Wheeling CCSD 21 student representatives raise concerns about phones, motivation and social media

Student representatives at the Jan. 16 Wheeling CCSD 21 Board of Education meeting described classroom and social challenges they see among peers and offered school updates.

Carla, one of the student representatives, told the board that many students report lack of motivation and boredom with schoolwork; she said new cell-phone rules — teachers put a seen phone in a bag with the student’s name and send it to the office for parent pickup — have been effective in reducing in-class phone use. “I’ve also noticed that it's been very effective and students have stopped using their phones like how they usually do,” Carla said.

Other student speakers described short-form social media content as a classroom distraction that reduces attention spans, and they said attendance and sleep (students staying up late on phones) are contributing factors to absences and struggles completing work. One student suggested more interschool team-building activities, especially for 8th graders moving to high school, to broaden student social circles.

The student reps also listed upcoming activities and events: picture retakes, board-game club, student council, art club and a middle-school art exhibition; athletics (girls volleyball, boys wrestling); math competitions and the district spelling bee; solo-ensemble contests and musical auditions; and jazz collaborations with high schools. One speaker praised recent concerts and the district’s music program, saying the senior band performed at a level comparable to high school or college groups.

Ending: The superintendent noted the student representatives will meet again as part of the superintendent student advisory council and will bring questions to a session billed as “stump the superintendent.”