Arizona teacher retires at 35, citing students’ addiction to their phones

A teacher in the Tucson Unified School District told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) he’s retiring, frustrated by students who are unmotivated and simply play on their phones in class.

Mitchell Rutherford, 35, taught biology for 11 years, but is finally giving up his dream of being a teacher at Sahuaro High School (SHT), the latest in an ongoing trend of public school teachers fleeing the profession.

“I was employing all the tools in the tool belt, and more than half the class didn’t seem to be trying at all,” Rutherford told the WSJ.  

Rutherford compared the phone crisis in schools to addictive substances such as heroin, cocaine and alcohol, but said the problem with “phones [is] even greater than that.” 

He said kids who are forced to turn over their phones, clutch at them, as an addict might.  

“That’s what an alcoholic would do if you tried to take away their bottle,” he said.  

For Rutherford, the “low-energy apathy and isolation” of today’s students can, in part, be attributed to cell phone usage.  

“Students who are distracted are always the least happy, either in the moment, or later. But focusing takes practice and work! Focusing on anything strengthens the muscle, and NOTICING the distractions helps too!” said Rutherford on X. 

He told a local TV news station that he’s been suffering from mental health issues that he directly traces to in-class cell phone usage by his students.  

He said the solution was for society to get kids to learn without the constant distraction of phones, thereby “allowing their brains and social skills and happiness to develop in a natural way.”  

Two parents contacted by 12 News Tucson were sympathetic.   

“I think it’s understandable. I feel the frustration. I have two teenage boys, so they are on their phones constantly, and it’s a big distraction,” said SHT parent Bernadette Saucedo.  

SHT parent Chuck Anderson said that he tended to agree with Rutherford, but didn’t necessarily agree that quitting was the solution.  

“But I agree with this stance he’s taking because he’s not able to do his job,” said Anderson.  

Teachers are burning out on the profession at twice the rate of other jobs, according to one survey. 

That’s partly because teachers aren’t well-prepared for the challenges they face in the classroom, said The Learning Policy Institute, and may not have the administrative support to do something concrete about phones. 

Tucson Unified School District took the opportunity last week to remind the public that the district doesn’t allow cell phones to be used during instructional time.  

“If a staff member has concerns with the misuse of cell phones, they can work with their site administrator to create clearly communicated school wide rules that meet the policy stated in the Code of Conduct,” said the district in a statement.  

But such a policy just shifts the onus back on the teacher to compel the students to follow rules the public school district won’t enforce.  

“Now, you can ask them, bug them, beg them, remind them and try to punish them and still nothing works,” Rutherford said about student phone use.  

Rutherford told News 12 that his last day will be Thursday.