Julia Mielczarek

In classrooms across the country, phones have become a major distraction. Every day, teachers battle with students and their phone usage. However, with Disconnect to Reconnect day, the future may look different.

On Feb. 21, the first Disconnect to Reconnect day will be held. Students will be challenged to stay off their phones while having a retro-themed dress-up day. In the week prior, students had a Lemont Time lesson that encouraged them to decrease their cell phone usage overall. To add an incentive for students, a raffle will be held for each grade level with unique prizes.

The day will run mostly on the honor system with students having a card to start out their day. In each class, teachers were provided with a classroom pocket chart for students to leave their phones in. At the end of each period, their teacher will place a stamp on their card if they never grabbed their phone from their pocket. At the end of the day, students will take their completed stamped cards, pick up their Common Grounds token and submit to the raffle for their respective grade level. While students will have their phones on them during passing periods and lunch, students are encouraged to stay off of their phones and honor their goal for the day.

“My goal is to… prove to you that you’re a Lemont High school student which I have a ton of respect for and that you can do anything you put your mind to… it will show you that there are other things that you’re gonna be able to accomplish,” principal Eric Michaelsen said. 

Students are constantly on their devices, whether they are doing schoolwork on their chromebooks or on their phones taking a break. 

 “I’ve been looking in the halls… and it’s amazing to me how many people have their heads in their phones. Doesn’t mean you’re an evil person, doesn’t mean you’re a bad person… this isn’t pointing the fingers… It’s just something I’ve noticed,” Michaelsen said.

These pieces of technology play a large role in student’s lives, but pose an issue: distraction. While devices are essential to schoolwork and everyday activities, sometimes they are not needed.

“If you spend your time with the safety of your phone and looking down at your phone…, you may miss out on some pretty cool things,” Michaelsen said.

In a survey of 665 students, 38.6% said they spend too much time on their phone. Along with this, 54.1% stated they spend an appropriate amount of time on their phone. 40.5% admitted that they feel their phones have affected them in a negative way (schoolwork, grades, family, self-care, socially etc.)

While there has been some debate as to if the incentives are enticing enough for students, 45.4% of students said they will be participating in the Reconnect to Disconnect day and 41.2% are still not sure, but are considering it.

“I believe it will be interesting to see the atmosphere in classrooms where students are fully paying attention to the teacher, socializing with others, etc,” an anonymous student who answered in the poll said.

While many students want to participate in this challenge, 72.2% of students do not plan on dressing for the retro-themed day. However, this does not mean that all students are against this idea.

“Let us pull up in full, plate-metal knight armor. They didn’t have phones back then either!” another anonymous student said.

Some concerns have been raised about emergency situations; however, students’ phones can still be kept on them and staff will have their devices in the classroom. In cases of emergencies, cell phones will be permitted.

Despite some of the skepticism held about this day, students and teachers alike are encouraged to participate and challenge themselves for the day.