I have done some teaching at different high schools — as a public speaking teacher, as a dance teacher, and sometimes I’ve been invited into classrooms as a photographer. And yes, I find it annoying when I’m trying to say something to a student and they’re texting or looking something up on their phone.
In the incident shown in this video, at Antioch High School in Nashville, students may not use personal technology (like cell phones) during instructional periods — unless a teacher explicitly permits it for educational purposes.
I agree 100% that students should not have access to cell phones during classes.
Personal note: I also find it annoying when I’m having coffee with a friend and they pull out their phone to check something. Call me old-fashioned, but I’m sick of phone dependency.
Anyway, back to the video. It seems that 18-year-old Kayla Smith was using her phone during class when the teacher took the phone from her. The teacher probably has the right to confiscate phones.
Well, Kayla reacted violently by spraying pepper spray in the face of the teacher, Caleb Bates.
As you can imagine, it didn’t end well for Kayla. She was arrested by Metro Nashville Police and charged with assault, which is a felony under Tennessee law with potential penalties of 1 to 12 years in prison and fines up to $5,000. She was also expelled from the school.
This is a bad ending for someone who is addicted to their phone or who is so insubordinate that they cannot follow any form of authority. A bad beginning for someone who is just starting life. This experience may mark her whole future.
Phones Are Pouring Gasoline on an Already Burning Fire
Cell phones have turned classrooms into circus tents. Kids are addicted, distracted, and now — in some cases — violent when told “no.” Schools that enforce strict phone bans see higher test scores, fewer absences, and significantly fewer behavioral problems.
The data is overwhelming.
The pushback? Weak excuses about “equity,” “parent communication,” or “student rights.” Nonsense. We all survived high school without a smartphone glued to our hands.
The truth is simpler: we’ve created a generation that thinks discipline is optional and consequences are negotiable.
Enough Tiptoeing — Here’s What Real Change Looks Like
If we want schools that are safe, functional, and actually capable of teaching something beyond crisis management, we need to stop dancing around the problem. Here’s what must happen:
1️⃣ Ban phones during school hours. Completely.
Lock them, seal them, store them — I don’t care how. If parents need to reach their kids, call the office. We used to do just fine that way.
2️⃣ Zero tolerance for violence against teachers.
Pepper-spraying a teacher? Permanent expulsion. Punching a teacher? Permanent expulsion. Not for a year — permanently. Actions have consequences.
3️⃣ Automatic criminal prosecution for assaults.
At 18, you’re an adult. You commit a felony assault, you face adult charges. Period.
4️⃣ Bring back real security.
Give schools trained, empowered officers who are allowed to do their jobs. Teachers are educators, not bouncers.
5️⃣ Throw out the political discipline quotas.
Teachers shouldn’t be terrified of being called “biased” for enforcing rules. Discipline must be about behavior, not skin color or bureaucratic spreadsheets.
If We Don’t Act Now, We Lose a Generation
We either restore discipline and respect in our schools, or we accept a future where teaching becomes a hazardous occupation and learning becomes optional.
I know which future I want.
And it starts by demanding real accountability — from school boards, from policymakers, and from students themselves.
Our teachers deserve better. Our kids deserve better.
And our society desperately needs better.