Cell phones are all over the place these days and pretty much every student has one in their pocket. They are good for many things, like talking to family, texting friends, or doing your homework. They can be a big problem in school. This is why I think restrictions or bans are a good idea because they can help students pay attention, decrease drama, and make school a safer environment.
The first point in support of restricting cell phones in schools is distraction. Frankly, it’s incredibly hard to listen to a teacher when your phone is chirping or buzzing notifications at you. Even just glancing at a single text message can lead you down a wormhole of reading a thread and diving into Instagram or Tiktok and before you realize it. Half the lesson has gotten by and you’re still scrolling. Schools should be about learning and phones create an obstacle to that. If schools limit or decrease the use in class, students will be more likely to understand the content of the lesson.
The drama that cell phones create in the classroom is another significant aspect of their use in the classroom. They allow students to spread rumors and bully each other online, and that drama can easily follow the students into the classroom. Anything that is happening on social media or even through a series of texts spills into the classroom. The fight started online and then it goes on all day at school because people are texting or posting about the entire day. It gives students a break from being online when they are disconnected from the social media platforms. Schools should be a safe place for children and not where they are on their phones constantly checking to see who said what about them.
Some parents claim students should have phones for emergencies which is partially true. Nonetheless, not every student having a phone in class necessarily makes them safer. Schools already have a means of reaching parents if there is a serious situation. In fact too many phones or notifications going off in an emergency can actually make a situation more confusing. The best compromise is that students are allowed to keep their phones in their backpacks but can only take them out during breaks and after school. This way they are still available when you truly need it but do not present a distraction every minute of the day.
Cell phones can be useful as teachers may use them for research, quizzes, or group projects. Students can use them for a translation or definition for their classes. The issue is not the phone themselves but the students not using them for the right reasons. Using rules that limit the phone to times where teachers give permission, students can enjoy using their phone without getting sidetracked.
Although phones are part of our daily life they don’t need to control our classrooms. We should set up restrictions that will help our students be on topic and keep running school smoothly. With fair guidelines phones can be manageable instead of being a problem in classes.
