For the third year in a row, WICC Radio’s Melissa in the Morning is meeting members of the public in diners around Fairfield County to hear directly from people from all walks of life—including teachers. Educators are discussing cell phone bans, teaching financial literacy, funding struggles, and more.
One of host Melissa Sheketoff’s first guests at her first diner stop, Southport Diner, was Stacey Lynn-Delmhorst president of the Westport Education Association and a Staples High School math teacher.
“I have gained back so many instructional minutes by not having to constantly ask kids to put their phones away,” Lynn-Delmhorst said of her district’s bell-to-bell cell phone ban. “It takes the pressure off of teachers, and we have very few kids who are not following the rules. For any district out there going to a bell-to-bell ban, you’re going to see amazing things from your kids.”
Westport and Wilton have both instituted bell-to-bell cell phone bans in their schools. Even though a bill to institute a statewide ban failed this legislative session, CEA is encouraging districts to adopt bell-to-bell bans based on the positive experiences of districts that have done so.
“It was difficult for students in the beginning,” Wilton Education Association president and high school math teacher Peggy Meurer (pictured above) told Sheketoff during the stop at Orem’s Diner. “It’s hard for them to give their phones up—it’s like withdrawal. Now, walking through the cafeteria you see kids talking to one another, in the halls you see kids talking. They used to be sitting near each but on their phones, and now they’re communicating, and happiness comes from connection.”
Lynn-Delmhorst says she and her colleagues expected the transition to be a bit bumpy, but that it turned out to be much smoother than they had expected. Her students are expected to leave their phones in their lockers at the beginning of the day, and the school adjusted the schedule to give students an extra five minutes at the end of the day to return to their lockers to retrieve their phones.
WICC’s Melissa Sheketoff with Westport Education Association President Stacey Lynn-Delmhorst.
“Now, are their phones all in their lockers? I don’t know, but we certainly don’t see them, and that’s what matters. I can’t remember the last time I saw a kid with a cell phone now,” Lynn-Delmhorst says.
She adds, “The kids were not on board at first, but it went pretty seamlessly. I teach mostly seniors, and they were the least excited. However, those same seniors are now telling me they’re so happy we did it. They’re now appreciative of the ban.”
The educators said the same focus on student well-being and long-term success is what drove the state to require students to complete a personal finance course before graduation.
Lynn-Delmhorst teaches personal finance classes, and Meurer will teach one in the fall. Both said that requiring students to take the class has opened teenagers’ eyes.
“There are certain things we take for granted as adults that everyone knows about money, and to realize every year how much students don’t know completely shocks me,” Lynn-Delmhorst says.
“We did a project in class this year pricing out how much college was going to cost, and students told me, ‘This is changing my mind about what colleges I apply to,'” Meurer says. “That’s great, because you don’t want to leave college in debt. They don’t understand how interest compounds the amount they’ll need to pay back.”
Listen to the full interviews with Westport’s Stacey Lynn-Delmhorst and Wilton’s Peggy Meurer.
Tomorrow Sheketoff will be at Valley Diner in Derby, and Candy Lebel, a building rep and second grade teacher at Irving Elementary in Derby, will be a guest on the program. Lebel will discuss how her students are being negatively impacted by funding cuts that have eliminated field trips and art opportunities.
Tune into WICC 600 AM or 95.9 FM at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow to hear the interview with Lebel.
