Recently, schools and teachers have found themselves on a kind of battlefield where the fight is not about knowledge, but about attention and discipline. This struggle is not for themselves, but for the quality of students' education.

The ability to focus, which can help shape attentive and responsible individuals for the future, is in a challenging state in today's world. When Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise suggests that it is sufficient to switch phones to silent mode and place them in bags, she overlooks the fact that a school's mission is not merely to teach facts but also to foster concentration skills, which have become scarce in contemporary society.

Madise's position is misleading and undermines the authority of schools. If phones remain readily accessible, even when stowed away in bags, they will continue to be distractions. The culprits are not just the phones themselves but what they represent – constant interruptions, a flood of messages and the chaos of social media. This clearly disrupts the core mission of schools: to teach and nurture.

When the justice chancellor states that restricting phone accessibility is unnecessary, she disregards well-established findings in psychology and behavioral science. Every interruption negatively impacts focus and makes it harder to absorb information. Therefore, schools must be granted sufficient rights to create an environment that supports, rather than hinders, learning.

Broader role of schools in education and upbringing

Schools are not solely tasked with imparting knowledge; they are also responsible for nurturing young people who can navigate the world, focus and consciously direct their attention. This means that schools must have all the necessary tools to fulfill this mission.

A school environment is not a marketplace where everyone can indulge in whatever currently distracts them. That is the role of entertainment venues. Schools are places where people are educated and where responsible citizens are shaped. Stripping schools of the right to create a focused learning environment diminishes their authority.

When the chancellor of justice asserts that schools should not require phones to be stored away, it sends a message to students that school rules are conditional rather than firm. Students may come to believe that they have the liberty to decide which rules to follow and how. Such an attitude undermines the efforts of schools and teachers.

Teachers do not stand in front of classrooms for personal gratification but to ensure that learning is effective and meaningful. A teacher must be a reliable authority, and schools must be spaces where rules are enforced and where students are held accountable for their actions.

Teaching cannot be an endless exercise in discipline

If a phone remains within easy reach and a teacher is constantly required to intervene, the teacher loses valuable time and energy that should be spent on teaching. The role of a teacher is not to serve as a disciplinarian, but to impart knowledge and guide critical thinking.

When a student must be corrected for phone use every ten minutes, a teacher's job turns into an endless cycle of disciplining rather than educating. This is neither acceptable nor sustainable. Maintaining a focus on learning in schools is essential, and schools require adequate tools and resources to achieve this.

A school's internal policy mandating phone storage at the teacher's request is not merely a means of exerting control or authority; it is a practical and effective measure to protect the learning environment from distractions. Mandatory phone storage is not an arbitrary demand by teachers, but a substantive method for safeguarding the learning process. Schools and teachers must have access to proportionate tools to help students understand why concentration and responsibility matter.

The justice chancellor's recommendation regarding phone storage fails to consider that a teacher's job is not to continuously eliminate distractions. Their mission is to help students learn and to do so in the most effective and meaningful way possible.

Restoring the ability to concentrate

Teachers, through years of training and experience, have developed skills to engage students in learning, guide their behavior and maintain discipline. The rules that exist in schools are part of a broader system designed to protect and support learning.

When the chancellor of justice diminishes teachers' right to intervene, it effectively undermines the authority of schools and guides young people towards choices that may not necessarily be in their best interests. Restoring sustained attention and focus is a critical task for schools, as attention is the foundation of learning. Without it, education lacks substance and teachers lose their influence.

Therefore, schools must have the right and the ability to require phone storage when deemed necessary by a teacher. A school is not a place for endless choices or debates over every rule but a structured environment where education and upbringing go hand in hand. If schools are tasked with both teaching and nurturing, they must be equipped with sufficient authority and rights to fulfill this role. Combating distractions that steal attention is a serious duty, not a trivial demand.

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