

“It interferes with their ability to focus,” Lane said. “Phone-based childhood also interferes with the development of executive function, which is making plans and executing them … With any addiction comes withdrawal, which causes anxiety, insomnia, dysphoria and sadness, depression.”

Earlier this year, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill ordering Iowa school districts to adopt policies that limit cell phones during class time instruction. The law allows districts to adopt stricter policies if they so choose. However, a number of school districts in Iowa already have policies in place.

Newton Community School District already has rules regarding cellphone use.

According to the 2024-25 student handbook, electronic devices like cellphones or headsets or earbuds are prohibited in the classroom. Violations may include detention, in-school suspension or confiscation of device. Administration even goes so far as to discourage bringing these devices to school.

Morgan-Peters said longtime teachers are noticing the classroom environment is different now. Students are not retaining information like they used to, and they are struggling to read and write sentences and spell and do basic math. It has become a real problem for educators.

“We need to come up with a very good policy that allows us to do what we’re trained to do, which is teach,” Morgan-Peters said. “…I’ve been waiting for 10 years for this to happen. I’ve been waiting for the data. We knew this would come out and I’m so thrilled that it’s here. I hope that we look at this book.”

Some schools may say they ban phones, but Morgan-Peters argued that means that students must not use their devices during class. However, she said this kind of policy is ineffective because it incentivizes students to hide their phones during class and then increase phone use after class.

“Which makes it harder for them to form friendships with kids around them,” she said. “A better policy would be to go phone free for the entire school day. When students arrive they put their phones into a dedicated phone locker or into a lockable pouch.”

By doing this, the group and the book say this will fight back against the attention fragmentation, the social degradation and the addiction from cellphone use.

“They are not talking,” Morgan-Peters said. “I say hi to five kids before one will say hi back to me. It’s crazy. They’re not listening. They’re totally tuned out.”