Months after Macon Early College implemented its new cell phone pouch policy, the principal and students see increased socialization between students and less phone dependency.
“We’ve seen a lot of more student work, more participation within their own studies, more social interactions that are healthy, at least from my point of view,” said Macon Early College Principal Caleb Parham.
Macon Early College got the YONDR phone pouches in October, and now in the spring semester, Parham says the students feel it’s second nature.
“They come in, they put their phones up, you don’t see them out, and it’s pretty nice,” Parham said.
Previously, MEC had students put their phones in wall-mounted pouches, but they were available between classes.
“They could be finishing a conversation at lunch, and they go in the fourth period and still have [their phone] before they turn it in,” Parham said. “This just secures it between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.”
Parham discovered YONDR, the company that creates the phone pouches, from a news story and researched the company and the pouches.
“Initially we were going to do boxes or phone lockers, where they put it in there and they lock it down in one spot,” Parham said. “But I wasn’t a big fan of being in control of everybody’s phone in one spot.”
The magnetically sealed YONDR pouches are designed to hold most types of smartphones and can only be unlocked at designated stations. Velcro medical pouches are also available for students with diabetes and other medical needs.
Parham said the purpose of the pouches is to help students reach the best of their abilities.
“We’ve told our students it’s not a punishment,” Parham said. “We know that they’re capable of so much more when they’re not distracted, when they’re not focused on the other things.”
Freshmen, sophomores and juniors are required to have school phone pouches. Seniors are exempt, mostly because they have many Southwestern Community College classes in Sylva.
“We expect our seniors to be at a level of maturity to be able to handle their phones,” Parham said.
Parham said YONDR didn’t just deliver the pouches and magnets and leave. “We did a Zoom meet with the whole [YONDR] staff, and they really broke it down,” Parham said. “They just didn’t want to give the pouches to us. They wanted to be able to say, hey, this is how it’s going to be successful.”
There was pushback from some parents who wanted to make sure their kids’ phones were accessible in case of an emergency.
Aiden Perry, an MEC sophomore, said most were skeptical of the phone pouches at first. Perry said he knew fellow students who were more phone-centric were against them.
“I think it was the same idea everyone had, they didn’t want their phone to be locked up for the day,” Perry said. “We wanted to still be able to have our phone, just kind of in case of emergencies or all that…Not as much like I disliked it [the pouch]. It’s just almost viewed as a nuisance.”
Perry said within a couple of weeks, the pouches were second nature to the students. While he hasn’t noticed a huge difference in his group of sociable friends, he’s seen the effects across the school.
“I’ve definitely seen more kinds of communication, and especially in our free period…just the school’s felt a lot more lively overall,” Perry said.
Recently, Perry said there was a day he didn’t even realize his phone wasn’t in his pouch all day.
“It’s to the point now, like even if I have my phone in my pocket without the pouch, I don’t even realize it; it’s not even a temptation,” Perry explained.
Parham said he’s noticed even when going on field trips where phones aren’t in the pouches, students have broken out of their phone addictions.
“While they’re here in this building, the habit’s not there. It’s broken, which is a good thing,” Parham said.
Teachers have reported increased classroom participation and focus, as it removes the temptation to answer your phone every time it buzzes.
“To take that temptation away in a class when you’re there for 90 minutes, you’re able to focus on everything your teacher’s giving you, the work that you’re doing,” Parham said. There’s no temptation of grabbing your phone and worrying about what’s going on in the outside world, it’s in the here and now.”
When students enter the building, there is a wall of the YONDR pouches. Each student has an assigned phone pouch and is responsible for their pouch. Some students put the pouch into its wall placeholder for the school day, but the majority carry their phone pouches with them. Minor issues arise from students not silencing their phones before putting them into pouches, or Bluetooth connecting and playing music unexpectedly.
Unlocking stations are installed at four locations in the school. During the school day, teachers keep the magnetic center of the unlocking stations and then put them on the stations at the end of the day so students can unlock their pouches. Each teacher also has a portable magnet they can use. Tampering with the lock is punishable by a $40 fee.
With three months of use now, Parham said besides a few scruff marks, the pouches are holding up well. Students sometimes forget their phones in their pouches, or, on rare occasions, take their pouches home.