7 regular people who went undercover in high school found teachers face an unprecedented obstacle — and it's an uphill battle

pulse

February 14, 2018 6:21 PM

On "Undercover High," seven adults posing as students found that smartphones are making it harder for teachers to do their jobs.

Seven young adults went undercover as students at a Kansas high school for the show "
They found that
Students are constantly distracted by phones in class, even though the school has a no-phone policy.

At Highland Park High School, technology is a double-edged sword.

On one hand, computers and Smart Boards have transformed the way teachers can convey information in the classroom.

But on the other hand, the ubiquity of smartphones has made students more distracted than ever, leaving teachers with less control than ever.

The relationship between students and their phones is highlighted on the A&E documentary series "Undercover High," in which seven young adults pose as students at Highland Park for a semester to understand the problems facing teenagers today.

The undercover students immediately noticed that teachers at Highland Park struggled to get students off their phones during class.

Several scenes from "Undercover High" show students using their phones to text, look at pictures and use social media while teachers went on with their lessons.

Computers at the school have firewalls in place to prevent students from accessing social media sites, but students easily circumvent them by using their own devices, according to Beryl New, who was principal of Highland Park when the show was filmed.

Students at the school are technically forbidden from using their phones during the school day unless teachers incorporate them into lessons, New said. In practice, however, students said they use their phones at all times of the day.

Rampant phone use has a number of detrimental effects on Highland Park students. For one, conflicts between students often play out over social media and group texts rather than in plain sight, leaving school staff helpless in identifying and stopping bullying.

On top of that, frequent social media use has contributed to rising rates of depression among teenagers.

Administrators expressed hope that the use of technology in schools would be more carefully implemented. But for now, they are stuck playing catch-up to a rapidly changing world.

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