Cell phones continue to grow and be involved in our everyday lives. Most of the teachers didn’t experience this kind of technology being used everyday in their life at a younger age. This leaves them with a hard decision to make on where to draw the line at. Some teachers are very strict about phone usage in their classrooms, and others it doesn’t bother them. At our school, almost all the teachers would ask you to put your phones away during class. They want their work to be the first priority and then the remaining time that is left over can be spent however you choose. During lunch, walking down the hallway, and simply just sitting at a desk before class starts are all places where several students can be seen on their phones.
Cell phones and technology in general are addicting. It is hard to look away from screens and focus on other things. In the rare moments when we look up from our screens, we gain more true human interaction that you can’t get over the phone. One of the schools that ensures students interact with each other throughout the day is Sacred Heart. They have a strict policy on phones. The students are not allowed to be on them during class, but they can check it between classes. Their phones are supposed to be left in their lockers and not even brought into class. If they do get caught with their phone in class, they get it taken away and the phone goes to the office. The first time is considered a warning and if it happens again, you get it taken and sent to detention.
Other schools are more lenient with the students and don’t take cell phones in classrooms as a big deal. Salina South is a good example of that kind of school. Salina South does not truly have a cell phone policy. It mostly depends on the class and if the teacher allows you to be on it or not. A few of the teachers give the students office referrals if they catch them on their phones during class. The other teachers give them a warning and don’t see it as a huge problem. A school that is similar to this is Smoky Valley. Smoky Valley does not have any kind of cell phone policy and they seem to have a system down that works well. The students are allowed to have their cell phones on them and use them if needed. Although if a teacher tells them to put their phone away, they listen and do as they’re told. The students can have their phones wherever but still have to listen and respect administrators. A school that I think most relates to ours is Ellsworth. Ellsworth does a lot of the same things that we do, and they don’t have a strict policy. They can have their phones if the teachers let them but a few teachers make their classes put their cell phones in a basket. It is very similar to how Southeast teachers handle phone usage, which mostly is just based on the teachers preferences but most people know to have them put away during class time.
Cell phones and technology in general can be a controversial topic but it is ultimately up to teachers and administration to decide what they enforce. Considering that most teachers nowadays didn’t grow up with the kind of technology we have now, they have done a good job of adjusting to that. It seems difficult to make the decision based on something that you have never experienced, so the adjustments the teachers have had to make are significant. The same method doesn’t work for all teachers and students but finding what works best for each school is ultimately how a school establishes their cell phone policy.
