Why Phones Don’t Belong in School

[Kathandira]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richar...b_9666730.html


A buddy of mine posted this on his FB page, and I immediately knew everything that the article was going to say. That is because I absolutely agree with it, and foresaw this coming from a thousand miles away. I was an easily distracted teen. I didn't care much for school, and was far more interested in going out to skate board, or to play games, or whatever else I could be doing. But at that time, I didn't have a cell phone as they didn't exist like they do in today's world.

If I had this wonderful device in my possession when I was a kid, there would be absolutely no possible way for the teachers to reach me. I would be sitting on my phone, browsing and playing games all day lone.

Anyone who can look ahead to see future problems like this, knew we were going to have to limit the usage of cell phones in schools.

Here is a comment my friend who is an educator, made regarding this.

"I have worked in three schools thus far, and all three have a system in place for parents to get a hold of their children if there is an emergency, and it works like this: Parent calls school, school fetches child, child uses school phone to talk to parent. It's simple, straightforward, and minimizes distraction in the classroom.

In Alaska I had parents (and other relatives) constantly texting their children during class. Why? Your child is in school. You're the adult. Any emergency you're having will have to be sorted out by you! The only exception I ran into was an elderly caretaker who needed the student to switch out heating oil for her. The basic policy of calling the school would work just fine for that situation.

This topic is important to me as an educator because the response to "Please put your phone away" should never be "Fuck you." Sadly, though, that's what "screenagers" have said to me in the past."

That last line, "The response to "Please put your phone away" should never be "Fuck you.", is a whole other story. But all else he is saying is very true. There really is no reason at all for a student to have their phone in school. We got along just fine for decades without them, and there is no added need for them in school today. If you need a calculator, they makes those, buy one. If you need internet access, your school should have a way to provide it, otherwise it should not be on the curriculum.

Now, some of the younger folk might look at this, and think I am just out of touch with today's world. If you do believe this, please present a well thought out reason why the average student would need to have their phone in school.

[Maxilian]

I agree, there should be limitations, but not ban them from school (maybe not let them use in the classroom, and if someone those, the teacher will take it away and give it back at the end of the class), also i have had some teachers take the cellphones when the class start (put it on the teacher desk, and pick it up when the class is finished), funny enough those things were done in a college not a school (i don't think it should be done in college, they are not kids anymore)

[bledgor]

As an educator there is limited value in having phones in school (some of the online quizzes use it, some polling sites) but any positive uses they have are outweighed SIGNIFICANTLY by the negatives they bring. I have at least 1 student a day who will answer a PHONE CALL from a friend in my class. They are a hassle, they make teaching harder, and students (and parents) are so vehement that they are needed though we survived for A LONG TIME without them.

[BuckSparkles]

Cell phones should be banned in the classroom, I absolutely agree.

And if you under 15 years old, why the hell do you need a cell phone?

I personally didn't get one until I was 17.

[Kathandira]

I agree, there should be limitations, but not ban them from school (maybe not let them use in the classroom, and if someone those, the teacher will take it away and give it back at the end of the class), also i have had some teachers take the cellphones when the class start (put it on the teacher desk, and pick it up when the class is finished), funny enough those things were done in a college not a school (i don't think it should be done in college, they are not kids anymore)

I can agree with this. When I entered the class with my headphones on, that is the exact treatment I was given as well.

I also agree that college kids can do whatever they please. They are paying out of pocket to be there. However if it does cause a disruption to the rest of the class who actually is trying to get their money's worth, then it should be handled.

[Raetary]

take my phone away and i will turn your life into hell itself.


in our school, we are allowed to have and use it, just not during the lessons.

[Kathandira]

They are a hassle, they make teaching harder.

This is quite true. As if getting, and holding a students attention and interest isn't hard enough. Now you have to compete with a portal to the entire world of entertainment. How can you combat netflix, with calculus?

[Hey There Guys its Metro]

Phones don't belong in schools because they are a distraction, and they are there to learn, not be babysat.
The whole thing can be summed up like that.

You can't learn when you aren't focused, and most of the time, the kids don't WANT to learn at that age. Any distraction they can be afforded will immediately hinder that.
I just don't think there is a solution though.

