Bergen County Yeshivot Unite

On Asarah B’Tevet, January 7, approximately 430 8th graders joined together, (boys at Ben Porat Yosef and girls at Moriah),  as part of the joint middle school initiative Screening Our Future.  For those who have been following, you will recall that the heads of school of the local Bergen county yeshivot joined together on a joint statement regarding device usage which was accompanied by a “public service” video featuring all our heads of school.  This partnership was followed by a community-wide viewing of the film Screenagers to which approximately 1000 parents came. I recall noticing that evening how the number of seats was not sufficient and they quickly set up more and more chairs.  Looking around the room I spied a number of shul rabbis in the audience, showing their support for the initiative.  While this was my 3rd time seeing the film, I knew I too had to be there to show support.

This community-wide evening was followed by our heads of school encouraging the guidance staff from each middle school to plan the next steps, i.e. now that the parents got the message, how do we get the message to the children? The heads of school wanted to show the movie to the students but left it to us to plan.  First, we wanted to get some data from the students regarding their device usage. Only about ½ of the students responded to the pre-event survey.   (Clearly, only certain students responded to this anonymous survey. We have no way of knowing which schools they were from as we did not collect their e-mail addresses). These are the questions we asked them:

Do your parents place limits on screen use? 76 students said yes. 94 students said no.  Less than half of the respondents agreed with the limits their parents placed on them. But, more kids said that they do not think it would be helpful for their parents to place limits on their use.  This was in important question for us to ask as the film featured a mother, Dr. Delaney Ruston,  (who also happens to be the director of the film), whose daughter Tessa was begging for a smartphone. Once the parents finally agree, they did create a contract (based on Janell Burley Hoffman’s contract with her son, who was in the film and presented at Yavneh at the beginning of the year), with clear limitations for their daughter.  

When asked, “How much time do you spend on screens daily?” (Note, in the Screenagers video, it quoted research that teens spend about 6 ½ hours a day on their devices), students’ answers ranged from 30 minutes to 6 hours. (One child answered six trillion hours).  Most students did seem to indicate it was in the 2-3 hours range.

When asked, “Is your cellphone distracting while doing schoolwork?” 45 said yes and 132 said no.  And, then when asked, “ Do you feel you can effectively multi-task when completing schoolwork or studying?” 119 said yes and 46 no. These questions were essential as a segment of the film highlighted how we cannot truly multitask even though we feel we can. And, simply having our cellphones on our desks- even if we do not look at them, can be distracting and lower grades/scores on tests according to the research. 

We then decided that we wanted the students to feel that they were part of something bigger than themselves to become inspired to join this important, community- changing endeavor.  We wanted the students to enter the viewing of the film with the right frame of mind.  Rabbi Beni Krohn’s introduction to the girls and Rabbi Yaakov Glasser’s introduction to the boys were meant to inspire them to truly consider and take on this universal challenge.  

After viewing the film, the students split into groups with students from all the schools mixed together. I was at the girls’ location.  It was nice to see the girls greeting friends from the neighborhood or camp who go to one of the other schools. It the discussion groups, I think the students were wary at first to sit with people they did not know but seemed to understand the importance of the mix.  Each school provided facilitators for the program. Students were asked to think about one practical strategy they can implement to limit their technology use/ distraction. We ended the program by giving out phone sacs for them to put their phones in when they do not want to be distracted by them that said, "Take a break. Your phone can wait," with all the names of the schools listed. 

To provide you with an inside view of how these discussion groups went and some interesting insights the students shared, I followed up with both the facilitators and the students to hear more about what was on their minds.  Here is some of what we heard from facilitators (in their words!) : (NOTE: Facilitators shared the views of some of the students in their groups. This in no way reflects all the students at the event). 

“The discussion was good. It was fascinating to see how little restrictions kids have with their phones, whether it be timing or content, like a filter, etc. The most fascinating point to me was that all the students were genuinely concerned about what they would do with their time if they didn’t have their phones, which I think is an area we can help them with.”

“Mixing the groups was a good idea. I found that all the girls were ‘the same’. It didn't matter which school you were from, they all had the same responses and issues.”

“Students were quite surprised by all the neurological research presented in the film- that the constant stimulation does affect the teenage developing brain permanently, and that the teenage brain is not yet ready to set the limits needed.” 

“The students really thought they could multi-task and be on their phones while doing work. The brain research really shocked them.” 

“I think the students enjoyed being mixed with other schools and it was quite educational to see the different school cultures.” 

“The one fact that all the girls discussed and agreed about was that their moms are on their phones texting, emailing and talking all the time. They wondered why they have to have all these rules but their moms do not.” 

“I learned that most students keep their phones in their rooms at night.”

“Some students noted, ‘Why should I care if my parents don't care’”

“The students all agreed that the cell phone was a distraction at certain times.”

“They had friends or other kids in mind who they felt were "addicted" to their phones.”

“Many found their own balance but would be open to discussing healthier phone use.”

“Many felt having parents monitor or restrict their phone usage was crazy.”

Here are some quotes from our students after the event:

“I thought that the scenarios shown were very extreme but in general, the movie had many valid lessons and it really showed how addictive your phone can be.”

When students were asked what they thought the most important point of the movie was some responses were:

“The putting it down to study part”

“When the child got a phone with a contract showing that technology is good but only if we handle it well”

“Sending bad pictures to people can really ruin your life.”

“If you use it too much it will take over your brain and your grades will go down”

“Keeping restrictions on how much your phone is used”

           

Some takeaways in their words:

“If you use too much technology you might become depressed”

“That some people spread too much of their lives on social media and I shouldn’t”

“You should have a balance”

“To be on my phone less”

            When asked what they thought about joining with other schools, some responded:

“Fun to see my friends on a school day”

“It was good to see a lot more schools involved- that it’s not just us”

“I feel like the schools shouldn’t be the ones limiting your phone, it should be you. But the fact that so many other schools came showed that they really care about their students.”

I think that last quote says it all.  In truth, we are trying to raise students who can eventually set their own limits on themselves. We know that our setting the limits as parents or teachers is to help them during this time in their lives, as the movie describes, when their brain is still developing and they may not yet have the neurological ability to always make good choices and set good limits.  At the end of the day, while they may be frustrated by the limits we set, they know it is because we “really care” about our children. 

Advisory Update:

Sixth Grade: Students discussed appropriate student behaviors and expectations.

Seventh Grade: Students finished up their Operation Respect Unit on empathy.

Eighth Grade: Students confronted current events of racism and anti- Semitism and discussed what they can do in their own lives to stand up to these issues.