Should cell phones be allowed in schools? Should they be allowed, but made to stay in lockers? How much cell phone usage is too much? I will start with the negative first. What are my personal cons for cellphones in the classroom? Obviously cell phones can be used to cheat in a classroom during testing. It is also hard to regulate what is happening when students are on their cell phones. It has been shown in many studies that multi- tasking is disruptive to the learning process. How are teachers supposed to know what is going on and be responsible for the content being viewed, while also trying to teach their students to use their time wisely. With student's grades being so important to parent's and colleges these days, cheating has taken almost become an art form. With today's technology, a student can get a "smart phone" and now the phone which is supposed "to be for emergencies" in now a student's personal pocket sized computer for whatever content viewing they would like to view, with only the need for a wireless connection.
I don't believe cell phones should be allowed in classroom desks during testing time, however I do believe if the school has no policy against it, that cell phones should be allowed in the classroom if they were to stay in the desks turned off or silenced, with a rule for now cell phone use at all during class, unless of school emergency. There are way too many examples of schools where someone either having no connection with the school or a student in the school have opened fire or somehow hurt/ killed students and teachers. I believe strongly in every child's right to have whatever protection that is appropriate, to protect themselves. A cell phone is a small, but powerful tool in an emergency. When one of the planes was being overtaken on 911 that was headed to take more innocent lives, it was a cell phone call that let those on board know of the devastation that had just taken place at the Twin Towers in New York. Cell phones have repeatedly saved lives. In an emergency situation you can't depend on the teacher alone to be the only one that has access to a phone, the teacher may not be by their phone or be able at the moment to make the call due to the situation at hand.
Last year I was at school dropping my children off when a lockdown occurred. I had my phone on me and though I didn't need to contact the police, due to authorities being already contacted, it was a very scary situation and I texted my mom to pray while we were forced to stay locked in the building. In today's school settings, though I understand the very hard issues it brings with teachers having to maintain the chaos of children trying to use technology to cheat or not to pay attention in class, I feel as long as rules are established, children should be allowed to keep them turned off in their desk, when no tests or quizzes are being taken. Rules should be in place to have the phone returned to child's backpack on silent if there is any question of rules being obeyed. That is the call I would make on cell phones in the classroom.
Jen, I would have to agree with you that cell phones are a big distraction in the classroom but after working with students for almost two months, I know some students whose parents tell the school that their child needs the phone for emergency purposes and they end up getting the phone taken away in class because they are checking their Facebooks or email or texting the friend sitting four seats over. That is obviously not an emergency. I would agree that if there was a way a teacher could hold on to all cell phones somewhere that does not leave a child/student unlimited access to it then they should be allowed. I can understand a parent being worried if their child's school went into lock-down but sometimes being on the phone is the wrong thing as we teach students to remain quiet during that time so any criminal won't know if there are students in the classroom or not and a child talking to their parent goes against that. Also, you didn't mention an age range for students allowed to carry cell phones. I inquire this because my son, who is 9 keeps asking for one and I tell him know. When he asks why, I tell him because the only reason why he would need one would be to call me and the only time he's not with me is when he's at school where he's supposed to be learning and there are not cell phones at school therefore he does not need one. So are your thoughts on students having cell phones for a certain age range?
ReplyDeleteAges should be included in cell phone rules. I understand everyone has different views and that in an emergency children need to be quiet and not on phones, texting or calling, however in a real life emergency I would want a "last text" and communication from my child. I understand that the percentage of conflict by having them in the classroom is far greater than the likely percentage of needing a cellphone to call police in case of emergency, however if the school had no policy I would allow children to keep their phones on silent in desks where not readily available with a certain amount of tries and you no longer have the privilege of bringing your cellphone into the classroom.
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