Yondr: A Legacy

The whole school shared a groan when they learned that Yondr pouches were coming back for a second time this year. And to make things worse, for most people, they were supposedly “unbreakable.” Since the first day, these new pouches hit the school, when many students almost immediately slammed the pouches against the walls and railings, trying to break them open. Other students have found other techniques such as putting fake or old phones in and keeping their real phones usable, or not closing the Yondr pouches fully and not putting them in the pouch at all. Some simply say that they don’t have a phone. But truthfully, very few students like to use Yondr pouches and tend to avoid them altogether. 

When one student, Bea Wetstone, who is in the 6th grade, was asked how they felt about Yondr pouches and they replied, “I think they are annoying and kinda like a prison for your phone.” They were also asked if they think that the pouches are wasteful. Wetstone added, “Kind of. Because, like, without it the phones would be a distraction.''

When Emily Biaz from the 7th grade was asked if they had seen people trying to break open the Yondr pouches, they responded, “I have even seen people be successful!” 

Someone who prefers to remain anonymous had a bit of a different view on Yondr. They said that they seem reasonable and that they don’t mind using one.  

Hold on a second... Why did MS 447 get new phone pouches in the first place? It was because of a distraction in classes, with group chat gossip issues. The second drop probably happened because, in September 2022, when new Yondr pouches were given out, many kids were easily able to open them in a variety of ways, so the staff decided to change that by getting new, non-broken, supposedly impossible to open without the magnet Yondr pouches. According to numerous students, these Yondr pouches are, in fact, harder to open but still can open if they bang them against some surfaces many times (even though doing that damages the pouch).

Many students in MS 447 dislike Yondr pouches (and sometimes that’s an understatement!) and even though some don’t mind the phone-locking pouches, the majority want to be rid of them. Yondr pouches, what are they? Are they jails that hold your phone captive until the school says they are no longer guilty? Or are they useful learning tools that keep distractions far away from students? That’s up to MS 447’s student body to find out for themselves.