We as a society created this. You can't simply take every single kid's cell phone away at the start of the day, ya know? It's legally their property. There has to be some kind of change on a large scale to fix this.

[Kathandira]

take my phone away and i will turn your life into hell itself.

But, why? What function does your phone play in your education?

[micwini]

take my phone away and i will turn your life into hell itself.


in our school, we are allowed to have and use it, just not during the lessons.

This. I don't really see the problem with bringing phones to school. If you use them in class and the teacher sees it, they warn you first and if you do it again, you have to hand it in. I don't really see the need to completely ban them.

[ItachiZaku]

I agree, ban phones and tablets. Maybe have a class tablet or something for training purposes only. I assume high schools are teaching mobile programming now, so that class would/should have some access, but otherwise... no.

And if i asked you to put your phone away and you tell me "fuck you", you will NOT be passing my class. End of story. Fuck me? Well, I would like some fries with that, thanks.

[Kathandira]

Phones don't belong in schools because they are a distraction, and they are there to learn, not be babysat.
The whole thing can be summed up like that.

You can't learn when you aren't focused, and most of the time, the kids don't WANT to learn at that age. Any distraction they can be afforded will immediately hinder that.
I just don't think there is a solution though.

We as a society created this. You can't simply take every single kid's cell phone away at the start of the day, ya know? It's legally their property. There has to be some kind of change on a large scale to fix this.

There are many things that are restricted from being on school grounds. I don't see any legal reason that would stop a restriction on cell phones on the property.

- - - Updated - - -

This. I don't really see the problem with bringing phones to school. If you use them in class and the teacher sees it, they warn you first and if you do it again, you have to hand it in. I don't really see the need to completely ban them.

I'll ask you the exact same questions.

But, why? What function does your phone play in your education?

[Hey There Guys its Metro]

take my phone away and i will turn your life into hell itself.

Great example of both the immaturity and concern surrounding this topic.
When the person them self doesn't understand why it needs to be taken away (and can't even capitalize an "i") then I think we have really illustrated the issue here.

I only hope there comes a solution that everyone can agree on.

[Raetary]

But, why? What function does your phone play in your education?

that was actually a joke, i dont really care because i dont use my phone very often anyways.
but, we need it sometimes if we have to search stuff on the internet.

[klogaroth]

Using a phone in class should result in the phone being confiscated until the end of the day.
Taking it into school and using it at break seems fine though.

Kids would do well to learn that there are plenty of jobs where phones are not allowed outside of your break. For example any customer facing job or any job working with sensitive information.

[Kathandira]

I agree, ban phones and tablets. Maybe have a class tablet or something for training purposes only. I assume high schools are teaching mobile programming now, so that class would/should have some access, but otherwise... no.

And if i asked you to put your phone away and you tell me "fuck you", you will NOT be passing my class. End of story. Fuck me? Well, I would like some fries with that, thanks.

Agreed. There should be "classroom devices" for when they are needed. Some schools are now offering laptops to their students to do their work on. Which is perfectly fine, so long as they are monitored, and restricted from non-educational content.

[Jotaux]

We were allowed phones in school just not allowed to use them at all during class.

[Kathandira]

that was actually a joke, i dont really care because i dont use my phone very often anyways.
but, we need it sometimes if we have to search stuff on the internet.

Oh, lol Mah B.

As for the internet searching, the school should be supplying anything that will be required. If your lesson requires you to search the internet for something, they should be giving you an internet connected device to do so.

[Hey There Guys its Metro]

There are many things that are restricted from being on school grounds. I don't see any legal reason that would stop a restriction on cell phones on the property.

Hopefully not, but as you can see just in these first few posts, there is a lot of outrage regarding such an obvious decision.
There is absolutely no reason anyone should be able to have a walking distraction in an education setting, but so many are so attached to them that they fail to see how its hindering their ability to focus.

Legal reason? Likely not.
Social reason? I can see the social warriors lining up now to protest the first school that makes a spectacle out of itself.

[Fang7986]

The very fact that people can't go an hour or two without there phone without freaking out is the biggest reason there should be places were phones aren't allowed.