Current Events

9 Responses to “Some schools rethink bans on cell phones”

1. Halle Berry February 5, 2010 at 3:34 PM

   I think cell phones should be allowed at schools. Students should be able to use their cell phones during lunch and between classes, but should keep their phones on silent during class time. It would be exciting if a teacher would interact their lessons with the use of student's cell phones.

   
   

2. Felicia February 6, 2010 at 2:57 PM

   I don't think cell phones are beneficial to the learning environment but I don't think they should be banned either. Cell phones are a great piece of mind for parents and if a parent thinks it is alright for their child to have one and bring it to school the school should comply. I know what classes I can't text in and when I need to really pay attention and I think that responsibility comes from learning due to our schools rules. It’s less tempting to text in the middle of class when I know I can whip out my phone as soon as the bell rings and do as I wish. I think other schools should take into consideration the idea of making cell phones permissible in the halls and at lunch. I think it really works...

   
   

3. Emily February 8, 2010 at 12:20 PM

   • 52 percent say they know students who store information on their phones to use during quizzes.
   • 57 percent say they know students who text friends for answers during quizzes.
   • 41 percent say they know students who have taken pictures of quizzes to send to their friends.
   • 45 percent say they know students who search the Web on their phones for answers during quizzes.
   
   How in the world does anyone get away with this? Are the teachers not in the rooms? Why not have all the students put the phone in a box by the door or something. If I was a parent I would like to know that I can get a hold of my high school student whenever I need to. If my student couldn't even have their phone on school property I would be very nervous if something had happened to me and I had to look up the schools number and wait for them to get my child to go down to the office just so that I could talk to them. Emergencies don't have alot of time.

   
   

4. Kayla Roman February 8, 2010 at 1:05 PM

   I think cell phones are beneficial but I also think kids take advantage of it. Cell phones can be extremely helpful. Say there was a fire or someone breaking in and the school banned cell phones? Parents would be going crazy and for a kid to just be able to text back or call would ease their minds. Also, parents have gotten very good at texting. I know my mom tries to text ("tries") and if she needs me to pick up my siblings or run to town after school, she can let me know. It's helpful between families. Although, kids still abuse the privilege. There are select students who decide to ruin it for others by cheating and texting others or taking pictures. In my personal opinion, I think teachers should just be a bit smarter, and watch the class during tests and walk around. Just the other day a student got their phone taken away during a test in a class I was in. Some teachers are observant, while others sit back and say nothing. It's not hard to see if a student is texting. There are obvious signs like, both hands under the table or a big purse in the way, eyes looking down or looking straight forward but there arms are moving. I think taking cell phones away wold be a mistake.It would be easier for the teachers to have rules with them. I once had a teacher who made us put them in this mini box in the middle of our desks, and that was perfectly fine with everyone else. It takes strategy.

   
   

5. Jessica February 8, 2010 at 1:48 PM

   Cellphones are not beneficial to the learning environment, but they are not harmful either. At our school the way the rules are set up, we have been priveledged.So for the students that have got suspended at the school, they knew the rules (whatever they may be at that school) so it is their own fault for getting into trouble. I do think it is important though to have your phone incase something comes up and a parent needs to contact their child, it is faster then calling up the school and going through that whole process. I think that any school needs to find a balance with having a cell phone in school.

   
   

6. Unknown February 15, 2010 at 2:36 PM

   I agree with Kayla. I think they beneficial if there is an emergency and a student needs to be reached but i think kids take advantage of them. There is a fine line between students using the phones responsibly and using inappropriately. But if a student uses a phone to cheat or something than there will be later consequences.

   
   

7. Megan February 16, 2010 at 1:17 AM

   One day in Mr. Mussers class, everyone esed their cells phones for a little in-class activity. It was cool. He had this website and he would type a question or survery, and then you would text the nuber for free, and you could answer the question or take the survey. Ex. "Was the information taught in class yeasterday helpful with todays pop-quiz?" It was just cool to see that cell phones could actually be used with the learning process, instead of just a distraction.
   But as for the cheating and distractions. Easy fix, as almost everyone else has pointed out, keep the phones away from the students during class unless needed. They deffinatley shouldnt ban cell phones all together in schools though, because, as emily has hlready discused, emergencies happen and many students need to get a hold of their parents sometimes. Also, what if you have a sport after school and you don't have a ride home? walk?

   
   

8. Unknown February 22, 2010 at 8:10 AM

   Some kids take advantage of cell phone usage. But I don`t think they should be banned. I`m not going to lie, I text sometimes in class, but usually when a teacher is not talking or we are working on a project. If teachers don`t want kids to be texting in a class have them put it out on their desk like some teachers do anyways. That way they can see the kids cell phones and will know that they are sneaking it and trying to text. In my opinion, they shouldn`t ban cell phones. there`s no need. And to suspend kids for having their cell phones, that`s not right.

   
   

9. Double Down February 23, 2010 at 12:04 PM

   I think the cell phone problem could actually be a way for us to change the education style. In this age, knowing the objective facts are not as important because we can so easily access fact online.
   
   Because facts can be so easily retrieved, we could change education to be more about critical thinking. Instead of having test with easy ways to cheat, tests could be more subjective and in essay form. It's hard to cheat when your being told to explain something.
   
   Even if you text someone, a teacher would be able to recognize the same essay twice.

   
   

Leave a Reply