The Student You Are Trying to Call Is Not Available

To kick off New York State’s school cell-phone ban , Governor Kathy Hochul dropped by M.S. 582 in East Williamsburg on September 4. She brought along Frankie Focus, a hairy green spokescreature who (fittingly) does not speak. “You are going to be smarter because you’ll be paying attention more,” Hochul told students. “Your teachers will have a better experience teaching you … and ultimately, you’re going to be better than anybody else.” And day one did not turn into the Freak-out of the Gen Alphas that elders might have predicted. At worst, there were glitches owed to habit. Schedules had gone out by email, and students who didn’t think to print them out or (imagine!) write them down on paper had to regroup. Parents had to adjust, too: If you got an alert that your child had been mar