Proposal

Cell Phone Usage in School

Cell phone usage in schools has been an increasing problem as technology continues to advance.  As companies upgrade phones and as app developers create new and fun games and social media apps, cell phones only continue to become an increasing part of our daily lives.  The issue at hand is the way that schools, teachers, and staff handle the rise of cell phone use inside of the schools.  A 2015 survey found that, “the number of students who never used their devices for non-classroom purposes dropped from eight percent to three percent (Reed, 2016).”  The stricter no cell phone policies, and the policies that allow too much cell phone use in the classroom, are hurting the students, and the school system should consider revising their policies.

All over the country, school systems have established cell phone policies from the extreme of completely banning cell phones on school grounds, to allowing students to use cell phones in the classroom.  For example, in Boston Public schools, cell phones are prohibited, but at the nearby Melrose High School, teachers use cell phones in the classroom for educational purposes (Tlumacki, 2015).  You can find a policy about technology in school handbooks because it has become an increasing part of student’s education in the 21^st century.

Technology provides students with plenty of benefits, but these benefits should be from technology that the school provides for the students and social media sites should not be accessible on these devices.  There are plenty of educational sites that help teachers provide a better learning environment for students, for example, Kahoot.  However, students should not use their own devices because of how easily they can stray from learning purposes, which many have a negative effect on grades.  One study found, students that had time to use their phone to text or check social media, had lower grades than students who did not have time to access their phones (Kowalski, 2016).  Also, another study cited, “test scores were 6.41 percent higher at schools where cellphone use is prohibited (Tlumacki, 2015).”  Having access to cell phones can impact student’s grades and schools ought to acknowledge that, especially if they do not already have a moderate policy in place.  A moderate policy would limit use of cell phones in the classroom but allow use of cell phones out of classrooms, which creates a happy medium for parents.

Cell phones can provide peace of mind for parents and guardians (Tlumacki, 2015).  For example, at my high school, many extracurricular activities started right after school and would end after the main office was closed.  The inability to access a school’s phone, would limit the options for students to call their parents unless they had a cell phone, which may be against the rules in select schools.  Tlumacki stated that, “many parents support phones in schools, so they can coordinate pickups and after-school activities with their children. They also want to be able to reach them in case of emergency (Tlumacki, 2015).”  Allowing students to bring a phone with them to school is considered a necessity by some parents and students.  School systems that prohibit any type of cell phone on school grounds may unintentionally create safety issues for students if they are unable to contact parents when necessary or emergency personnel, if needed.

If a moderate policy is enacted, the school will have to address the issue of cell phone use in the classroom.  If allowing students to have their phones during class, teachers hope they will be responsible enough to use them appropriately.  Unfortunately, it seems that there is frequently at least one person who takes advantage of the privilege of using cell phones in the classroom.  Garry Falloon, a professor from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, suggested a method for controlling phone use that was used in New Zealand.  Teachers collected phones at the beginning of class and returned them to students at the end of class.  This school policy allowed the teachers to retain the student’s attention during classes and allowed the students to have their phones during breaks (The Educator, 2018).  This system seemed to work well in my school.  My 11^th grade History teacher used this method and made us place our phones in a wooden cubby.  If our phones were not in our assigned cubby, we were marked absent for the day.  She knew we all had cell phones and it also gave her peace of mind knowing we were paying attention in class.

In contrast, although there are challenges with allowing cell phones in school, there can also be problems with stricter policies.  During my senior year of high school, phones were banned on school grounds during school hours after a bullying incident on an anonymous website.  I do not remember what website it was on or even what was said.  I only remember no one being allowed to use his or her cell phones after the incident was reported.  During the ban, if teachers or staff saw students with a phone, they would confiscate it for the rest of the day.  At times, the ban only made students want to use their phone more because students thought they were cool for breaking the rules.  Also, the ban caused students to pull out their phones any chance they could get when someone of authority turned their back.  It caused many disciplinary issues, such as verbal confrontations between students and teachers that sometimes led to in-school suspension.  This caused concern for parents about their children and the school’s policy.

With a ban, you could also run into a problem of unequal treatment of students.  There is always a favorite teacher who tends to bend the rules, or a student that has a closer relationship with a particular teacher.  Anita Charles conducted an interview with a teacher, and the teacher stated, “I’m the teacher they can come to if they need to call their mom or if they need to jot down their homework. I don’t care” (McConville, 2018).  Situations, such as the one described previously, could allow for the rules to be broken for only certain students, creating an unfair situation for those that may not get the option to use their cell phones.

In the case of my school, since the rule was established in the middle of the year, it was hard to adjust to the new policy.  Many students would continue to use their phones at lunch or in the hallways which would lead to them getting in trouble.  “According to Kolb, close to 70% of schools that had cell phone bans in place five years ago are reversing their policies (Kiema, 2015).”  Kolb suggests that this revision is due to the volume of cell phones that make it difficult to manage the policy and the educational value of cell phones in the classroom.  The year after I graduated, only one year after the initial policy was put in place, the policy was revised.  Cell phone use was allowed during lunch and in between classes as long as students were using them in a non-disturbing manner.

Cells phones use should be banned from the classroom, but it is not realistic to ban their use everywhere in school.  They are necessary for communicating with parents at after school activities, and it is not realistic or fair to prevent students from using their cell phones during non-academic times.  If schools want their students to be engaged in learning and be happy to be there, they need to provide strict guidelines about in-class use of phones while allowing students to use them freely other times during the school day.  Installing a cubby holder or bin to place cell phones in the beginning of class would help keep the classroom distraction free.  Giving phones back to the students after the class will help keep students happy and will hopefully decrease the number of emotional outbursts from strict policies.  After seeing first-hand how a strict policy can impact a school, I can say that it was not effective, and I highly recommend a more moderate policy that makes learning a priority and still gives students some freedom.

 

Work Cited

Kiema, Kinjo. “As Schools Lift Bans on Cell Phones, Educators Weigh Pros and Cons.” NEA Today, 23 Feb. 2015, neatoday.org/2015/02/23/school-cell-phone-bans-end-educators-weigh-pros-cons/.

 

Kowalski, Kathiann. “When Smartphones Go to School.” Science News for Students, 3 Mar. 2016, 7:15 AM EST, www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/when-smartphones-go-school.

 

McConville, Emily. “Why Banning Cellphones in Schools Misses the Point | News | Bates College.” Bates Wordmark, News, 23 Mar. 2018, www.bates.edu/news/2018/03/23/why-banning-cellphones-in-schools-misses-the-point/.

 

Reed, Leslie. “Study: Digital Distraction in Class Is on the Rise.” Nebraska Today | University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 15 Jan. 2016, news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/study-digital-distraction-in-class-is-on-the-rise/.

 

The Educator. “The Pros and Cons of Banning Phones in Schools.” How Technology Can Boost Equity in Education | The Educator Australia, The Educator Australia, 26 June 2018, www.theeducatoronline.com/au/news/the-pros-and-cons-of-banning-phones-in-schools/251609.

 

Tlumacki, John. “Cellphones in School: A Teaching Tool or Distraction? – The Boston Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, The Boston Globe, 16 June 2015, www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2015/06/15/cellphones-school-teaching-tool-distraction/OzHjXyL7VVIXV1AEkeYTiJ/story.html.