POWER 30

A young man with short brown hair and facial hair, standing indoors in front of a fireplace, looking at his phone. He is wearing a light gray button-up shirt and dark pants. There are candles, a framed picture, a globe, and a bookshelf with books in the background.

Power 30 is not a punishment. It is a practice. In a world that rarely invites stillness, Power 30 offers students a daily opportunity to opt into presence. By voluntarily surrendering their phones for just 30 minutes of learning time, students are not only protecting their focus—they are reclaiming their minds. This is not enforced through compliance, but invited through choice, respect, and incentive.

Research and Rationale

Phones go in the calculator caddy for 30 minutes a class.

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Teacher standing at the front of a classroom with students raising their hands, classroom with whiteboard, backpacks, and school supplies.

Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation (2024) provides a sweeping synthesis of data on how phone-based childhood—especially in adolescents—has rewired attention, increased anxiety, and eroded in-person social development. Among his core findings:

  • Excessive phone use is correlated with rising rates of depression and decreased academic engagement, especially among girls.

  • Time away from phones—particularly in environments of trust and connection—builds resilience, attention, and joy.

  • Voluntary, community-driven tech boundaries are more effective than hard-lined bans in restoring mental health.

Power 30 harnesses this research and transforms it into a routine of empowerment. Students are not told what to do with their phones. They are invited into a collective practice—where discipline is not punishment, but a path to deeper learning and higher attention spans.

How It Works:

Each class begins with a 30-minute invitation: phones are placed face-down in a designated area.

Students earn Power Points for each day they participate.

15 Power Points: students receive a small, celebratory snack.

30 Power Points: students are gifted a meaningful intellectual artifact (e.g., a pocket notebook, a poem, a quote card, a creative tool).

Participation is voluntary, but the culture is collective. Over time, students begin to feel the mental shift: greater clarity, less dependency, more presence.

“Mr. David, can we do POWER30 today?”
— My Amazing Students

Educational Philosophy

Power 30 is rooted in the idea that students must learn to build their own boundaries with technology—not simply follow imposed ones. By offering them a structure of safety, reward, and reflection, we prepare them for the digital decisions they will make beyond school walls.

As Viktor Frankl wrote, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

POWER 30 IS THAT SPACE.

CALL TO ACTION

CALL TO ACTION

A man in a suit and glasses stands and points in a classroom with students sitting at tables and educational posters on the wall.

The classroom of the future will not be phone-free. It will be presence-rich. Power 30 moves us in that direction, one voluntary act at a time. If you’d like to bring Power 30 to your school or explore its data-informed benefits, let’s connect.