More of this, please.

In May, Florida passed a law requiring public school districts to impose rules barring student cellphone use during class time. This fall, Orange County Public Schools — which includes Timber Creek High — went even further, barring students from using cellphones during the entire school day.

 

In interviews, a dozen Orange County parents and students all said they supported the no-phone rules during class. But they objected to their district’s stricter, daylong ban.

 

Parents said their children should be able to contact them directly during free periods, while students described the all-day ban as unfair and infantilizing.

 

[…]

 

The ban has made the atmosphere at Timber Creek both more pastoral and more carceral.

 

Wasko said students now make eye contact and respond when he greets them. Teachers said students seemed more engaged in class.

 

“Oh, I love it,” said Nikita McCaskill, a government teacher at Timber Creek. “Students are more talkative and more collaborative.”

 

Some students said the ban had made interacting with their classmates more authentic.

 

“Now people can’t really be like: ‘Oh, look at me on Instagram. This is who I am,’” said Peyton Stanley, a 12th grader at Timber Creek. “It has helped people be who they are — instead of who they are online — in school.”