Leslie Pineda

Students play card games to pass time in classrooms.

Over the summer, the Texas Legislature passed a law banning Personal Communication Devices from use during school hours. Staff and students have been affected by this change, however both are noticing positive impacts upon the student population and classroom environments. 

Students have found creative ways to interact without their phones, including playing cards or printing out pictures of Instagram reels to talk to their friends about at lunch. 

“There is more interaction between students,” principal Matthew Mahoney said. “Like more legitimate conversations that make the students think.”  

Since students are unable to get on their phones, they have gone back to figuring out how to interact and create relationships with the use of a screen. This includes figuring out how to have a thoughtful conversation.

“You have to ask people actual questions,” junior Alayna Hernandez said. “You have to really get to know someone in order to keep the conversation going.”

Having a genuine conversation requires for a person to think about what they are talking about and respond accordingly. These genuine conversations create stronger connections between neurons and allow for intelligence to grow.

“I think it will make everyone smarter,” government teacher and student council sponsor Stephanie Lopez said. “You have to do a lot more actual work, you can’t rely on Chat GPT or cheating as much.”

However, with all of the good things that the PCD ban has created so far in the school year, there are some things that students wish they were able to have in order to focus on their academics.

“Listening to music helped me concentrate on school,” Hernandez said. “Instead of focusing on what others were saying, I would focus and put my headphones on.”