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Graphic Truth: The state of cellphone bans in schools
Should smartphones be banned in schools? Three-quarters of US schools already restrict the use of cellphones during lesson hours, but only a handful of state governments have imposed blanket restrictions. Florida became the first one last year, followed by Illinois and Virginia, where bans will take effect this school year. In Canada, half a dozen provincial governments have passed restrictions.
The measures come amid growing scrutiny of the harmful effects of smartphone use in general – and social media in particular – on teen mental health. US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in May called for cigarette-style health warnings on social media. A recent bestseller traces the rise of the current “Anxious generation” to the emergence of smartphones in the early 2010s. And as any schoolteacher can tell you, smartphones are generally not great for the classroom learning experience.
But on the other side of it, parents have raised safety concerns. Cellphones are often the only way for caregivers to locate or contact children during emergencies. As the number of US school shootings has soared over the past 10 years, some parents are particularly reluctant to cut that tie – especially during school hours. Alongside these worries, many parents and lawmakers simply think the decision should be left to local school boards rather than faraway state legislators.
Here is a look at the current state of cellphone bans in the US and Canada. By the way, where do you stand on this issue? Let us know here, along with your name and location, and we may publish your response in an upcoming edition of GZERO North.
Students at Martin Van Buren High School in Queens
Hard Numbers: Segregation is back, Thai activist dies in jail, French “Fly” freed, New US arms sale to Israel
19.8: Over the past three decades, the share of US public schools where 90% of the students are non-white has nearly tripled to 19.8%, according to a UCLA report. Experts say the rise of charter schools and expansion of school choice is partly to blame for this de facto segregation. The data, crunched by the UCLA Civil Rights Project, come on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the landmark Brown vs. Boardof Education case in which the US Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation at schools.
110: A young Thai activist jailed for demanding reform of the country’s uncriticizable monarchy has died after a 110-day hunger strike. Twenty-eight year old Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom had been jailed under Thailand’s severe lèse-majesté laws after asking people’s opinion of the monarchy in public spaces in 2022.
2: A manhunt is underway in France after two masked gunmen ambushed a prison van and freed a notorious drug dealer nicknamed “The Fly.” The incident is the latest in a trend of rising narco-related crime in Europe, as authorities seize record volumes of cocaine entering the EU while rival gangs fight for turf and clientele. Of course, when it comes to jailbreaks, the cinema-obsessed French gangster Rédoine Faïd remains the master of the craft.
1 billion: The Biden administration reportedly told lawmakers it’s moving forward with a new sale of roughly $1 billion worth of arms to Israel, including tactical vehicles and ammunition. This news comes as the administration continues to butt heads with Israel over the Rafah operation, and just days after President Joe Biden put a hold on a shipment of bombs to the Jewish state as concerns rise over the mounting death toll amid the war with Hamas in Gaza.
Flying blind: The US government’s pandemic response with Dr. Tom Frieden
Former CDC director – and current CEO of the public health initiative Resolve to Save Lives – Dr. Tom Frieden joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to talk about how to get the Covid-19 pandemic under control in the United States (hint: we need more data). As with politics, Dr. Frieden argues, all epidemics are local. And the outbreaks crippling much of the South and Southwest need local responses. But the main failing lies at the federal level. Things won't improve (and schools won't effectively reopen) Dr. Frieden warns, until Washington alters course. That is, of course, until an effective vaccine becomes readily accessible to all Americans. Though even that will likely not be the silver bullet we all want it to be.
Partisanship, lack of data, the need to slow community spread, healthcare workers getting sick, a weak US primary care system, financial mis-incentives, globalization and the spread of pathogens - and the damage of COVID-19 that is still not fully understood - Dr. Frieden's conversation with Ian Bremmer digs deep into the state of the coronavirus response, implications for our lives today, and the medical developments to watch for next.
Fmr. CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden on opening schools: “The key is to open them in a way that they can stay open"
In a new interview with Ian Bremmer for GZERO World, former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says that the single most important step to reopening schools in the fall is to control infection in the community. But as of now, too many communities across the United States have lost control of the Covid-19 virus. Opening schools will only become a possibility once a majority of people start practicing the "Three 'W's" ("Wear a mask, wash your hands, watch your distance") and local and federal governments enforce stricter protective policies. The full episode of GZERO World begins airing on US public television on Friday, August 7, 2020. Check local listings.