Let students keep their phones – Avery Stuckey

Buzz buzz! That is your phone ringing, you go to answer it, but you can not. Why? Because you are not allowed to have your phone. This is how your day to day life would be if phone privileges were taken away from students.

Now, everyone can agree that phones may be a distraction in certain situations and therefore could cause problems and taking them away would solve this. However, how will this teach students to coexist with their cellphones in a professional environment later in life?

Giving students the freedom to have their phones in high school gives them learning opportunities to know when and where they should and should not use their phones. This could set them up for the rest of their lives when phones continue to develop and rise in popularity and convenience.

Having the phones is a privilege and if the students take advantage of the responsibility of that privilege then they could face consequences. Instead of taking them away for good, the administration could still enforce some structure by requiring students to sign contracts so that clear expectations are set and clear consequences are given.

Students know that they are responsible for their education and should respect not having their phones out while their teachers are teaching. If a teacher is done lecturing and the students have all their work completed and turned in, going on their phones should not be a problem. Or as long as the student is doing well in their classes and they are not disrupting other students’ learning, being on or just quickly checking their phones should not be a problem. School can be stressful and being on their phones could be a break from the stress of school work.

Students may also feel safer having their phones on them being able to text or call someone in case of an emergency even though teachers will always do their best to keep the kids secure. Students may also want or need to communicate with outside people in their lives throughout the day. This could be coordinating last minute rides, reminders, grades, questions, inconveniences, or even just a simple update. Phones make it that much easier to reach out. Taking phones away from students would make it more enticing for kids to sneak around with them to do little things like get the last text, last snap, last like in so they won’t get caught.

Instead, Cathedral should allow phones and make it up to the students to be responsible for when they use them and where they use them. Giving students this freedom can easily show them the benefits or consequences from cell phones first hand instead of hearing it from adults.

Take students phones during class – Krystal Veguilla

I believe that phones should be taken away during class because they are a major distraction. In so many of my classes, my peers will have their phones out while the teacher is teaching and not just on their desks, but in their hands using them.

Even if the teacher says to put them away, they sneakily use it until they get caught again. It takes away from class time since the teacher has to repeat themself over and over again. I think it is disrespectful to the teacher since the teacher is taking time out of their day and other students’ time in order to tell someone to put their  phone away. It also gives less time for the lesson plan the teacher had so it could also sets back tests, homework, and in-class assignments.

I do not care if my peers use their phone after the teacher is done teaching the lesson but imagine how the teacher feels and the other students feel when they aren’t able to learn because of someone’s phone addiction. I get that we are all obsessed with phones and do not want to put them away but when it’s time to learn, it’s time to learn. I myself want to get on my phone or iPad to play games or goof-off but I can’t because at the end of the day I’m only hurting myself and my grades.

During J-Term they took our phones away which I think helped students focus on the activities we were doing. As soon as they gave us our phones back everyone went on them like robots and didn’t want to get off of them. Since technology has all types of entertainment to grab a hold of your attention, the kids just want to talk on their phones or play games.

I like being on my phone, but when it’s time to learn I know that I have to get off it, pay attention, and do my work but there will still be that temptation if it’s on my desk or in my backpack. Some students cannot refuse that temptation and always give in to give one more look at their screen. This is why I think phones should be taken away during class time.