When I was in high school, my English teacher, Mr. Kaplow, started what he called a “casual dating club.” (Don’t laugh or report him — it was the 1990s!)

This wasn’t about hookups or anything messy. It was before cellphones, apps and swiping. (I don’t think we even had pagers yet.) Just kids sitting across from each other, practicing the lost art of conversation with someone possibly not in their friend group.

Awkward? Sure. Could a teacher get away with such a thing now? Absolutely not. But honestly, it was kind of brilliant. He saw that we were losing something — just the basic ability to talk, to connect. We were losing walks to get ice cream or burgers at the local diner. We were looking someone in the eye and actually listening.

Fast forward a couple decades to my own classroom in New York City, pre-cellphone ban. I would have 34 students before me, many with earbuds jammed in and faces glowing blue from their screens. Half my energy went into telling them to put TikTok away when the class started.

Even so, when the city announced the

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